Captain Horatio Hornblower: Beat to Quarters; Ship of the Line; Flying Colours [Colors]

662 pp. 8 1/2 x 6. Three books in one volume. Includes: Beat to Quarters; Ship of the Line; Flying Colours [Colors]. Color frontispiece and black-and-white illustrations by N.C. Wyeth. "Horatio Hornblower is a fictional Royal Navy officer who is the protagonist of a series of novels by C. S. Forester. He was later the subject of films and television programs. The original Hornblower tales began with the appearance of a junior Royal Navy captain on independent duty on a secret mission to Central America, though later stories would fill out his earlier years, starting with an unpromising beginning as a seasick midshipman. As the Napoleonic Wars progress, he gains promotion steadily as a result of his skill and daring, despite his initial poverty and lack of influential friends. Eventually, after surviving many adventures in a wide variety of locales, he rises to the pinnacle of his profession, promoted to Admiral of the Fleet, knighted as a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, and named the 1st Baron Hornblower. Ernest Hemingway is quoted as saying, "I recommend Forester to everyone literate I know," and Winston Churchill stated, "I find Hornblower admirable.""