Proud Waters (1954) by Ewart Brookes

Book review by George Simmers: Minesweepers were among the less glamorous naval vessels during the Second World War, but the work they did was vital. Ewart Brookes’s novel is closely based on his own experience commanding a minesweeper patrol ship. His hero, Lieutenant William Haley, RNVR, is at first disappointed to be transferred from a … Continue reading →

The Sea Shall Not Have Them (1953) by John Harris

Book Review By Frances S: Some years ago, browsing in a local charity shop, I bought a framed strip cartoon. It featured ‘Amateur Archie’, vaguely remembered from old copies of the Sheffield Telegraph. Archie, drawn by ‘Harris’, was a cheerful tryer, ready to have a crack at any sport, usually to the discomfiture of the … Continue reading →

The Cruel Sea (1951) by Nicholas Montserrat

Book Review by Mary P: Our theme for the month was naval fiction, and I decided to read The Cruel Sea which when I looked for a copy of the book was said to be “ a classic “ The book is divided into 7 parts, each one covering a year of the War in … Continue reading →

The Ship (1943) by C.S. Forester

Book Review by George S: The Ship was first published in 1943, when the outcome of the war was still uncertain, and it bears the marks of a book composed for the purposes of propaganda. It is the story of the Artemis, a light cruiser accompanying a convoy of merchant ships to the besieged island … Continue reading →

Lieutenant Hornblower (1952) by C.S. Forester

Book review by Sylvia D. Lieutenant Hornblower was published by Michael Joseph in 1952 but I read the 1957 Great Pan paperback edition which has a very dramatic front cover. The film, Captain Horatio Hornblower, starring Gregory Peck, came out in 1951. Lieutenant Hornblower is one of the later novels which fills in the story … Continue reading →

C S Forester’s Hornblower and the Atropos (1953)

Review by Val H: Boy’s Own Plus.  That’s Hornblower and the Atropos: an exploration of leadership within an exciting swashbuckler. The action takes place after the Battle of Trafalgar.  The Royal Navy’s Horatio Hornblower is recently promoted to captain, taking command of the King’s smallest ship, HMS Atropos (like Hornblower, an interesting name: Atropos was one … Continue reading →

The Happy Return (1937) by C. S. Forester

Review by George S. The Happy Return was the first of Forester’s Hornblower novels to be published, though later books would fill in the hero’s earlier career. The book’s beginning plunges us straight into the action, with Captain Hornblower arriving in South America to begin a risky mission.