Ronald Pickup

John Masefield (1878-1967) was one of the most prolific, popular and successful poets of the twentieth century. Masefield broke upon Edwardian literature with the startling work titled The Everlasting Mercy, which described the spiritual enlightenment of a drunken poacher. Over the span of his lifetime, he was appointed Poet Laureate and amassed a large number of admirers, which included such high-profile names as John Betjeman, Robert Graves and W.B. Yeats.

This collection contains thirty-six poems and spans Masefield's entire career. There are early poems from Salt-Water Ballads (1902) and Ballads (1903), followed by extracts from the narrative poems The Everlasting Mercy, Dauber and Reynard the Fox. The selection also includes a number of sonnets including 'On Growing Old', as well as his poetry on the Romans, alongside a number of rarities.

Emma Rouault leaves her father to marry Charles Bovary and live among the bourgeoisie of Yonville. She fills her head with notions of gallantry and high romance, which she finds in a tempestuous love affair with the local squire.

A companion to O'Brian's sea novels, this concise, historical overview offers a straightforward explanation of what daily life was like in Admiral Horatio Nelson's navy. Including wonderful anecdotal material on the battles and commanders that established Britain's naval supremacy, the meticulously researched text provides an unparalleled insight into life during wartime in the Napoleonic era, and offers an evocative companion to the world of Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin.