This is the first major account of an important part of the life of the naval officer who rose to be the eminent Admiral Sir John Corbett, KCB, (1822-1893) and became Commander-in-Chief in the East Indies and at the Nore. He played significant roles in the expansion and management of the British Empire, and his adventures including in the Opium War are visually captured by the full-colour and black and white illustrations, many from his own skilled paintings.

The work draws on public documents, family papers, contemporary photographs, and the archive of Sir John's paintings which feature the many places where he served all over the globe.

Corbett's informative detailed letters in particular provide an important insight into life in the Victorian navy in many parts of the world, and how senior officers recorded and communicated their experiences.

The work starts with the shipwreck of HMS Wolverene in the Caribbean in 1855 and Corbett's subsequent court martial in Bermuda. It continues with the commissioning of his new command, the paddle steamer HMS Inflexible, in 1856 and his epic voyage towing a gunboat to Hong Kong in record time. The Shropshire-born officer served in China, India, the Mediterranean, North America, Syria, and on the East African coast. His descendant, David Peretz, provides Corbett's vivid detailed account of his time in China, including his involvement in the May/June 1857 actions there.