Publisher: www.nmm.ac.uk/publishing £7.99
Publication Date: 2007
The National Maritime Museum chose to bring together this collection of new stories to celebrate the 70th anniversary of its opening. It was a happy thought as this most prestigious institution has given us a cornucopia of 16 tales which are guaranteed to keep the reader intrigued to the last word. Every one of the authors is well-established and widely acclaimed. They are all inspired by the sea and take us on a series of voyages from John Franklin’s ill-fated expedition to find the North-West passage, to a 1970s cruise ship full of teenagers and to the depths of the sea in a bathysphere no bigger than a fridge freezer. One is inspired by the pocket watch of a Titanic victim and others relate tragic and intensely personal losses at sea. They range from the wild coastal landscapes of Orkney and the west of Ireland to the Mediterranean. One character was so fascinated by the idea of going to sea that he picked up the brass dividers, went straight from his navigation class, bought an unseaworthy boat and sailed off over the horizon until he eventually reached Heraklion. He had, fortunately, persuaded his instructor to accompany him and learned in those weeks more about life and the sea than any books could ever teach him. All these stories challenge our perceptions of the sea and each of them is well worth re-visiting. It is therefore an ideal bunkside book to dip into when time allows. - Patricia Cooper