Helen Doe is a maritime historian who has published extensively on nineteenth-century sail and steam, including co-editing and contributing to the award-winning Maritime History of Cornwall. Her previous book was The First Atlantic Liner: Brunel's Great Western Steamship. Her interests are in the people connected with vessels, whether on land or at sea. She has a PhD from the University of Exeter, where she has been a lecturer for some years. She is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, Vice Chairman of the British Commission for Maritime History, a member of the UK Government's Council of Experts for National Historic Ships and trustee of the SS Great Britain Trust.