Mystery - Sleepy Radio · Various Authors

Horatio Hornblower - Chasing The Blanche Fluer

April 12, 2026·28 min·2 clips

Horatio Hornblower commands his crew to fire a broadside as they pursue the elusive French privateer Blanche Fleur.

1. This episode is a BBC radio drama production of C.S. Forrester's Horatio Hornblower series, presented by Michael Redgrave as the narrator and title character. 2. Michael Redgrave voices Commodore Hornblower; Captain Bush is his second-in-command aboard the flagship Nansuch; Captain Duncan commands the bomb ketch Moth; and Surgeon Carlos and Coxswain Brown are recurring supporting roles. 3. The episode's central tension is Hornblower's pursuit of the French privateer Blanche Fleur — a flush-decked 20-gun corvette raiding British merchant traffic in the Baltic — and the two deceptions he must see through to find her. 4. The squadron intercepts the Maggie, a British merchantman flying the yellow plague flag, which any responsible naval officer would leave alone — exactly what the French prize crew aboard is counting on. 5. Hornblower's suspicion is triggered by the captain's over-professional manner and the fact that the 'groaning' of patients sounded more like a chorus than individual sick men. 6. The crew of the Nansuch refuses to board a ship with the plague flag, with one sailor saying 'I ain't boarding no plague ship, not for the king himself' and another arguing the 'flux is worse than the yardarm any day.' 7. Bush threatens the men with court-martial and hanging for mutiny; then Hornblower announces he is going aboard himself, which shames the men into following. 8. The deception is confirmed immediately on boarding: the English-speaking 'Captain Clark' says they surrender, identifying himself as part of the Blanche Fleur's prize crew, while the real British merchant crew is heard shouting from the fo'c'sle where they have been locked up. 9. Clark shoots himself rather than be taken prisoner, and is found with the pistol still smoking in his hand, dying but not yet dead. 10. Captain Ellsby, the real captain of the Maggie, demands Hornblower convene an instant court-martial to hang Clark for high treason before he dies, citing the example it would set for the men and the weight of scores of witnesses. 11. Hornblower refuses on two grounds: Clark cannot mount a fair defense in his condition, and hanging a dying man is no example worth setting; he says 'if I can't hold men's loyalty without that sort of thing, I'm not fit to command.' 12. Clark dies murmuring 'Long live Bonaparte,' and Hornblower's narration observes that Ellsby never learned 'that mere revenge is always stale and unprofitable.' 13. The Blanche Fleur is found sheltering in neutral Swedish waters off Rugen Island, using the two-fathom shoal to trap merchantmen between the shoal and the shore, knowing British ships dare not violate Swedish neutrality. 14. Hornblower decides to use the bomb ketch Moth, commanded by the young Captain Duncan, to bombard the Blanche Fleur from a position that technically remains outside the neutral channel. 15. Captain Duncan has cut the mortar fuses carefully for the weather conditions, adjusting for burning speed with humidity, and the second shot achieves a direct hit on the Blanche Fleur's bow, causing her crew to abandon ship. 16. After a brief bombardment, the Blanche Fleur is left a 'smoking, helpless wreck'; Hornblower reflects at the celebration dinner that the victory feels hollow because the target had no chance to fire back effectively. 17. Hornblower gives the toast and the credit to Captain Duncan rather than taking it himself, and tells Duncan that officers should never deflect commendation when it is due. 18. The production features orchestral music composed and conducted by Sydney Torch, full sound effects of cannon fire, wind, and shipboard action, and a cast that delivers the heightened but restrained BBC period drama style. 19. The episode is suited to listeners who enjoy classic British radio drama, naval adventure fiction, or period historical audio storytelling. 20. Listeners expecting a contemporary podcast format, dialogue-driven storytelling, or modern narrative pacing will find the 1940s-50s BBC radio drama style slow and theatrical.

As heard by us

Fog, false flags, and a traitor's lie keep the chase taut.

The episode follows Horatio Hornblower as he goes after the French corvette Blanche Fleur in the Baltic, and it opens in mist with sail reports and shouted orders pulling the chase into motion.

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Why you'd press play

You want a Baltic chase where fog hides a traitor and every order matters.

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