C. S. Forester has 11 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 3 narrators, with an average listener rating of 4.9★ across 135 ratings. The most-rated is Mr Midshipman Hornblower.
Mr Midshipman Hornblower
Summary
Exclusively from Audible The first episode, initially created as a prequel, of C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower series, sees 17-year-old Horatio as he embarks upon a navy career aboard HMS Justinian. Older than most other seamen training to become naval officers, Hornblower is initially ridiculed for his dull attitude and inexperience at sea. However, against all odds, Horatio rises to become an unlikely hero and faces a myriad of challenges aboard the ship and on foot in native lands. Set in January 1794, Hornblower works alongside his fellow officers, eventually rising through the ranks to battle against Napoleon as he tries to conquer Europe. In this episodic audiobook, Forester treats listeners to ten chapters with self-contained incidents and adventures. From duels to shipwrecks and Spanish galleys to French ports, we follow Horatio as he becomes a formidable man of the sea. Adding depth and feeling to the narrative, he also comes to see the atrocities of war and the often unfortunate and needless suffering of the many who are involved. Whilst showing himself to be brave, principled and ingenious, Forester's hero is singular in his unrelenting feelings of self-doubt and reserve, which render him a more likeable and relatable leader and protagonist. Commended by the San Francisco Chronicle as 'one of the great masters of narrative' C.S. Forester wrote 10 other books in the Hornblower series, all of which can be found at Audible. Narrator Biography Christian Rodska is an English television and voice actor best known for his role in the 1970's series Follyfoot. From The Monuments Men and The Eagle of the Ninth to The Likely Lads, Z Cars, The Tomorrow People, Coronation Street, Bergerac and Casualty, his extensive and diverse acting career has led him to become a highly solicited radio and audiobook narrator. He has now voiced over 150 unabridged audiobooks including Winston Churchill's biographies, Evelyn Waugh's Men at Arms and Sebastian Faulks' A Possible Life. He has been praised for his ability to vary in vocal pace and style and as such, Christian boasts 12 Earphone Awards from Audiofile Magazine.
©1950 C. S. Forester (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
Lieutenant Hornblower
Summary
Exclusively from Audible: Having now paid his dues as midshipman, Horatio Hornblower returns as a newly promoted Lieutenant, in the second instalment of C.S. Forester's beloved naval series. In this new adventure, Hornblower is overjoyed to discover his next task is to serve aboard the mighty HMS Renown. After witnessing some unsettling scenes however, he soon finds himself struggling to serve under the captain, James Sawyer, whose unsound mind leads him to treat his crew with extreme suspicion and contempt. As talk of mutiny is abound, the tension rises and Hornblower is forced to make impossible decisions in an effort to unite the crew and avert further disaster by defeating the Spanish. Introducing a much-desired element of romance to the series, Horatio encounters the beautiful and seductive Maria, who sends him on an altogether different but equally enticing escapade. Hailed by the likes of Ernest Hemingway and Sir Winston Churchill for being 'admirable and vastly entertaining,' C.S. Forester became a hugely influential 20th Century author. Born in Cairo, raised in London and buried in California, the metropolitan writer experienced huge success with his Horatio Hornblower series as well as with his later works, The African Queen and The Good Shepherd. His literary genius is perfectly encapsulated within this endlessly entertaining narrative, and his heroic protagonist draws us in to another titillating journey through the Napoleonic wars. Narrator Biography Christian Rodska is an English television and voice actor best known for his role in the 1970's series Follyfoot. From the The Monuments Men and The Eagle of the Ninth to The Likely Lads, Z Cars, The Tomorrow People, Coronation Street, Bergerac and Casualty, his extensive and diverse acting career has led him to become a highly solicited radio and audiobook narrator. He has now voiced over 150 unabridged audiobooks including Winston Churchill's biographies, Evelyn Waugh's Men at Arms and Sebastian Faulks' A Possible Life. He has been praised for his ability to vary in vocal pace and style and as such, Christian boasts 12 Earphone Awards from Audiofile Magazine.
©1952 Cassette Productions (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
Hornblower and the "Hotspur"
Summary
Napoleon is about to invade England, and it falls to young Horatio Hornblower to stop him. This is the third in C. S. Forester's 11 volume series about one of the Royal Navy's most daring and resourceful officers.
©1962 C.S. Forester (P)2008, 2017 Phoenix Books
Flying Colours
Summary
Exclusively from Audible In the eighth instalment of C.S Forester's naval series, Horatio Hornblower finds himself down on his luck. Having been forced to surrender his ship to the French, following a long and bloody battle, he is imprisoned by his enemies and threatened with the prospect of being tried by French courts and executed if found guilty. Knowing that he will also likely come up against a court martial in England for having lost command and possession of The Sutherland, Horatio's future is bleak and uncertain. As his wife, Maria, struggles to deliver a healthy baby and the thought of his mistress, Lady Barbara, taunts him in his jail cell, Hornblower realises that he must do whatever it takes to prevent the impending doom heading his way and ensure that neither lady is left to fend for herself. Hugely celebrated for his Napoleonic warfare series, and later for the publication of The African Queen, C. S. Forester came to writing much later than expected. Having originally studied medicine at Guy's Hospital, Forester first developed a love of story-telling after being inspired by his travels with the Royal Navy. Sadly stricken with arteriosclerosis whilst voyaging to the Bering Sea, C.S. Forester was crippled in his later life, but his imagination and his skill with a pen survived for years to come. Narrator Biography Christian Rodska is an English television and voice actor best known for his role in the 1970s series Follyfoot. From the The Monuments Men and The Eagle of the Ninth to The Likely Lads, Z Cars, The Tomorrow People, Coronation Street, Bergerac and Casualty, his extensive and diverse acting career has led him to become a highly solicited radio and audiobook narrator. He has now voiced over 150 unabridged audiobooks including Winston Churchill's biographies, Evelyn Waugh's Men at Arms and Sebastian Faulks' A Possible Life. He has been praised for his ability to vary in vocal pace and style and as such, Christian boasts 12 Earphone Awards from Audiofile Magazine.
©1938 C.S. Forester (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
A Ship of the Line
Summary
Exclusively from Audible The sixth instalment in the eleven-part Horatio Hornblower series, A Ship of the Line sees the return of 39-year-old Captain Hornblower as he embarks upon a new adventure on the Catalonian coast. Having successfully defeated the Natividad Ship in battle, Horatio is awarded command of HMS Sutherland. Estimated to be the 'the ugliest and least desirable two-decker in the Navy List,' Hornblower's first ship of the line is far from becoming the vessel of his dreams, and being 250 men short of a full crew, the captain is forced to enlist and train a rabble of 'poachers, bigamists and sheep stealers.' Seventeen years into the Napoleonic wars, Hornblower cannot afford to pause or make mistakes and the pressure soon mounts as the French approach the Catalonian shores. Winner of the 1938 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction, A Ship of the Line delivers an action-packed seafaring adventure as one of the nation's favourite captains takes the lead once again. Hugely celebrated for his Napoleonic naval warfare series, and later for the publication of The African Queen, C. S. Forester came to writing much later than expected. Having originally studied medicine at Guy's Hospital, Forester first developed a love of story-telling after being inspired by his travels with the Royal Navy. Sadly stricken with arteriosclerosis whilst voyaging to the Bering Sea, C.S. Forester was crippled in his later life, but his imagination and his skill with a pen survived for years to come. Narrator Biography Christian Rodska is an English television and voice actor best known for his role in the 1970s series Follyfoot. From The Monuments Men and The Eagle of the Ninth to The Likely Lads, Z Cars, The Tomorrow People, Coronation Street, Bergerac and Casualty, his extensive and diverse acting career has led him to become a highly solicited radio and audiobook narrator. He has now voiced over 150 unabridged audiobooks including Winston Churchill's biographies, Evelyn Waugh's Men at Arms and Sebastian Faulks' A Possible Life. He has been praised for his ability to vary in vocal pace and style and as such, Christian boasts 12 Earphone Awards from Audiofile Magazine.
©1938 Cassette Productions SA (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
The Commodore
Summary
Exclusively from Audible In the ninth instalment of the series, C.S. Forester transports us to the quaint village of Smallbridge. Predictably restless and eager to embark on his next adventure, Horatio Hornblower dreams of returning to the seas and commanding his next ship. Now happily married to Lady Barbara Leighton and widely celebrated for his recent successes with the navy, Hornblower has been knighted and appointed a commodore. Fortunately for Horatio, his uneventful days as village squire are soon interrupted when he is sent word from the Admiralty. Ordered to embark upon a diplomatic and military mission to protect Britain's Baltic interests, Horatio is quick to choose a squadron and leave his small village life behind. Fighting against the savage Baltic weather, Hornblower must impede Napoleon from conquering Sweden and Russia and, as always, ensure that no French privateer can prevent him from achieving his goals. Hailed by the likes of Ernest Hemingway and Sir Winston Churchill for being 'admirable and vastly entertaining,' C.S. Forester became a hugely influential 20th-century author. Born in Cairo, raised in London and buried in California, the metropolitan writer experienced huge success with his Horatio Hornblower series as well as with his later works, The African Queen and The Good Shepherd. His literary genius is perfectly encapsulated within this endlessly entertaining narrative, and his heroic protagonist draws us in to another titillating journey through the Napoleonic wars. Narrator Biography Christian Rodska is an English television and voice actor best known for his role in the 1970s series Follyfoot. From the The Monuments Men and The Eagle of the Ninth to The Likely Lads, Z Cars, The Tomorrow People, Coronation Street, Bergerac and Casualty, his extensive and diverse acting career has led him to become a highly solicited radio and audiobook narrator. He has now voiced over 150 unabridged audiobooks including Winston Churchill's biographies, Evelyn Waugh's Men at Arms and Sebastian Faulks' A Possible Life. He has been praised for his ability to vary in vocal pace and style, and as such, Christian boasts 12 Earphone Awards from Audiofile Magazine.
©1945 C.S. Forester (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
The Happy Return
Summary
Exclusively from Audible The year is 1808 and somewhere off the coast of Nicaragua, C.S. Forester's hero returns, ready to embark on his next swashbuckling adventure. The fifth instalment in the series, The Happy Return follows Captain Horatio Hornblower as he commands the thirty-six-gun frigate, HMS Lydia. Sent out on a mission to weaken the colonial Spanish government, Horatio must form an alliance with a narcissistic revolutionary leader with delusions of grandeur, who goes by the name of 'El Supremo'. Simultaneously faced with an advancing Spanish fleet and their far superior fifty-gun ship, Natividad, Horatio must find a way to 'take, sink, burn or destroy' his enemies or fail and be made to face the British courts. Adding insult to injury, Horatio is furthermore challenged by the arrival of a singularly attractive passenger, the influential Lady Barbara Wellesley. Vulnerable, alone and seeking passage to England, Horatio cannot refuse the lady, but as a happily married man, he finds himself tortured by Barbara's tempting nature and astounding beauty. An English novelist, C.S. Forester was highly praised by his contemporaries for his Napoleonic naval warfare series, and later for the publication of The African Queen. Despite his natural ability and endless imagination, Forester came to writing much later than expected. Having originally studied medicine at Guy's Hospital, it was only after his travels with the Royal Navy that he was artistically inspired, developing in particular, a fervent love of story-telling. Sadly stricken with arteriosclerosis whilst voyaging to the Bering Sea, C.S. Forester was crippled in his later life, but his imagination and his skill with a pen survived for years to come. Narrator Biography Christian Rodska is an English television and voice actor best known for his role in the 1970s series Follyfoot. From The Monuments Men and The Eagle of the Ninth to The Likely Lads, Z Cars, The Tomorrow People, Coronation Street, Bergerac and Casualty, his extensive and diverse acting career has led him to become a highly solicited radio and audiobook narrator. He has now voiced over 150 unabridged audiobooks including Winston Churchill's biographies, Evelyn Waugh's Men at Arms and Sebastian Faulks' A Possible Life. He has been praised for his ability to vary in vocal pace and style and as such, Christian boasts 12 Earphone Awards from Audiofile Magazine.
©1937 Cassette Productions SA (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
Hornblower and the Crisis
Summary
Exclusively from Audible: In this, the final Horatio Hornblower adventure, C.S. Forester throws his hero into one of the most challenging missions yet. Upon discovering highly confidential papers dispatched by Bonaparte, Hornblower sets off to enlighten the Admiralty about his game-changing, new findings. Troubled after having been informed of Pierre-Charles Villeneuve's escape into Spain, they welcome Horatio's news and send him off on a high-priority assignment that they believe will lead to England's victory over Napoleon. His first and only espionage mission, Hornblower lights the powder trail which will eventually lead to the battle of Trafalgar and with a myriad of unexpected twists and suspenseful turns, Hornblower and the Crisis becomes one of Forester's greatest works. Hugely celebrated for his Napoleonic naval warfare series, and later for the publication of The African Queen, C. S. Forester came to writing much later than expected. Having originally studied medicine at Guy's Hospital, Forester first developed a love of story-telling after being inspired by his travels with the Royal Navy. Stricken with arteriosclerosis whilst voyaging to the Bering Sea, C.S. Forester was crippled in his later life. Sadly, he passed away before completing this final instalment, but his plans for Hornblower and he Crisis were clearly set out within his detailed notes. These can be found at the end of the audiobook and serve to offer further insight into the mind of this incredible author. Narrator Biography Christian Rodska is an English television and voice actor best known for his role in the 1970's series Follyfoot. From the The Monuments Men and The Eagle of the Ninth to The Likely Lads, Z Cars, The Tomorrow People, Coronation Street, Bergerac and Casualty, his extensive and diverse acting career has led him to become a highly solicited radio and audiobook narrator. He has now voiced over 150 unabridged audiobooks including Winston Churchill's biographies, Evelyn Waugh's Men at Arms and Sebastian Faulks' A Possible Life. He has been praised for his ability to vary in vocal pace and style and as such, Christian boasts 12 Earphone Awards from Audiofile Magazine.
©1967 C.S. Forester (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
Hornblower and the "Atropos"
Summary
"I find Hornblower admirable, vastly entertaining" - Winston Churchill 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 boldly challenging a Spanish frigate several times her size. At the center of each adventure is Hornblower, Forester's most inspired creation, whose blend of cautious preparation and spirited execution dazzles friend and foe alike.
Public Domain (P)2009 Phoenix Audio
Lord Hornblower
Summary
Exclusively from Audible Having received strict and confidential orders from high above, C.S. Forester's inimitable hero must recapture The Flame, a brig which has been taken over by a band of mutineers. Voyaging to the Bay of Seine in order to rescue the captive Lieutenant Augustin Chadwick from his disloyal crew, Horatio Hornblower must once more fight for the freedom and safety of his people and country. In an unexpected turn of events, the now world-weary captain Hornblower is propelled towards the gates of his mortal enemy: Napoleon Bonaparte. Having spent a lifetime trying to defeat the French empire, Horatio is desperate to overthrow his opponents once and for all, but with so many odds against him, the threat of failure hangs in the air. Hailed by the likes of Ernest Hemingway and Sir Winston Churchill for being 'admirable and vastly entertaining,' C.S. Forester became a hugely influential 20th-century author. Born in Cairo, raised in London and buried in California, the metropolitan writer experienced huge success with his Horatio Hornblower series as well as with his later works, The African Queen and The Good Shepherd. His literary genius is perfectly encapsulated within this endlessly entertaining narrative, and his heroic protagonist draws us in to another titillating journey through the Napoleonic wars. Narrator Biography Christian Rodska is an English television and voice actor best known for his role in the 1970s series Follyfoot. From the The Monuments Men and The Eagle of the Ninth to The Likely Lads, Z Cars, The Tomorrow People, Coronation Street, Bergerac and Casualty, his extensive and diverse acting career has led him to become a highly solicited radio and audiobook narrator. He has now voiced over 150 unabridged audiobooks including Winston Churchill's biographies, Evelyn Waugh's Men at Arms and Sebastian Faulks' A Possible Life. He has been praised for his ability to vary in vocal pace and style, and as such, Christian boasts 12 Earphone Awards from Audiofile Magazine.
©1946 C.S. Forester (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
The African Queen
Summary
Upon her brother's death, missionary Rose Sayer and Charles Allnutt, disreputable skipper of the African Queen, become allies as, marooned in German Central Africa during World War I, they fight their old launch downriver 'to strike a blow for England'.
©1935 C.S. Forester (P)2014 Audible, Inc.