Where Peter Mortimer first journeyed, others later followed. He was the first writer to travel and work with fishermen out on the high seas, experiencing conditions not seen on land for 200 years. The Last of the Hunters, though much sought after, has been unavailable for years. Described as ‘a minor classic’, it is now brought out in a new updated format, though containing every word of the original.

Fishing is dangerous and unpredictable. Lives are often lost. This is a harsh, macho and dangerous world of thirty-foot long rust buckets about which most of us know nothing. Peter Mortimer lived the life, working on six separate boats over a six months’ period, winning respect from the fishermen and developing his own respect for people whose working conditions are primitive, and whose job security is non-existent. North Shields fishermen often work with unprotected machinery for 18 hour days, exposed on open decks to the harsh elements and the vagaries of the North Sea.

This new edition contains an Afterword which brings us up to date with the people of the distinctive North Shields fishing community, and how the changes in fisheries’ policy have affected them. Peter Mortimer was born in Nottingham and has lived in the North East for more than 30 years. He edits IRON Press and runs Cloud Nine Theatre Company. He has written more than 20 plays, and his book Broke Through Britain became a best-seller. His play RIOT and travel book Cool for Qat document the 1930s South Shields Yemeni riots and their relevance to Western attitudes to Muslims today.

“Both starkly graphic and descriptive as the moment demands. A compelling book.” – Newcastle Evening Chronicle