Big Books of 2026
C.S. Forester

C.S. Forester’s Followers (984)

member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo

Add New
Videos

The African Queen (1951)
Add a comment
Hornblower Trailer
Add a comment

More videos…

C.S. Forester


Born
in Cairo, Egypt
December 13, 1901

Died
April 02, 1966

Genre
Fiction, Historical Fiction, History


Cecil Scott Forester was the pen name of Cecil Louis Troughton Smith, an English novelist who rose to fame with tales of adventure and military crusades. His most notable works were the 11-book Horatio Hornblower series, about naval warfare during the Napoleonic era, and The African Queen (1935; filmed in 1951 by John Huston). His novels A Ship of the Line and Flying Colours were jointly awarded the 1938 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction.

Combine Editions

Average rating: 4.21 · 162,594 ratings · 8,136 reviews · 236 distinct works • Similar authors
Mr. Midshipman Hornblower
4.18 avg rating — 19,333 ratings — published 1950 — 226 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Lieutenant Hornblower (Horn...
4.32 avg rating — 13,584 ratings — published 1952 — 198 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Beat to Quarters (Hornblowe...
4.29 avg rating — 12,304 ratings — published 1937 — 213 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Hornblower and the Hotspur ...
4.32 avg rating — 12,055 ratings — published 1962 — 170 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
The Good Shepherd
4.18 avg rating — 10,448 ratings — published 1955 — 159 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Hornblower and the Atropos ...
4.25 avg rating — 9,966 ratings — published 1953 — 161 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Ship of the Line (Hornblowe...
4.32 avg rating — 8,767 ratings — published 1938 — 176 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Flying Colours (Hornblower ...
4.35 avg rating — 8,629 ratings — published 1938 — 165 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
The African Queen
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 9,311 ratings — published 1935 — 206 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Commodore Hornblower
4.26 avg rating — 8,504 ratings — published 1945 — 158 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
More books by C.S. Forester…

Series by C.S. Forester

Mr. Midshipman Hornblower Lieutenant Hornblower Hornblower and the Hotspur Hornblower During the Crisis Hornblower and the Atropos Beat to Quarters Ship of the Line
(13 books)
by
4.26 avg rating — 125,541 ratings

Beat to Quarters Ship of the Line Flying Colours Commodore Hornblower Lord Hornblower Mr. Midshipman Hornblower Lieutenant Hornblower
(11 books)
by
4.25 avg rating — 114,374 ratings

Related News

Ready to see some of your favorite stories come to life? Hollywood producers, directors, and actors are continuing their obsession...
Read more...
192 likes · 97 comments
Quotes by C.S. Forester  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“When a man who is drinking neat gin starts talking about his mother he is past all argument.”
― C.S. Forester, The African Queen
tags: alcohol, argument, drinking, gin, mothers
62 likes
Like

“Clairvoyant, Hornblower could foresee that in a year's time, the world would hardy remember the incident. In twenty years, it would be entirely forgotten. Yet those headless corpses up there in Muzillac; those shattered redcoats; those Frenchmen caught in the four-pounder's blast of canister -- they were as dead as if it had been a day in which history had been changed.”
― C.S. Forester, Mr. Midshipman Hornblower
17 likes
Like

“I thank God daily for the good fortune of my birth, for I am certain I would have made a miserable peasant.”
― C.S. Forester, Mr. Midshipman Hornblower
tags: funny
16 likes
Like

Polls

More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics posts views last activity  
The Book Challenge: Poppy's Book Challenge 28 231 Apr 27, 2009 03:35PM  
The History Book ...: HISTORICAL FICTION POLLS 6 361 Jan 21, 2010 12:04AM  
The History Book ...: 1. HF - MASTER AND COMMANDER - AUTHOR'S NOTE + CHAPTER 1 (11- 41) (05/03/10 - 05/09/10) ~ No spoilers, please 59 114 May 10, 2010 09:10AM  
The History Book ...: MOVIES ABOUT THE ERA 31 52 Sep 10, 2010 01:59PM