Before there was Patrick O'Brian, there was C. S. Forester, " said the Wall Street Journal in a recent review that described the eleven-volume series of Horatio Hornblower novels as "spellbinding." This epic saga of turmoil and triumph on the high seas, which recounts the exploits of one of the most daring and resourceful officers in the Royal Navy as he wrestles with his own "accursed unhappy temperament" and as he sails valiantly into battle after battle against Napoleon's forces, has delighted millions of readers since the series debuted in 1938.