Patrick O'Brian emerged, in the opinion of many, as the greatest historical novelist writing in English. He is best known for the astonishing 'roman fleuve' of the Aubrey/Maturin tales, but it is often forgotten that he first made his reputation as a writer of short stories. Collected here is a definitive selection of all the stories O'Brian wished to preserve. They exhibit an effortless variety of mood and tone: some stories are enchantingly funny, others exciting, terrifying or passionate. And as O'Brian's admirers know, his prose is always fresh and meticulous, his sympathy with frivolity, passion and suffering, unfailing.