The Cruise of the Nona by Hilaire Belloc

Description

The Cruise of the Nona is Hilaire Belloc’s account of a voyage along the British coast in his little racing yawl, and it became one of the most loved of all English books about the sea. Beginning with a dedication to a friend over a book ‘on nothing,’ it moves through the meaning of the sea itself, the songs of the crew, and the practical pleasures of navigation into something far larger — a meditation, at the approach of the First World War, on politics, religion, and the character of England.

Belloc writes prose of a particular living beauty, at once casual and monumental — the white horse carved in the Downs, the conversation about reason and the modern mind, the glimpses of Portland and the great race, the final turn for home. The book is a sea classic and a political essay, a voyage and an argument; its final chapter on the approach of war gave its first readers fair warning of what was coming, and its style has kept it alive for every reader after.

Why readers still come back to it

• One of the English language’s finest books about the sea
• Sailing, shanties, and navigation mixed with high political meditation
• Belloc’s prose at the height of its power, poised on the eve of war

About this DodaBooks edition

This edition gives you the complete text with clean, professional typesetting, a working table of contents, and careful chapter navigation — designed for comfortable reading on phones, tablets, and e-readers. Instant download after purchase.