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Flying Colours cover art

Flying Colours

By: C. S. Forester
Narrated by: Christian Rodska
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Summary

Exclusively from Audible

In the eighth instalment of C.S Forester's naval series, Horatio Hornblower finds himself down on his luck. Having been forced to surrender his ship to the French, following a long and bloody battle, he is imprisoned by his enemies and threatened with the prospect of being tried by French courts and executed if found guilty.

Knowing that he will also likely come up against a court martial in England for having lost command and possession of The Sutherland, Horatio's future is bleak and uncertain.

As his wife, Maria, struggles to deliver a healthy baby and the thought of his mistress, Lady Barbara, taunts him in his jail cell, Hornblower realises that he must do whatever it takes to prevent the impending doom heading his way and ensure that neither lady is left to fend for herself.

Hugely celebrated for his Napoleonic warfare series, and later for the publication of The African Queen, C. S. Forester came to writing much later than expected. Having originally studied medicine at Guy's Hospital, Forester first developed a love of story-telling after being inspired by his travels with the Royal Navy.

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 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.

Please note: this is a vintage recording. The audio quality may not be up to modern day standards.

©1938 C.S. Forester (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about Flying Colours

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a great listen

great book and performance great, probably the one I've enjoyed most out the series. it had skipping noises during last chapter though, which put me off a bit.

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The most gripping of the series so far

I started listening to this audio book having just finished Ship of the Line but intended to keep it until I was back to driving to work each day. The storyline and performance was so good though that I couldn’t stop listening. I finished it a couple of days later and I’m so glad I did. This is actually the most dramatic of the Hornblower books so far.

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listened to it in a day!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would certainly recommend the entire series to a friend as it it brilliantly done and a wonderful character study of a naval officer.

What did you like best about this story?

Horn blower himself, as a character. His continual nagging doubts and second guessing of his own motives.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

I enjoyed very much his escape from captivity and subsequent time in France.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The reluctant hero

Any additional comments?

Hugely enjoyed the whole series and sad that this is the penultimate book.

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4 people found this helpful

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I mean it's good

it's just not my favourite Hornblower book. Not enough battles and too much stuff about his awkward wat wirg women

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3 people found this helpful

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Flying Colours

I first read Flying Colours at the age of 19 with my eyes, in the intervening 61 years I have read every Hornblower book countless times. Recently I have been reading with my ears so to speak. I strongly recommend it. I adore CS Forester and all his works and I commend him to you

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A thoroughly enjoyable read

One of my favourites of the Hornblower books - good to have Hornblower on the receiving end of some good fortune for a change. Good too that this series is well read. Too many audio books are spoilt by their readers: improbable accents and rushed delivery are the most common offences, but Christian Rodska has delivered an excellently paced read once again.

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One of the best I have read ..!!

Great narration and a wonderful presentation, it would make a great movie..or a television series

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Thoroughly good book.

Great book. Listened to it in a few days it was so gripping! Definitely a recommended download!

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2 people found this helpful

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First rate

This is a first rate story, very well written and very well read. Try it if you have not read any C S Forester before or better still, start with the first of his Hornblower stories.

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Boring

Found this one pretty boring compared to others in the Hornblower series. Narration good as always.

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