This book is an ode to our oceans – to the sailors who brave their treacherous waters, to the women who lost their loved ones to the waves, to the creatures that dwell in their depths, to beach trawlers, swimmers, seabirds and mermaids.
It is a walk on the beach with Turner, Shakespeare, the Romantic poets and shanty-singers. Navigating through ancient Greek myths, poetry, shipwrecks and Scottish folktales, Charlotte Runcie explores how the sea has fascinated and terrified us, and how she herself fell in love with it.