Horatio Hornblower series by C. S. Forester

Set primarily during the Napoleonic Wars, C. S. Forester's Hornblower books chronicle the adventures of a British naval officer as he battles the enemy, struggles with life and rises through the ranks.

While newer competitors, particularly Patrick O'Brien's Aubrey and Maturin, have reduced Horatio Hornblower's dominance of the naval genre, he remains the favourite of many.

The novels, in the order in which they were written:

1. The Happy Return (1937, called Beat to Quarters in the U.S.)
2. A Ship of the Line (1938, called simply Ship of the Line in the U.S.)
3. Flying Colours (1938, spelled Flying Colors in some U.S. editions)
4. The Commodore (1945, called Commodore Hornblower in the U.S.)
5. Lord Hornblower (1946)
6. Mr. Midshipman Hornblower (1950)
7. Lieutenant Hornblower (1952)
8. Hornblower and the Atropos (1953)
9. Hornblower in the West Indies (1958, Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies in some U.S. editions)
10. Hornblower and the Hotspur (1962)
11. Hornblower and the Crisis (1967, unfinished novel and short stories, Hornblower During the Crisis in some U.S. editions)