The Happy Return

First Published in 1937, The Happy Return is the original novel in C. S. Forester's wildly successful Hornblower series.
The Story begins in 1808 in the midst of the Napoleonic Wars. Royal Navy Captain Horation Hornblower, the commander of the 36-gun frigate HMS Lydia, is sailing across the Pacific on a secret mission for His Majesty's Government. His task is to support the local magnate Don Julian in his revolt against the hated Spanish.
On arrival, he discovers the man he was sent to help is a megalomaniac who styles himself 'El Supremo'. While he struggles to placate his new ally, Hornblower's job is made all the more difficult when he spots the 50-gun Spanish ship-of-the-line Natividad appearing on the horizon...