The year is 1793, the eve of the Napoleonic Wars, and Horatio Hornblower, a seventeen-year-old boy unschooled in seafaring and the ways of seamen, is ordered to board a French merchant ship and take command of crew and cargo for the glory of England. Though not an unqualified success, this first naval adventure teaches the young midshipman enough to launch him on a series of increasingly glorious exploits.

After only one night with his bride, Hornblower, as commander of the frigate Hotspur, sails for duty off the French Coast to keep Napoleon from invading England.

In the wake of a humbling incident aboard a canal boat in the Cotswolds, young Captain Horatio Hornblower arrives in London to take command of the Atropos, a 22-gun sloop barely large enough to require a captain. Her first assignment under Hornblower's command is as flagship for the funeral procession of Lord Nelson. Soon Atropos is part of the Mediterranean Fleet's harassment of Napoleon, recovering treasure that lies deep in Turkish waters and...

Following his rapid rise through the ranks of the King's Navy, Hornblower is assigned to the HMS Renown which is sailing to the West Indies to subdue a pirate fleet. Her brutal captain is rapidly going insane forcing Hornblower to take action that threatens not only his naval career but his life as well.

Hornblower's new mission is a delicate one because he must maintain good diplomatic relations with Russia and Sweden at all costs and, at the same time, keep Napoleon's forces out of the Baltic.

Set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic wars, the story of Horatio Hornblower, the legendary sea-faring hero, follows the raw recruit as he battles the French, evades capture, and rises through the ranks of the King's Navy.

"The year is 1793. As England prepares for war with France, young Horatio Hornblower reports for duty aboard the battleship Justinian. His welcome to the King's Navy is harsh, however, as the sadistic Midshipman Simpson takes an instant, violent dislike to the young man. Transferred to the Indefatigable when war erupts, Hornblower proves his mettle in combat and catches the eye of the captain. But his career is threatened when they come upon the flaming...

Valiant naval hero Captain Horatio Hornblower sailed during the Napoleonic era, and outthought, outmaneuvered and outfought his rivals, but was more than a little at sea when faced with a beautiful woman!