Sir Thomas Brassey (1836-1918), later Earl Brassey, was a politician with a particular interest in maritime affairs. He was a keen sailor, and his wife's accounts of their many voyages (also reissued in this series) were bestsellers. He subsequently became a Lord of the Admiralty and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, and Brassey's Naval Annual was for many years the authoritative survey of worldwide navies. This five-volume survey of the state of the British Navy was published between 1882 and 1883. Brassey was much involved with questions of the modernisation and reform of the Navy, at a time when international relations were marked by a maritime arms race. The books provide much technical detail about the different types of ship and weapons available to the Navy. Volume 4 discusses the administration of the Navy and Admiralty, and of reserve forces.
