An anthology of seafaring stories, about the age of tall ships and canon fire, when the seamanship and derring-do of British sailors was shown time and again aboard the great ships that sailed for trade, discovery or warfare. Included are tales of storms and shipwrecks, the great sea battles of the Napoleonic era and the sheer, dangerous excitement of life before the mast. Writers of this anthology include Patrick O'Brian, Kenneth Bulmer, Richard Butler, C.S. Forester, Showell Styles, Herman Melville, Cutcliffe Hyne and Harriet Hudson.