The Making of C S Forester's Horatio Hornblower

by Tom McGregor

Horatio Hornblower, young midshipman and gallant hero of C. S. Forester's epic novels, arrives as a raw recruit in Nelson's navy, but is destined to rise through the ranks. Amidst a wealth of bloody sea battles, he proves himself courageous in danger and resilient intimes of trouble. The Making of C. S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower is a fascinating account of howForester's much--loved fictional hero was brought to the screen to create one of the most ambitious and lavish productions on TV. Filled with in-depth interviews with the stars and crew, The Making of C. S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower captures the excitement and complexities of filming in its two foreign locations,the Crimea and Portugal. It contains more than 100 full-color photographs and illustrations charting all stages of production and shows exactly how navy life in the Napoleonic era was re-created through authentic costumes, makeup, sets, naval design, and special effects. It also gives an exclusive insight into the building of the HMS Indefatigable --a 125-foot, 22-cannon replica of a 1750s vessel, and the first British frigate to be handcrafted from wood in the last 140 years. Containing background historical information as well as on-set anecdotes and a behind-the-scenes look at key action sequences, The Making of C. S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower is essential reading for all of Forester's Hornblower fans.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

136 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1999

Reviews

[Reni · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was thinking about ordering "The Making of 'Master & Commander'" as well, but I guess this will remain my only book by the author.

Fact checking doesn't seem to be his strong suit (seriously, if you read this, take his comments on historical characters and events with a grain of salt). Neither am I prepared to read literary criticism from a narrator who cannot even be bothered to check the order in which the books he writes about were published in.

I bought this book mainly for the info on the ships & scale models and the pictures. I'm in love with all the photos, so I'm definitely keeping the book, but the section on the ships' construction could have been bigger. That is the book's major problem, IMO, it is too short, and in the end a rather shallow read. I did appreciate all the info on the day-to-day obstacles during production, but I wouldn't have minded an extra interview with the director, or whoever was responsible for writing the scripts.

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really solid and entertaining read, but heavily prejudiced and definitely left a poor taste on my tongue, it was a very conflicting read. I loved the humour and the glimpses behind the scenes, would've given it five stars if not for the interview section being literally about five sentences from each actor per two pages of the so-called "interview", plus the constant slander of Ukraine. Like, we get it, Tom, you're just a rich white man from a western country who has never lived in a place which faced decades of hardships and was strangled by Stalin and the Soviet Union. SHUT UP. I bet you would've held your tongue if they filmed in, say, Nigeria, because some of the shit that's in this book? Would be unprintable imo if it wasn't said about white people. Appalling.

[Stephanie Ricker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found a book on the making of the first four Horatio Hornblower movies. Usually I’m not a big fan of those types of books; even when I love the movie/series, they seem a little dull. Not so with this little gem. It’s a tribute to the genius of the filmmakers that I had never once considered how they did some of those amazing scenes. I now have a much greater appreciation for the shocking amount of work, time, and money put into those movies. And the attention to detail! I hadn’t thought about the difficulties of scenes requiring trained rats before. I was always impressed by the historical accuracy of the productions, but after hearing the amount of research that went into them, my admiration knows no bounds.

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK, so it's more that I skimmed this one--looking at the pictures, reading the captions, and reading pieces here and there that sparked my interest. The whole book does look interesting, but I felt I had other books I wanted to be reading rather than this one straight through. (And it still took me forever to get around to it after I'd checked it out!)

Overall I probably read about 35%. Definitely enjoyable and informative. Just too bad it covers only the first 4 episodes, as the other 4 hadn't been filmed, yet.

[Ira_est_a_donum · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a fan of the tv series then this is a must read as it gives a little bit of insight into all that went into bringing the series to life and keeping it going on a daily/monthly/yearly basis, which is no small feat!

The pictures are great as well as the little insights from the cast/crew. If I had one complaint it would be that I wish it was a little longer and slightly more in-depth into researching bc as is its a pretty quick and simple read.

[bookyeti · Rating 4 out of 5]

The perfect companion to the BBC series!

[Fangirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Horatio Hornblower tv-movie series, starring Ioan Gruffudd, is among my favorite. This book tells in details and with plenty of pictures all about the making of these films.

[Megan]

The Making of C S Forester's Horatio Hornblower by Tom McGregor (1999)