Before the scrutiny of scientific Enlightenment and Age of Reason, in the eighteenth century, ghost ships and oceanic monsters were the stuff of superstition, myth and legend to explain the inexplicable, to enthral the imagination - and enliven the unimaginable.

'Functionality is never an excuse for poor design' said the naval architect Nicolo Costanzi, a man whose synthesis of engineering and artistry created practical ships of sublime beauty.

Nautilus Telegraph's Book of the Month for September 2021.

Nautilus Telegraph's Book of the Month for August 2021.

A guide to the china of British shipping companies of the 19th and 20th centuries