Left: The African Queen, by C.S. Forester (Bantam, 1949); cover illustration by Ken Riley. Right: The African Queen, by C.S. Forester (Bantam, 1960); cover art by James Avati.
Cairo, Egypt-born British author Cecil Louis Troughton Smith (1899-1966) is best remembered by his nom de plume, Cecil Scott “C.S.” Forester. He penned the 12-volume Horatio Hornblower series, set onboard naval ships during Europe’s Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815), in addition to non-fiction books and more than 20 standalone novels. The African Queen, which takes place in German East Africa during World War I, was originally published in 1935. In 1951, it was adapted—with a variety of changes—into a big-screen film starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn. Subsequently, two different pilots were shot in hopes of bringing this story to television: one that showed in 1962 as an episode of NBC’s Dick Powell Theatre, starring James Coburn and Glynis Johns; and another, on CBS in 1977, featuring Warren Oates and Mariette Hartley. Neither spawned a weekly contribution to the boob-tube schedule.
1 comment:
Love these, but they don't match the novel.
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