With an introduction by Victoria GlendinningThe third volume of William Golding's Sea Trilogy.A decrepit warship sails on the last stretch of its voyage to Sydney Cove. It has been blown off course and battered by wind, storm and ice. Nothing but rope holds the disintegrating hull together. And after a risky operation to reset its foremast with red-hot metal, an unseen fire begins to smoulder below decks.'A tour de force . A historical novel that defies all the hazards of that form and becomes a persuasive adventure, love story and allegory, as serious as it is entertaining.' Penelope Lively, Daily Telegraph'The best novel I've read this year . The language fizzes and spits.' DM Thomas, Daily Telegraph'Golding's evocation of the ship is so good that this book induces sea-sickness.' Victoria Glendinning, The Times