The final Horatio Hornblower story tells of Napoleon's plans to invade England ...Set in 1805, "Hornblower and the Crisis" finds Horatio Hornblower in possession of confidential dispatches from Bonaparte after a vicious hand-to-hand encounter with a French brig.

The admiralty rewards Hornblower by sending him on a dangerous espionage mission that will light the powder trail leading to the battle of Trafalgar. "Hornblower and the Crisis" was unfinished at the time of Forester's death, but the author left notes - included here - telling us how the tale would end.

Also included are two further stories - "Hornblower and the Widow McCool" and "The Last Encounter" - that tell of Hornblower as a very young and very old man, respectively.

This is the final book chronicling the adventures of C.

S. Forester's inimitable nautical hero, Horatio Hornblower.