As anyone who even occasionally reads this blog will know, I almost invariably prefer books to any film- or television- adaptations of them. But as is so often the case, there are some exceptions which prove the rule. One of these is C.S. Forester's novel Mr. Midshipman Hornblower. This is the first (chronologically, not the first one written) of his Hornblower series, published in 1950. Mr. Midshipman Hornblower tells the tale of Horatio Hornblower's early years in the British navy, when he was a young inexperienced midshipman. It's episodic; each chapter is essentially a short story relating an incident in Horatio's newly begun naval career. It is the stories in this book which are used as a basis for the first Horatio Hornblower miniseries, released in 1998 and starring Ioan Gruffudd as the titular character. Generally I read a book before I watch any adaptations of it, but in this case I was actually inspired to read Mr. Midshipman Hornblower after viewing the miniseries for the first time. And I really enjoyed it. But I do think that, concerning one chapter in particular, I preferred the changes they made for the miniseries to the actual source material. In both the book and the movie, Horatio challenges the cruel bully Mr. Simpson to a duel. It is here that liberties are taken with the plotline. In the novel, the rules of the duel are that only one of the two duelling pistols will be loaded and neither opponent knows which when they fire at each other at point blank range. Unbeknownst to either of them however, their captain has ordered the man loading the pistols to leave both of the weapons unloaded so that when Horatio and Simpson shoot, neither is hit and they assume that the (un)loaded gun just misfired, the end. It's much more dramatic and satisfying in the miniseries though, with both of the pistols loaded and both Horatio and Simpson getting a shot off, though not precisely when they were supposed to due to some last minute treachery from Simpson. So to sum up, I really do think that the duel scene was better written for the miniseries than it was in the novel- genuinely a rarity for me.
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About MeI'm a lover of good books, classic movies, and well-written shows (as well as some pretty cheesy ones, to be completely honest). Categories
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