Spunyarn: Sea Poetry and Prose (Penguin Classics)

John Masefield was sent to join a training ship at a young age, his aunt hoping the experience would cure him of his addiction to books. Instead, Masefield was to become one of the greatest writers on life at sea. In this collection of short stories, extracts from novels, poetry (including 'Sea-Fever' and 'Cargoes') and autobiography, he writes of the hardship, romance and adventure of seafaring with a sailor's way with language and sense of a good yarn: of life in dock and on the swelling seas, of salt spray, mutiny, great storms, the spirits beneath the waves, and the devil and Davy Jones playing dice for souls.