Hornblower and the Journey Home
Napoleon Bonaparte died in exile on the British island of St. Helena in 1821. Almost twenty years later, France transported Napoleon’s remains back home. From the 1930s to the 1960s, noted author C. S. Forester wrote eleven books about the fictitious Horatio Hornblower’s life during the Napoleonic era. In this novel, James Keffer presents a two-layered alternative story. First, he takes Hornblower to St. Helena for two years and into a deep friendship with its main prisoner; C. S. Forester’s Hornblower never did that. Second, in 1840 Queen Victoria orders Keffer’s Hornblower to escort a French ship carrying Napoleon’s remains to France. Then Keffer has Hornblower sail a British warship back to St. Helena to meet the French ship. In actual history, the Brits paid little attention to the transfer of Napoleon’s remains and sent no escort.
In Keffer’s account, treacherous French royalty and Russia try to thwart the mission. They fear a new, popular uprising followed by more war in Europe if Napoleon’s body comes back. Hornblower’s British ship and crew, paired with the much larger French ship, must overcome threats from multiple quarters. Keffer knows his sailing ships of that era and their battles. His retelling also gives real-life officials and common folk in France, England, and Russia and on St. Helena authentic roles. Shifting personal loyalties in uncertain times add to the suspense of the main story arc. However, many unnecessary formal introductions between and among the upper crust and navy officers at the start of most meetings slow down the story. How Hornblower and Napoleon became close friends is also recounted too often. Nonetheless, fans of the original C. S. Forester Hornblower might be curious about this new rendition.
