Based on the real and horrific historical events surrounding the shipwreck of The Batavia in 1628, 'The Night Ship' tells the story of two children, separated by 350 years but linked by trauma and tragedy.
After her mother's death, Mayken boards the Dutch East India Company ship, the Batavia, with her nursemaid to make the long journey to join her father in Batavia (Indonesia). En route, the ship is separated from the convoy and wrecked on a reef off the west coast of Australia. The survivors, including Mayken, battle for water and food on a tiny, desolate island.
In the 1980s, Gil travels to the same small island where Mayken was stranded, to live with his grandfather after his mother's death. Gil is lonely and angry but feels some sense of kinship with 'May' the ghost a small girl who is said to haunt the island. And as each of their stories unfold, both Gil and Mayken face terrible darkness and danger.
'The Night Ship' is very different to 'Things in Jars', but just as compelling and darkly atmospheric. It's a gripping and heartbreaking read that is somehow also weirdly redemptive, despite all the heart-of-darkness horror. Highly recommended!
Nine PM Writer 