Books: Hornblower's Exit

LORD HORNBLOWER (322 pp.)—C. S. Forester—Liftie, Brown ($2.50).

H.M.S. Flame, 18-gun brig, lies hove to near the French coast. "Insolent rascals, mutinous dogs," splutters the First Lord of the Admiralty, nursing his gout in Whitehall. Flame's crew have just sent word to London that they are tired of floggings and bad food. Unless their demands are met, they will desert to Napoleon.

The First Lord knows whom to summon in such a scandalous and unBritish emergency. "You're ready for active service now, Hornblower?" "Yes, my Lord," replies gallant Commodore Sir Horatio Hornblower, K.B.

For almost...