Spunyarn

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.

ISBN 0141191600   Pages 400 ISBN13 9780141191607 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 293 Publisher Penguin Books Ltd   Published in London Imprint Penguin Classics   Height (mm) 198 Format Paperback   Width (mm) 129 Publication date 03 Mar 2011   Spine width (mm) 23 DEWEY 828.912   Academic level General DEWEY edition DC23

I bought this book hoping to find some old Masefield favourites on the sea. I got these, of course, but the book itself is a revelation. Stop reading this review and buy a copy its fantastic! The volume is made up of four parts: poetry, short stories, other prose and (short) extracts from novels. The poetry speaks for itself: here are all the favourites from the Poet Laureate (Sea Fever, Cargoes, etc., etc.) together with amazing rarities. Then there are the short stories. I, for one, didnt know there were any short stories by John Masefield. But here they are! All with the detailed observation and the beautiful descriptions of a poet. Yet, thats not to suggest they're all dewy-eyed miniatures on the sea; they're funny, violent, and poignant too. The other prose includes a long autobiographical story by Masefield about his first voyage. This alone is worth the cost of the book. This is, apparently, hitherto unpublished. Why? Where has this been sitting for over 100 years? The editor notes his source as private collection and shame on whoever has kept this gem squirreled away! There are other bits included in other prose too: Masefields book reviews of Conrad, sketches of other great sea writers (Marryat and Melville, etc.) and an article on sea shanties (which Masefield insists on calling chanties for some reason). Finally there are some short extracts from novels and, just to put a cherry on the icing on the cake, there's even a bit from The Box of Delights! Penguin Classics have done John Masefield proud. There's an introduction and full notes by the editor, Philip W. Errington. He certainly seems to know his stuff and the notes explain all sorts of weird and wonderful nautical allusions. I recently bought a book about naval sayings. I shouldnt have bothered I learned more from this book! So, as a collection of Sea Poetry and Prose how do I rate it? This book deserves to be read by anyone who's ever felt the call of the running tide. But it also should be read by anyone with any interest in English Literature or anyone who simply enjoys a good read. I had to learn some Masefield at school and had assumed that was probably all there was to him. How wrong was I? This is a fantastic book and given the full Penguin Classics treatment. Just buy it now! - Sam Hurst



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