Review: Mr. Midshipman Hornblower by C. S. Forester

Hardcover, 310 pages
Published 1950 (contents: 1948-50)
Previously read July 2006
Acquired October 2008
Reread February 2019

Mr. Midshipman Hornblower by C. S. Forester

1794-99
Jumping backward and writing a prequel saved the Hornblower series, I reckon. It's not just that Forester was almost out of plausible career to cover; it's that showing Hornblower at the beginning of his career plays to the strengths of the series premise in a way that Commodore and Lord Hornblower did not. Hornblower works best as an underdog. A midshipman in the British Navy is about as underdog as it gets, no one is rooting for Hornblower, seemingly not even Hornblower. It also returns the focus to individual ships, which is much more interesting to read about than fleet actions or political machinations. Mr. Midshipman even manages to turn some previous weaknesses of the series into virtues: some previous books (such as Ship of the Line and Lord Hornblower) were frustratingly episodic; Mr. Midshipman is a collection of short stories, not a novel, so it ought to be episodic!

Like any collection of short stories, there are good ones and less good ones. Favorites of mine included "Hornblower and the Even Chance" (where Hornblower realizes he's so bad at duelling he's better off just flipping a coin), "Hornblower and the Cargo of Rice" (where Hornblower's first command ends dismally), "Hornblower and the Penalty of Failure" (where we see what a man of honor he is), "Hornblower and the Examination for Lieutenant" (where we discover how awful the Royal Navy promotion system is, with hilarious consequences), and the longest one, "Hornblower, the Duchess, and the Devil" (where Hornblower manages to sail into the middle of an enemy fleet and not know it thanks to the fog, but also proves his honor to its utmost). Like any good prequel, it's neat to see the seeds sown of what we've already read. I didn't bother to keep track if every old Indefatigable shipmate from the previous five books actually turned up on the Inde, but I did enjoy seeing the infamous seasickness incident, as well as Hornblower's captivity by the Spanish (cited in Beat to Quarters to explain why he knew the language).

This was a reread for me, and a highly enjoyable one. In retrospect, I think it's an odd place to begin the series (it worked for me the first time around, but I suspect that's because I'd already watched the tv show), but as a palate cleanser after an underwhelming shift in direction, it hits the spot.