I found this in an Austin HP Books and thoroughly enjoyed listening to it recently. I had not particularly wanted to reread this book because I have definite mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, Hornblower has his first command, and it is good to see him with the room to act, but the poveryy and most of all the mistaken marriage to Maria makes it a hard read. But it was a pleasure to listen to, and the narration by Nocholas Coster is magnificent.
What really startled me was that I could remember specific phrases so well, and I know I haven't read the book in twenty years at least. But over and over a sentence would start and I would remember it. Specific thoughts Hornblower has I could remember very clearly - specific phrases that I could remember where they headed. I knew I remembered a lot of ADF's Star Trek Log One, but apparently this book is another that I read (and evidently reread) closely enough to remember the writing style, because i remember so much of it. Not the plot by any means - much of it surprised me since I didn't remember details of what happened. But specific sentences I knew almost by heart.
Anyway, great version of a great book. I'm already over half the way into the next book in the series, Hornblower and the Atropos, this time by download from iTunes.