Horatio Hornblower Books in Order
Horatio Hornblower by C.S. Forester contains 13 books, published between 1937 and 1967. The first book is The Happy Return / Beat To Quarters (1937) and the newest is Hornblower During The Crisis / Hornblower And The Crisis (1967). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 13
- Published
- 1937–1967
- Confirmed
- 13 of 13 titles
- Pages on record
- 3,968 in 12 of 13 books
- Reading time
- 66–99 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 3,968 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 12 of 13 titles with a page count on record.
Horatio Hornblower is a historical naval fiction series named for its Royal Navy officer. Thirteen books span 1937 to 1967, opening with The Happy Return / Beat To Quarters (1937) and ending with Hornblower During The Crisis (1967). The Napoleonic Wars and the Peninsular War supply the setting, and the titles name ranks in ascending order: Mr. Midshipman Hornblower (1950), Lieutenant Hornblower (1952), Ship Of The Line (1938), The Commodore (1945) and Lord Hornblower (1946). The Hornblower Companion (1964) is a reference volume rather than a novel. Publication order and internal chronology differ, and the run is listed as likely complete.
How many Horatio Hornblower books are there?
Horatio Hornblower has 13 books, released between 1937 and 1967.
Horatio Hornblower Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 13 Horatio Hornblower books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 1The Happy Return / Beat To Quarters1937 · 324 pages · confirmed 3/419373243/4
- 1The Hornblower Companion1964 · 139 pages · confirmed 3/419641393/4
- 2Ship Of The Line1938 · 323 pages · confirmed 3/419383233/4
- 2Captain Hornblower R.N.1965 · 576 pages · confirmed 3/419655763/4
- 3Flying Colours1938 · 294 pages · confirmed 3/419382943/4
- 4The Commodore / Commodore Hornblower1945 · 313 pages · confirmed 3/419453133/4
- 5Lord Hornblower1946 · 322 pages · confirmed 3/419463223/4
- 6Mr. Midshipman Hornblower1950 · 310 pages · confirmed 3/419503103/4
- 7Lieutenant Hornblower1952 · 313 pages · confirmed 3/419523133/4
- 8Hornblower And The Atropos1953 · 325 pages · confirmed 3/419533253/4
- 9Admiral Hornblower In The West Indies / Hornblower In The West Indies1957 · 329 pages · confirmed 3/419573293/4
- 10Hornblower And The Hotspur1962 · 400 pages · confirmed 3/419624003/4
- 11Hornblower During The Crisis / Hornblower And The Crisis1967 · confirmed 3/41967–3/4
Horatio Hornblower Books in Chronological Order
In story order, Mr. Midshipman Hornblower comes first and Admiral Hornblower In The West Indies / Hornblower In The West Indies comes last. Chronological order follows the events inside the story rather than the release dates. The 11 books with a recorded story position run in that sequence below.
- 6Mr. Midshipman Hornblower1950 · 310 pages · confirmed 3/419503103/4
- 7Lieutenant Hornblower1952 · 313 pages · confirmed 3/419523133/4
- 10Hornblower And The Hotspur1962 · 400 pages · confirmed 3/419624003/4
- 11Hornblower During The Crisis / Hornblower And The Crisis1967 · confirmed 3/41967–3/4
- 8Hornblower And The Atropos1953 · 325 pages · confirmed 3/419533253/4
- 1The Happy Return / Beat To Quarters1937 · 324 pages · confirmed 3/419373243/4
- 2Ship Of The Line1938 · 323 pages · confirmed 3/419383233/4
- 3Flying Colours1938 · 294 pages · confirmed 3/419382943/4
- 4The Commodore / Commodore Hornblower1945 · 313 pages · confirmed 3/419453133/4
- 5Lord Hornblower1946 · 322 pages · confirmed 3/419463223/4
- 9Admiral Hornblower In The West Indies / Hornblower In The West Indies1957 · 329 pages · confirmed 3/419573293/4
Do you have to read Horatio Hornblower books in order?
You should read the Horatio Hornblower books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Horatio Hornblower book also stands alone.
Where to start with Horatio Hornblower
Start with The Happy Return / Beat To Quarters (1937), the earliest published title. In the chronological order, Mr. Midshipman Hornblower comes first.
What is the newest Horatio Hornblower book?
Hornblower During The Crisis / Hornblower And The Crisis (1967) is the newest Horatio Hornblower book released so far.
Is there a new Horatio Hornblower book coming?
No next Horatio Hornblower book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Horatio Hornblower at a glance
- No recent titles
- The newest Horatio Hornblower title on record dates from 1967, 59 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
- Release pace
- Horatio Hornblower books have appeared about one every 3 years on average.
- Length
- 3,968 pages across the 12 of 13 books with a recorded length, a median of 322 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Horatio Hornblower books, 4 of 13, were published in the 1960s.
What the Horatio Hornblower books are about
All 13 Horatio Hornblower books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: naval history is tagged on 9 of 13. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Naval history 9 of 13 books
- Napoleonic Wars, 1800-1815 8 of 13 books
- Fiction in English 6 of 13 books
- Peninsular war, 1807-1814 6 of 13 books
- Historical fiction 5 of 13 books
- Hornblower, horatio (fictitious character) 5 of 13 books
- Great Britain 4 of 13 books
- Action & adventure 3 of 13 books
- History, Naval 3 of 13 books
- Great Britain in fiction 2 of 13 books
- Napoleonic Wars, 1800-1815 in fiction 2 of 13 books
More books by C.S. Forester
The author page linked below lists every book in publication order.
- C.S. Forester books in order 53 books