Hornblower and the Hotspur

This story begins with Hornblower marrying Maria (a bad move) and ends with him gaining promotion from commander to captain (a good move). In the middle, he has a lot of arduous duty patrolling the western coast of France in all weathers, so he sees almost nothing of his new wife.

I tend to sympathize with the protagonist of a story. When he's happy, I'm happy. When he's unhappy or uncomfortable, so am I. In this story, he does his duty well and gets some credit for it, but he's often cold and wet and stressed, trying to write letters to a wife he never really wanted, and struggling with his own internal conflicts. He remains underpaid, badly clothed, and never gets any prize money.

Partway through, he gains an excellent personal servant named Doughty, but then loses him again. Having read all these stories repeatedly, I'd forgotten that Doughty remains with him for only part of one book. It's a shame; he deserved to have his services for longer.