C. S. Forester was a person who wrote novels.
A Ship of the Line is an historical seafaring novel by C. S. Forester . Cecil Louis Troughton Smith ( 27 August 1899 -- 2 April 1966 ) , known by his pen name Cecil Scott `` C. S. '' Forester , was an English novelist known for writing tales of naval warfare such as the 12-book Horatio Hornblower series , depicting a Royal Navy officer during the Napoleonic wars . His other works include The African Queen ( 1935 ; filmed in 1951 by John Huston ) .