It's here! Browse the 2024 Penguin Christmas gift guide
Endeavour

Endeavour

The Sunday Times bestselling biography of Captain Cook’s recently discovered ship

Summary

**THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER**

An inventive biography of one of the most famous ships of all time - recently discovered off the coast of America- Endeavour is an alluring combination of history, adventure and science.

From Johnson's Dictionary to campaigns for liberty, the Enlightenment was an age of endeavours. It was also the name given to a commonplace, coal-carrying vessel bought by the Royal Navy in 1768 for an expedition to the South Seas.

No one could have guessed that Endeavour would go on to become the most significant ship in the history of British exploration.

Endeavour famously carried Captain James Cook on his first great voyage, but her complete story has never been told before. Here, Peter Moore sets out to explore the different lives of this remarkable ship - from the acorn that grew into the oak that made her, to her rich and complex legacy.

'Fascinating and richly detailed... Peter Moore has brought us an acute insight into the ship that carried some of the most successful explorers across the world. A fine book that's definitely worth exploring' MICHAEL PALIN

Reviews

  • Mr Moore is a dazzling new arrival: a witty, intelligent and hugely entertaining writer
    William Dalrymple, Wall Street Journal

About the author

Peter Moore

Peter Moore is a writer, journalist and lecturer. He teaches creative writing at the University of Oxford. His debut, Damn His Blood, reconstructed a rural murder in 1806. His second, The Weather Experiment, a New York Times 'Notable Book of the Year', traced early efforts to forecast the weather. His latest book, Endeavour, was a multiple book of the year and a Sunday Times bestseller. He presents a history podcast called Travels Through Time.
Learn More

More from this Author

Sign up to the Penguin Newsletter

For the latest books, recommendations, author interviews and more