Editing Horatio Hornblower (section)

=== Early career ===
Hornblower's early exploits are many and varied. He joins the Royal Navy as a [[midshipman]], where he is bullied and tries to resolve the matter by forcing a duel with his tormentor. He is then transferred to {{HMS|Indefatigable|1784|6}} under [[Edward Pellew]] and distinguishes himself. He fends off [[fire ship]]s, which interrupt his (failed) first examination for promotion to [[lieutenant]]. He is given command of the [[Sloop-of-war|sloop]] ''Le Rêve'' while still only an acting lieutenant; the vessel blunders into a Spanish fleet in the fog, resulting in Hornblower's capture and imprisonment in [[Ferrol, Spain|Ferrol]]. During his captivity, he acquires a fluent knowledge of both [[Galician language|Galician]] and [[Spanish language|Spanish]], and is finally confirmed as a commissioned lieutenant. He leads a daring rescue of Spanish crewmen from a shipwreck during a storm, which leads to his being picked up by a British warship patrolling offshore; since he had given his Spanish captors his [[Parole#Prisoners of war|parole]] that he would not escape, though, he insists upon being returned to captivity. The Spanish release him for his bravery.

As a junior lieutenant, he serves in HMS ''Renown'' under Captain Sawyer, whose bouts of [[paranoia]] on a mission to the [[Caribbean]] strain discipline to breaking point. On this voyage, he begins his long friendship with William Bush, at the time his senior in rank. Due to his exploits, Hornblower is made [[commander]], but his promotion is not confirmed when he returns to England following the [[Peace of Amiens]]. This causes him great financial distress; he has to repay the difference between a commander's pay and a lieutenant's from his meagre [[half-pay]]. He uses his skill at whist to supplement his income, playing for money with admirals and other distinguished men in an [[Gentlemen's club|officers' club]].

==== HMS ''Hotspur'' ====
In 1803, renewed hostilities against France seem imminent, and Hornblower is confirmed in the rank of commander, and appointed captain of the sloop-of-war {{HMS|Hotspur}}. Before sailing, he marries Maria, the daughter of his landlady, despite his doubts about the match. Maria dotes upon the irritable Hornblower in ways that he finds vexing; she annoys him with both her ignorance and hero-worship of him. However, he warms to her over the course of several books and becomes a good (though not perfect) husband to her and father to their two children, Horatio and Maria.

After gruelling service during the blockade of [[Brest, France|Brest]] aboard ''Hotspur'', he is promised a promotion to [[post captain]] by Commander-in-Chief [[William Cornwallis]] and is recalled to England. He meets the Secretary of the Admiralty and the rank is conferred when Hornblower agrees to take part in a dangerous mission he himself has suggested—delivering forged letters to Admiral [[Pierre-Charles Villeneuve|Villeneuve]] that lead the French fleet to sortie, leading to the British victory at [[Battle of Trafalgar|Trafalgar]].

==== HMS ''Atropos'' ====
Following this exploit, Hornblower is given command of the [[sixth-rate]] ship HMS ''Atropos''. His first task is to organise Nelson's funeral procession along the [[River Thames]] and he has to deal with the near-sinking of the barge conveying the hero's coffin.

''Atropos'' is ordered to join the British Mediterranean fleet. Hornblower is sent on a secret mission to recover gold and silver from a sunken British transport on the bottom of [[Marmorice Bay]] within the [[Ottoman Empire]] with the aid of [[pearl diver]]s from [[Ceylon]]. The operation is successful, though Hornblower has a narrow escape from a Turkish warship intent on capturing the gold.

After unloading the treasure at Gibraltar, ''Atropos'' and another British warship capture a large Spanish frigate after a desperate battle. In the friendly port of [[Palermo]], Hornblower oversees the repairs of the battle damage, but just as this work is finished, the ship is given to the [[Kingdom of the Two Sicilies|King of the Two Sicilies]] to keep him as an ally. Returning to England, Hornblower finds his two young children dying of [[smallpox]].

==== HMS ''Lydia'' ====
Later in the timeline, but written of in the first novel in order of publication, he makes a long, difficult voyage in command of the [[frigate]] HMS ''Lydia'' round the [[Cape Horn|Horn]] to the Pacific, where his mission is to support a [[Narcissistic personality disorder|megalomaniac]], El Supremo, in his rebellion against the Spanish. He captures ''Natividad'', a much more powerful Spanish ship, but reluctantly has to cede it to El Supremo to placate him. When he finds that the Spanish have switched sides in the interim, he is forced to find and sink the ship he had captured—adding injury to insult, as he had given up the [[prize money]] to maintain the uneasy alliance with the madman.

Hornblower also takes on an important passenger in Panama, Lady Barbara Wellesley, the fictional younger sister of [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Arthur Wellesley]] (later to become the [[Duke of Wellington (title)|Duke of Wellington]]). He is at first nettled and infuriated by her forthright and outspoken manner, her ability to see easily through his reserve, and the great social gap between them. Over time, however, her beauty, strength, and intelligence win his heart, and the two become dangerously attracted to each other. Before things get out of hand, Hornblower informs Lady Barbara that he is married. She leaves the ''Lydia'' two days later when they rendezvous with other British ships. Hornblower fears for his career, having offended "the daughter of an [[earl]], the sister of a [[marquess|marquis]]".