Books in the Cambridge Library Collection - Maritime Exploration series

This volume contains two works by John Bechervaise, born in 1791. The first is a narrative of 'thirty-six years of a seafaring life', published in 1839, describing his experiences in the merchant navy and Royal Navy. The second, from 1847, contains anecdotes drawn from the lives of Bechervaise's messmates.

Before Charles Darwin's famous voyage on the Beagle, the ship and its captain Robert Fitzroy (1805-65) had participated in a challenging survey of the South American coastline. Volume 1 of this three-volume work, published in 1839, describes that 1826-30 expedition, while Volumes 2 and 3 cover the second voyage.

Full of sharp observations and well-chosen detail, this fast-moving account of Cook's first voyage was published anonymously in 1771, within months of the expedition's return. The author's intelligent interpretations of his exotic environments, and fascination with social anthropology and language, make his anonymity all the more intriguing.

The geologist Joseph Beete Jukes (1811-1869) participated in a British surveying expedition to Australia and New Guinea from 1842 to 1846. This two-volume work, published in 1847, describes his observations and experiences. Volume 1 covers the Barrier Reef, the Torres Strait and the Sunda Islands.

A Voyage Round the World, in the Gorgon Man of War (1795) records Mary Ann Parker's voyage with her husband, Captain John Parker, to New South Wales. Written following the death of her husband, the memoir offers valuable insight into women's participation in eighteenth-century colonialism, both socially and economically.

Matthew Flinders' travel diaries provide a faithful account of the 1801 naval expedition that led to the first complete map outlining the Australian continent. Structured around day-to-day geographical, botanical and astronomical observations, the first volume focuses on the discoveries made along the south coast of the continent.

James Burney (1750-1821) was an accomplished sailor best known for this monumental compilation of summaries of European voyages of discovery in the Pacific Ocean between 1492 and 1764, which were regarded as standard works for this subject during the nineteenth century. Volume 1 covers voyages between 1492 and 1574.

Anna, Lady Brassey (1839-1887) was an English travel writer best known for her accounts of ocean journeys undertaken with her family. This volume, published posthumously in 1889, contains Brassey's account of her family's visit to India, Borneo and Australia, describing exotic locations and domestic life on board.

James Stanier Clarke (c.1766-1834) was a chaplain and naval author. This volume, first published in 1803, contains Clarke's study of early navigational methods and naval history. Arranged chronologically according to civilisation or country, this volume describes the navigational methods and discoveries of early Mediterranean societies until 1498.

La Perouse (1741-88), the French explorer, led an expedition which was lost in the Pacific in 1788. These volumes, first published in English in 1799, and based on documents sent back by La Perouse from Australia before his disappearance, provide a fascinating account of the discoveries of the expedition.

This is an English translation from 1772 of the famous Voyage Autour du Monde (1771) by Louis de Bougainville (1729-1811), French admiral and explorer. Describing de Bougainville's adventures on the voyage, it includes graphic descriptions of the discomforts and perils of sea voyages in the eighteenth century.

James Colnett (1753-1806) was the captain of HMS Rattler during its voyage to the Antarctic in 1793. The expedition's findings were instrumental to the development of the whaling industry in the area. First published in 1798, this book is the Captain's account of this important voyage.

Published in 1788 by Andrew Kippis (1725-95), this was the first biography of Captain James Cook (1728-79), although several of Cook's colleagues had written memoirs of their service with him. Kippis draws on the official accounts of Cook's voyages and focuses on Cook's professional life and achievements.