Published in 1891, more than fifty years after the death of its author, this book would have been the first of its kind, had it been available during Choyce's lifetime. The author—whose seafaring experience encompassed stints as a whaler, a prisoner, and a pirate—lived through more adventure than readers can find in novels. This volume also includes a short sea narrative "O'Brien's Captivity in France" by Commander V. Lovett Cameron of the Royal Navy.