Friedman Norman. British Cruisers of the Victorian Era

Seaforth Publishing, 2012. — 400 p.Gradually evolving from sailing frigates, the first modern cruiser is not easy to define, but this book starts with the earliest steam paddle warships, covers the evolution of screw-driven frigates, corvettes, and sloops, and then the succeeding iron, composite and steel-hulled classes down to the last armored cruisers.