Hornblower and the Hotspur by C.S. Forester

April 1803. The Peace of Amiens is breaking down. Napoleon is building ships and amassing an army just across the Channel. Horatio Hornblower -- who, at age twenty-seven, has already distinguished himself as one of the most daring and resourceful officers in the Royal Navy -- commands the three-masted Hotspur on a dangerous reconnaissance mission that evolves, as war breaks out, into a series of spectacular confrontations. All the while, the introspective young commander struggles to understand his new bride and mother-in-law, his officers and crew, and his own "accursed and unhappy temperament" -- matters that trouble him more, perhaps, than any of Bonaparte's cannonballs. - Back cover.

This story begins with Hornblower marrying Maria (a bad move) and ends with him gaining promotion from commander to captain (a good move). In the middle, he has a lot of arduous duty patrolling the western coast of France in all weathers, so he sees almost nothing of his new wife.

I tend to sympathize with the protagonist of a story. When he's happy, I'm happy. When he's unhappy or uncomfortable, so am I. In this story, he does his duty well and gets some credit for it, but he's often cold and wet and stressed, trying to write letters to a wife he never really wanted, and struggling with his own internal conflicts. He remains underpaid, badly clothed, and never gets any prize money.

Partway through, he gains an excellent personal servant named Doughty, but then loses him again. Having read all these stories repeatedly, I'd forgotten that Doughty remains with him for only part of one book. It's a shame; he deserved to have his services for longer.