Into the wilds of Natal in the 1870s are born Sean and Garrick Courtney, twin brothers who could not be more different. Fate, war and the jealous schemes of a woman are to drive them even further apart. But as history unfolds, a continent is awakening. And on the horizon is promise.

This work gives a compelling account of the officer who waged the intelligence battle against Napoleon's army, a forerunner to the great code-breakers of the 20th century. George Scovell used Spanish guerillas to capture coded French messages, and then set to work decrypting them.

The fourteenth novel in the classic Aubrey-Maturin series finds Aubrey and Maturin shipwrecked, harassed by pirates and then in the brutal penal colonies of New South Wales.

Known by many as, When I Am An Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple, this poem with its declaration of defiance against convention was voted Britain's best-loved poem by viewers of BBC TV's Bookworm. Now in a uniform gift edition, beautifully illustrated, it is a book for all ages, especially for anyone in the ever increasing 'grey power' range.

Any reader of O'Brian's novels will know how important food is to his characters. This book contains recipes for such 18th century dishes as Lobscouse, Skilly Galee, Burgoo and Boiled Baby. Each recipe has been carefully researched using cookery books from the period.

The fifteenth Aubrey-Maturin novel in which Jack finds himself re-united with the Surprise, but dangerously out of touch with his crew