I’m not really sure who would have been good enough for her though, unless Hornblower happened to be passing by.

Addendum: If you’ve never read either the Hornblower or the Poldark novels, I recommend giving both series a try.  Hornblower commits more derring-do and mayhem than can possibly be good for a chap, but he’s never truly confident of his own skills as a leader.  Poldark is full of star-crossed lovers and simmering generational feuds.  Both authors  (C.S. Forester and Winston Graham respectively) were meticulous in researching historical details for the communities in which their characters lived.

There’s a reason both series, both as books and as TV, are cult classics.  They’re just that good.

There was a bit of discussion of Forester’s inspirations for Hornblower , which seems to have been a combination of various adventurous seafaring men, but Thomas Cochrane is one hell of a character. I suspect given Hornblower a more humble family origin is a nod to Nelson and Cook, although there’s not that much else particularly similar except the intellect.