The Happy Return

The Happy Return
First edition cover
AuthorC. S. Forester
LanguageEnglish
SeriesHoratio Hornblower
GenreHistorical novel
PublisherMichael Joseph, London
Publication date
4 February 1937[1]
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typeHardcover & paperback
Pages287 pp
OCLC752876668
LC ClassPZ3.F75956 Hap PR6011.O56
Preceded byHornblower and the Atropos (1953) 
Followed byA Ship of the Line
(1938) 

The Happy Return (Beat to Quarters in the US) is the first of the Horatio Hornblower novels by C. S. Forester. It was published in 1937. The American title is derived from the expression "beat to quarters", which was the signal to prepare for combat. This book is sixth by internal chronology of the series (including the unfinished Hornblower and the Crisis). Hornblower's past history as described here does not entirely accord with his history as revealed in the stories written later, but Forester never revised the book.

It is one of three Hornblower novels adapted for the British-American film Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N., released in 1951.

  1. ^ The Observer, 27 January 1937, "This Week's Diary", London, p 6