"The Hand of Destiny" has Hornblower serving on board the fictional HMS Marguerite, under the despotic Captain Courtney.
Sternlicht notes that Forester re-used the premise of Hornblower angering a senior officer whose instructions gave him the leeway to be lenient with mutineers.
In particular he is embarrassed by an "ingrained powder stain" on his left hand, dating to his leading the boarding party that captured the Castilla.
Forester's second and third novels, A Ship of the Line, and Flying Colours also refer to the sword he was awarded for his role in the capture of the Castilla.
Sternlicht notes that the eighth novel Forester wrote, HMS Atropos, set in 1805–06, contains a completely different account of the capture of the Castilla.