In 1839, Samuel Cunard, a wealthy Haligonian, sailed from Nova Scotia to England with the idea of setting up a transatlantic steamship company.

His talks with the British government were successful and he set up the British & North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, which rapidly became known as the Cunard Line. Its first ship left Liverpool in 1840 for Halifax and Boston.

Celebrating its 175th anniversary in 2015, Cunard has had its ups and downs, from the sinking of the Lusitania to the debuts of three of the most famous liners in the world: Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth 2 and Queen Mary 2 as well as the Queen Victoria in 2007 and Queen Elizabeth in 2009.

Now owned by Carnival, Cunard has seen the loss of QE2 in 2008, sold to become a floating hotel and museum in Dubai, but has built another new Queen to follow in the footsteps of her illustrious sisters.

Using over 200 illustrations, many previously unpublished, Janette McCutcheon tells the story of Cunard from its early beginnings to the present day.