false orders to Villeneuve without arousing suspicion, prompting him to take his fleet to sea; this ultimately leads the destruction of the Franco–Spanish fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar. This book also includes two short-stories, "Hornblower and the Widow McCool" (a.k.a. "Hornblower’s Temptation"), set early in Hornblower's career, and "The Last Encounter", set in 1848 when he is living on his country estate in old age and retirement. Continuation Forester never finished the book, which, while chronologically located in the middle of the Hornblower's series, was written last and interrupted by Forester's death. However, several other writers have written conclusions, notable efforts being the fanfiction of Adrian Taylor, published in the form of several short stories in several issues of Reflections, the newsletter of the C. S. Forester Society (from issue 5 in 2003 to issue 10 in 2005); a book by Bob Smith, published in 2010 as C S Forester's Hornblower & the Crisis. A novel finished by R W Smith; and another book, The Jamaican Affair by John Mahon, published in 2012. Out of those, Mahon's book has been authorized by the Forester's estate. References External links 1967 British novels Hornblower books Novels published posthumously Prequel novels Unfinished novels Fiction set in 1805 Michael Joseph books