Mr. Midshipman Hornblower (published 1950) is a Horatio Hornblower novel written by C. S. Forester. Although it may be considered as the first episode in the Hornblower saga, it was written as a prequel; the first Hornblower novel, The Happy Return, was published in 1937.
Read more about Mr. Midshipman Hornblower: Plot Introduction, Translations, Adaptations