The Happy Return

By: C. S. Forester

Narrated by: Christian Rodska

Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

Exclusively from Audible

The year is 1808 and somewhere off the coast of Nicaragua, C.S. Forester's hero returns, ready to embark on his next swashbuckling adventure.

The fifth instalment in the series, The Happy Return follows Captain Horatio Hornblower as he commands the thirty-six-gun frigate, HMS Lydia. Sent out on a mission to weaken the colonial Spanish government, Horatio must form an alliance with a narcissistic revolutionary leader with delusions of grandeur, who goes by the name of 'El Supremo'.

Simultaneously faced with an advancing Spanish fleet and their far superior fifty-gun ship, Natividad, Horatio must find a way to 'take, sink, burn or destroy' his enemies or fail and be made to face the British courts. Adding insult to injury, Horatio is furthermore challenged by the arrival of a singularly attractive passenger, the influential Lady Barbara Wellesley. Vulnerable, alone and seeking passage to England, Horatio cannot refuse the lady, but as a happily married man, he finds himself tortured by Barbara's tempting nature and astounding beauty.

An English novelist, C.S. Forester was highly praised by his contemporaries for his Napoleonic naval warfare series, and later for the publication of The African Queen.

Despite his natural ability and endless imagination, Forester came to writing much later than expected. Having originally studied medicine at Guy's Hospital, it was only after his travels with the Royal Navy that he was artistically inspired, developing in particular, a fervent love of story-telling. Sadly stricken with arteriosclerosis whilst voyaging to the Bering Sea, C.S. Forester was crippled in his later life, but his imagination and his skill with a pen survived for years to come.

Narrator Biography

Christian Rodska is an English television and voice actor best known for his role in the 1970s series Follyfoot.

From The Monuments Men and The Eagle of the Ninth to The Likely Lads, Z Cars, The Tomorrow People, Coronation Street, Bergerac and Casualty, his extensive and diverse acting career has led him to become a highly solicited radio and audiobook narrator.

He has now voiced over 150 unabridged audiobooks including Winston Churchill's biographies, Evelyn Waugh's Men at Arms and Sebastian Faulks' A Possible Life. He has been praised for his ability to vary in vocal pace and style and as such, Christian boasts 12 Earphone Awards from Audiofile Magazine.

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The Best Hornblower Book

I could do without the last chapter or two which deals with romance instead of action, but the rest is pure gold. It is no wonder this one, the first written launched such a large number of sequels.

Different than the preceding books.

It is fairly obvious that this book was written long before the preceding books. In the other books Horacio’s character steadily develops from midshipman to captain but then regresses in this book and suddenly has new habits (such as the annoying “uh humming” and hesitation and self doubt during action). I found myself missing the Hornblower from the preceding books. But, as always, Christian Rodska’s performance could not be improved upon. A really wonderful performance.

You can almost smell the sea air

Going though this series in chronological order The Happy Return is my favorite so far. Excellent sea battles and an interesting romantic turn for Captain Hornblower, his loveless marriage notwithstanding. I wasn’t surprised to learn that this was the first story published as the interactions with his “new” officer Mr Bush ignores the relationship built between the two when they met as lieutenants nearly a decade before. A couple continuity errors are barely nitpicks when it comes to this story however, very well done and well performed.

Slow start, great by the end

Still working through the series, but I really enjoyed this one. I was iffy on the plot of El Supremo, but it really gets good, and there is a top notch naval battle. On to Ship of the Line....

The Happy Return

Christian Rodska did a wonderful job narrating the story. Hornblower sails to central America and a secret mission. Forester description of the land and people brought a picture to my mind as if I was watching a movie. Forester's battle scenes are almost as good as Patrick O'Brian. It is hard enought to fight another ship without having to worry about the wind in the sails and directions you can sail. This was the first book in the series and I am looking forward to reading more in this series. I understand Forester has written many book such as African Queen that became movies. I shall see what Audible has of Forester's books.

Enjoyed it even more than the first time!

What did you love best about The Happy Return?

I haven't read any Hornblowers since the 1970s, but I like naval adventures in general and remembered liking them very much, so I wanted to read them again. I chose this one because it was the first written. I know most people prefer to read series in chronological order, but I always find a series more accessible in the order written.
The Happy Return did not disappoint me. I enjoyed it tremendously. The performance was all right - my only real beef with it is some very bizarre and distracting mispronunciations.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I always appreciate a book like this one, since I get more exercise and housework done when I'm motivated to continue listening. I wouldn't want to listen to it all in one sitting - too long - but it was absolutely a pleasure.

Favorite Royal Navy stories

Found an original first edition set of these that had belonged to my grandfather while home from college in 1974. Started reading, been hooked ever since.

The story seemed rushed

Hornblowers events seemed to be hurried. More time could have been taken with each episode he went through. That being said, the narration was very good.....the story ended too soon.

Hornblower and Rodska

The great Hornblower read by the great Rodska. Awesome book and it’s worth every penny.

my thoughts

loved it! One of the most romantic novels I have ever heard. Such a great explanation of human love.