Editing Horatio Hornblower (section)

==Bibliography==
{{unreferenced|section|date=November 2022}}
{{original research|section|date=November 2022}}
The Hornblower canon by Forester consists of 11 novels (one unfinished) and five short stories.
In addition, ''The Hornblower Companion'' includes maps showing where the action took place in the 10 complete novels and Forester's notes on how they were written.

{|class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! UK title
! Story dates
! scope="col" width="80px" | UK date of first publication<ref>''[[The Observer]]'', dates of novel publication, London.</ref><ref>[[The Guardian|''The Manchester Guardian'']], dates of novel publication.</ref>
! UK publisher
! US title
! scope="col" width="80px" | US date of first publication<ref>''[[The New York Times]]'', dates of novel publication</ref>
! US publisher
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| {{sort|Happy Return|''[[The Happy Return]]''}}
| align="center" | {{dts|format=m|1808|6}}&nbsp;– December 1808
| align="right" | {{dts|format=dmy|1937|2|4}}
| [[Michael Joseph (publisher)|Michael Joseph]]
| ''Beat to Quarters''
| align="right" | {{dts|format=dmy|1937|4|6}}
| [[Little Brown]]
| Novel
|-
| {{sort|Ship of the Line|''[[A Ship of the Line]]''}}
| align="center" | {{dts|format=m|1810|4}}&nbsp;– November 1810
| align="right" | {{dts|format=dmy|1938-04-04}}
| Michael Joseph
| ''Ship of the Line''
| align="right" | {{dts|format=dmy|1938|3|18}}
| Little Brown
| Novel.  First published in serial form in ''[[Argosy (magazine)|Argosy]]'' from 26 February to 2 April, 1938.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stephensen-Payne |first=Phil |date=22 September 2023 |title=Index by Name: Page 330 |url=http://www.philsp.com/homeville/gfi/n00330.htm#A191 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230922130552/http://www.philsp.com/homeville/gfi/n00330.htm |archive-date=22 September 2023 |access-date=22 September 2023 |website=Galactic Central}}</ref>
|-
| ''[[Flying Colours (novel)|Flying Colours]]''
| align="center" | {{dts|format=dmy|1810|12}}&nbsp;– June 1811
| align="right" | {{dts|format=dmy|1938-11-01}}
| Michael Joseph
| ''Flying Colours''
| align="right" | {{dts|format=dmy|1939|1|3}}
| Little Brown
| Novel
|-
| {{sort|Hornblower and His Majesty|"[[Hornblower and His Majesty]]"}}
| align="center" | {{dts|format=dmy|1813}}
| align="right" | {{dts|format=dmy|1941|3}}
| ''[[Argosy (UK magazine)|Argosy]]'' (UK)
| "Hornblower and His Majesty"
| align="right" | {{dts|format=dmy|1940|3|23}}
| ''[[Collier's]]''
| Short story
|-
| {{sort|Hornblower and the Hand of Destiny|"[[The Hand of Destiny|Hornblower and the Hand of Destiny]]"}}

| align="center" | {{dts|format=dmy|1796}}
| align="right" | {{dts|format=dmy|1941|4}}
| ''Argosy'' (UK)
| {{sort|Hand of Destiny|"The Hand of Destiny"}}
| align="right" | {{dts|format=dmy|1940|11|23}}
| ''[[Collier's]]''
| Short story
|-
| "[[Hornblower's Charitable Offering]]"
| align="center" | {{dts|format=dmy|1810|7}}
| align="right" | {{dts|format=dmy|1941|5}}
| ''Argosy'' (UK)
| {{sort|Bad Samaritan|"The Bad Samaritan"}}
| align="right" | {{dts|format=dmy|1941|1|18}}
| ''[[Argosy (magazine)|Argosy]]'' (US)
| Short story intended as a chapter of ''A Ship of the Line''
|-
| {{sort|Commodore|''[[The Commodore]]''}}
| align="center" | {{dts|format=m|1812|4}}&nbsp;– December 1812
| align="right" | {{dts|format=dmy|1945|3|12}}
| Michael Joseph
| ''Commodore Hornblower''
| align="right" | {{dts|format=dmy|1945|5|21}}
| Little Brown
| Novel
|-
| ''[[Lord Hornblower]]''
| align="center" | {{dts|format=dmy|1813|10}}&nbsp;– July 1815
| align="right" | {{dts|format=dmy|1946-06-11}}
| Michael Joseph
| ''Lord Hornblower''
| align="right" | {{dts|format=dmy|1946|9|24}}
| Little Brown
| Novel
|-
| ''[[Mr. Midshipman Hornblower]]''
| align="center" | {{dts|format=dmy|1794|1}}&nbsp;– February 1799
| align="right" | {{dts|format=dmy|1950|5|22}}
| Michael Joseph
| ''Mr. Midshipman Hornblower''
| align="right" | {{dts|format=dmy|1950|3|13}}
| Little Brown
| Novel
|-
| "[[Hornblower and the Widow McCool|Hornblower and the Big Decision]]"
| align="center" | {{dts|format=dmy|1799|11}}&nbsp;– July 1800
| align="right" | {{dts|format=dmy|1951|4}}
| ''Argosy'' (UK)
| "Hornblower's Temptation"
| align="right" | {{dts|format=dmy|1950|12|9}}
| {{sort|Saturday Evening Post|''[[The Saturday Evening Post]]''}}
| Short story subsequently published as "Hornblower and the Widow McCool" in ''Hornblower and the Crisis''
|-
| ''[[Lieutenant Hornblower]]''
| align="center" | {{dts|format=dmy|1800|8}}&nbsp;– March 1803
| align="right" | {{dts|format=dmy|1952|2|11}}
| Michael Joseph
| ''Lieutenant Hornblower''
| align="right" | {{dts|format=dmy|1952|3|27}}
| Little Brown
| Novel
|-
| ''[[Hornblower and the Atropos]]''
| align="center" | {{dts|format=dmy|1805|12}}&nbsp;– September 1806
| align="right" | {{dts|format=dmy|1953|11|9}}
| Michael Joseph
| ''Hornblower and the Atropos''
| align="right" | {{dts|format=dmy|1953|9|10}}
| Little Brown
| Novel
|-
| ''[[Hornblower in the West Indies]]''
| align="center" | {{dts|format=dmy|1821|5}}&nbsp;– July 1823
| align="right" | {{dts|format=dmy|1958|9|29}}
| Michael Joseph
| ''Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies''
| align="right" | {{dts|format=dmy|1958|8|28}}
| Little Brown
| Novel
|-
| ''[[Hornblower and the Hotspur]]''
| align="center" | {{dts|format=dmy|1803|4}}&nbsp;– May 1805
| align="right" | {{dts|format=dmy|1962|7|27}}
| Michael Joseph
| ''Hornblower and the Hotspur''
| align="right" | {{dts|format=dmy|1962|8|1}}
| Little Brown
| Novel
|-
| <span style="display:none">Hornblower Companion, The</span> ''The Hornblower Companion''
| align="center" | <span style="display:none">99999</span>
| align="right" | {{dts|format=dmy|1964|12|4}}
| Michael Joseph
| {{sort|Hornblower Companion|''The Hornblower Companion''}}
| align="right" | {{dts|format=dmy|1964|12|6}}
| Little Brown
| Supplementary book comprising "The Hornblower Atlas" and "Some Personal Notes"
|-
| {{sort|Last Encounter|"[[The Last Encounter]]"}}
| align="center" | {{dts|format=m|1848|9}}&nbsp;– December 1848
| align="right" | {{dts|format=dmy|1966|5|8}}
| ''[[Sunday Mirror]]''<ref>{{cite news |last=Forester |first=C.&nbsp;S. |date=8 May 1966 |title=The Last Encounter |newspaper=Sunday Mirror |pages=8–10}}</ref>
| {{sort|Last Encounter|"The Last Encounter"}}
| align="right" | {{dts|format=dmy|1967|4}}
| ''Argosy'' (US)
| Short story subsequently published in ''Hornblower and the Crisis''
|-
| ''[[Hornblower and the Crisis]]''
| align="center" | {{dts|format=m|1805|5}}&nbsp;– June 1805
| align="right" | {{dts|format=dmy|1967|6|4}}
| Michael Joseph
| ''Hornblower During the Crisis''
| align="right" | {{dts|format=dmy|1967|11|8}}
| Little Brown
| Unfinished novel plus "Hornblower and the Widow McCool" and "The Last Encounter"
|}

Another short story, "The Point and the Edge", is included only as an outline in ''The Hornblower Companion''.  The following diagram shows the relationship between the dates of the stories' action and of their publication.

{| role="presentation" class="wikitable mw-collapsible"
|+ Story and Publication Dates
|-
| [[File:A Hornblower Chronology.svg|frameless|none|940px]]
|}

=== Omnibus publications ===
The first three novels written, ''The Happy Return'', ''A Ship of the Line'', and ''Flying Colours'' were collected as ''Captain Hornblower R.N'' (1939) by Michael Joseph and as ''Captain Horatio Hornblower'' (1939) by Little Brown in the US. Both a single-volume edition and a three-volume edition (in a slip case) were published.

''Mr. Midshipman Hornblower'', ''Lieutenant Hornblower'', and ''Hornblower and the Atropos'' were compiled in one book, variously titled ''Hornblower's Early Years'', ''Horatio Hornblower Goes to Sea'', or ''The Young Hornblower''. ''Hornblower and the Atropos'' was replaced by ''Hornblower and the Hotspur'' in later UK editions of ''The Young Hornblower''.

''Hornblower and the Atropos'', ''The Happy Return'', and ''A Ship of the Line'' were compiled into one omnibus edition, called ''Captain Hornblower''.

''Flying Colours'', ''The Commodore'', ''Lord Hornblower'', and ''Hornblower in the West Indies'' were presented as a third omnibus edition called ''Admiral Hornblower'' to fill out the series.

''Commodore Hornblower'', ''Lord Hornblower'', and ''Hornblower in the West Indies'' were also compiled into one book, called ''The Indomitable Hornblower''.

Four "Cadet Editions" were released by Little Brown and later by Michael Joseph, each collecting two Hornblower novels and edited for younger readers:
''Hornblower Goes to Sea'' (1953, 1954), from ''Mr. Midshipman Hornblower'' and ''Lieutenant Hornblower'';
''Hornblower Takes Command'' (1953, 1954), from ''Hornblower and The Atropos'' and ''Beat To Quarters'';
''Hornblower in Captivity'' (1939, 1955), from ''A Ship of the Line'' and ''Flying Colours''; and
''Hornblower's Triumph'' (1946, 1955), from ''Commodore Hornblower'' and ''Lord Hornblower''.

The short stories "The Hand of Destiny", "Hornblower's Charitable Offering", and "Hornblower and His Majesty" plus other Hornblower material not previously published in book-form were collected in ''Hornblower One More Time'' (4 July 1976) though only 350 copies were printed.<ref name="Sternlicht1999">{{cite book|author=Sternlicht, Sanford V.|title=C.&nbsp;S. Forester and the Hornblower Saga|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0wfq6JUAkcIC&pg=PA174|access-date=28 November 2012|date=1 October 1999|publisher=Syracuse University Press|isbn=978-0-8156-0621-5}}</ref>

As of June 2017 [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]] offers an electronic ([[Kindle File Format|Kindle]]) omnibus, ''Hornblower Addendum'', consisting of the stories: "Hornblower and the Hand of Destiny", "Hornblower and the Widow McCool", "Hornblower's Charitable Offering", "Hornblower and His Majesty", and "The Last Encounter", although two of these are also included in the book ''Hornblower During the Crisis''.

=== Serialisation ===
The Hornblower novels were all serialised in US periodicals and most also in UK periodicals. Except for the first novel ''Beat to Quarters'', the serialisations appeared before the books.

{|class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! US title
! Story dates
! US serial dates<ref name="Contento">{{cite web |url = http://www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/f74.htm#A2526 |title = The FictionMags Index |author = Contento, William G. |access-date = 28 November 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130128223055/http://www.philsp.com/homeville/fmi/f74.htm#A2526 |archive-date = 28 January 2013 |url-status = dead }}</ref>
! scope="col" class="unsortable" width="30px" | US Parts
! US magazine
! scope="col" class="unsortable" |
! UK serial dates<ref name="Contento"/>
! scope="col" class="unsortable" width="30px" | UK Parts
! UK magazine
|-
| ''Beat to Quarters''
| align="center" | {{dts|format=m|1808|6}}&nbsp;– December 1808
| align="center" | {{dts|format=dmy|1938-09-17}}&nbsp;– 22 October 1938
| align="right" | 6
| ''[[Argosy (magazine)|Argosy]]'' (US)
|
| align="center" | {{dts|format=dmy|1949|5}}
| align="right" | 1
| ''[[Argosy (UK magazine)|Argosy]]'' (UK)
|-
| ''Ship of the Line''
| align="center" | {{dts|format=m|1810|4}}&nbsp;– November 1810
| align="center" | {{dts|format=dm|1938|2|26}}&nbsp;– 2 April 1938
| align="right" | 6
| ''Argosy'' (US)
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''Flying Colours''
| align="center" | {{dts|format=dmy|1810|12}}&nbsp;– June 1811
| align="center" | {{dts|format=dmy|1938|12|3}}&nbsp;– 7 January 1939
| align="right" | 6
| ''Argosy'' (US)
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''Commodore Hornblower''
| align="center" | {{dts|format=m|1812-04}}&nbsp;– December 1812
| align="center" | {{dts|format=dm|1945-03-24}}&nbsp;– 12 May 1945
| align="right" | 8
| {{sort|Saturday Evening Post|''[[The Saturday Evening Post]]''}}
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''Lord Hornblower''
| align="center" | {{dts|format=dmy|1813|10}}&nbsp;– {{dts|format=dmy|1815|6}}
| align="center" | {{dts|format=dm|1946-05-18}}&nbsp;– 6 July 1946
| align="right" | 8
| ''The Saturday Evening Post''
|
|
|
|
|-
| ''Mr. Midshipman Hornblower''
| align="center" | {{dts|format=dmy|1794|1}}&nbsp;– February 1799
| align="center" | {{dts|format=dmy|1948|3|6}}&nbsp;– 11 March 1950
| align="right" | 9
| ''The Saturday Evening Post''
|
| align="center" | {{dts|format=dmy|1948|8}}&nbsp;– June 1950
| align="right" | 10
| ''Argosy'' (UK)
|-
| ''Lieutenant Hornblower''
| align="center" | {{dts|format=dmy|1800|8}}&nbsp;– March 1803
| align="center" | {{dts|format=dm|1951-09-15}}&nbsp;– 17 November 1951
| align="right" | 9
| ''The Saturday Evening Post''
|
| align="center" | {{dts|format=dmy|1951|10|6}}&nbsp;– 12 January 1952
| align="right" | 10
| ''[[John Bull (magazine)|John Bull]]''
|-
| ''Hornblower and the Atropos''
| align="center" | {{dts|format=dmy|1805|12}}&nbsp;– September 1806
| align="center" | {{dts|format=dm|1953|7|25}}&nbsp;– 12 September 1953
| align="right" | 8
| ''The Saturday Evening Post''
|
| align="center" | {{dts|format=dm|1953|10|3}}&nbsp;– 28 November 1953
| align="right" | 9
| ''John Bull''
|-
| ''Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies''
| align="center" | {{dts|format=dmy|1821|5}}&nbsp;– July 1823
| align="center" | {{dts|format=dmy|1957|5|11}}&nbsp;– 26 April 1958
| align="right" | 10
| ''The Saturday Evening Post''
|
| align="center" | {{dts|format=dmy|1957|5|25}}&nbsp;– 13 September 1958
| align="right" | 13
| ''John Bull''
|-
| ''Hornblower and the Hotspur''
| align="center" | {{dts|format=dmy|1803|4}}&nbsp;– May 1805
| align="center" | {{dts|format=dmy|1962|10}}
| align="right" | 1
| ''Argosy'' (US)
|
| align="center" | {{dts|format=dm|1962|2|24}}&nbsp;– 7 April 1962
| align="right" | 7
| ''[[John Bull (magazine)#End of publication|Today]]''
|-
| ''Hornblower During the Crisis''
| align="center" | {{dts|format=m|1805|5}}&nbsp;– June 1805
| align="center" | {{dts|format=d|1966|7|16}}–30 July 1966
| align="right" | 2
| ''The Saturday Evening Post''
|
|
|
|
|}