A history of Shaw Savill's Corinthic, Athenic, Ceramic, Gothic, Persic, Runic, Suevic - seven ships designed as large cargo vessels to service the trade routes between New Zealand and London. The Corinthic, Athenic, Ceramic and Gothic also carried passengers - the Gothic famous as the vessel carrying Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip on their world coronation tour. Chapters on each vessel provide details of their design, construction, service history and cargoes, and also include personal accounts of events and anecdotes about life on board. Each chapter is richly illustrated including plans and photographs of the ship's launch, interior and exterior, and crew. An appendix covers the demise of Furness Withy, owner of Shaw Savill since 1935, and a concluding section contains illustrations of memorabilia including extracts from the 'Information for passengers' booklet, publicity brochures and documents relating to the coronation tour.