Brian Lavery is arguably the most knowledgeable scholar of English ships of the Age of Sail. This new book is a tour de force of that encyclopedic knowledge and thorough research. It is, however, a book for specialists who are interested in delving quite deeply into the minutiae of these small, fast, luxury craft.

The meat of the book for model builders is the 14-page section that covers the design, internal accommodations, and external decoration of the early yachts. Along with the text there are illustrations of ship plans, drawings, and photographs of contemporary models to help guide any builder who wants to scratch build a yacht or improve one of the available kits.

It is the illustrations which are the best part of the book. Seaforth Publishing has lived up to its reputation for excellent production values. There are dozens of crisp, vibrant reproductions of drawings and paintings by marine artists including the Van de Veldes, Isaac Sailmaker, and others.

Overall, I recommend this book for the maritime historian with an interest in these beautiful, elegant, and luxuriously decorated small craft.

Nautical Research Journal Volume 68 (2023)

"This book is minutely researched, with huge detail on the ships, the personalities and the key voyages made by various royal and high status guests, but is written in an approachable style, and with a trove of wonderful images. It all goes to make the book an excellent Christmas present for anyone with an interest in British Maritime History."

South West Soundings, South West Maritime History Society

I enjoyed this book, and its wonderful illustrations hugely.

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Naval Review

This lavish production gives every indication of being a labour of love by the author and this shines through both the illustrations and the text. But at the same time it retains the very highest of scholarship with a huge amount of detail and a quite exceptional bibliography. Full of little-known stories and tales as well as excellent technical construction and layout information, it can be thoroughly recommended to all.

The Mariner's Mirror - The International Quarterly Journal of the Society For Nautical Research - Volume 109:3, August 2023

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The Swale Smack and Sailing Barge Match - Kentish Sail Association

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Ships Monthly - July 2023

Is it really ever necessary to write a review about any book written by Brian Lavery? This is a large format, glossy-paged book with copious illustrations that is a joy to hold and peruse. Written with Lavery's usual attention to detail, in his clear and informative style with an extensive bibliography.

Fascinating. Highly recommended.

The Kedge Anchor, The Magazine of the 10805 Club

The book is a magnificent way to progress through English history and shows how inextricably the monarchy was linked to the sea. A comprehensive look at all aspects of royal yachts, there are sections on the crew, designs, decorative work, and sailing qualities of the yachts. Beautifully published with some stunning illustrations, many of them paintings from the Royal Collection, this book is a delight.

Warship World

This is a fascinating book if you're into learning about boat building, with much talk about plans, ease of building, standards of building and work. This book was a fascinating read I have enjoyed reading and would easily please anyone who loves to read about early sailing or model makers.

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The History Fella

I really enjoyed this book. The amount of information is astounding, with the bibliography running to four pages of two columns, in very small print. The pictures are lovely, and it can either be read in sequence or dipped into to find specific information.

5 out of 5

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Army Rumour Service (ARRSE)