In spite of his successes Hornblower makes no financial profit from his activities. That same day Maria gives birth to little Hornblower, as Hornblower discovers when the damaged Hotspur returns to Plymouth for repairs. He defeats a French attempt to break the blockade to send troops to Ireland, the action ending on the morning of 1 January 1804. Once the British fleet blockades Brest, Hornblower's restlessness and perfectionism prompts him to lead attacks and landing parties. Hotspur reconnoiters the approaches to the French naval base of Brest, and narrowly avoids capture when, unbeknownst to Hornblower, war is declared. His new commander, Admiral William Cornwallis, permits him a brief honeymoon before ordering him to set sail on a delicate mission. He is unable to bring himself to be so cruel as to stop the ceremony despite thinking that "Maria was not the right woman to be his wife." Hornblower had, just days before, been promoted commander into HM sloop Hotspur as the fragile Peace of Amiens is breaking down and Britain is re-arming for a new war with France under Napoleon Bonaparte. On 2 April 1802 Hornblower marries Maria, the daughter of his landlady, at the " church of St Thomas à Becket" in Portsmouth. It is the third book in the series chronologically, but the tenth by order of publication, and serves as the basis for one of the episodes of the Hornblower series of television films. Hornblower and the Hotspur (published 1962) is a Horatio Hornblower novel written by C.
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