The Ship Thieves by Sian Rees

Book Description

Secondhand. Very good condition. Minor wear to book corners and edges. One page has been dog-eared. Faint blue mark on tail foredge.

As dusk came down on the evening of 13 January 1834, James Porter and nine other convicts, transported at His Majesty's Pleasure to Van Diemen's Land, captured the newly launched barque the Frederick from their British masters.

James Porter had spent most of his days since transportation planning how he would escape. Though he had mastered the art of fleeing his captors, he had never managed to stay free for long. He hoped he and his fellow ship thieves would fare better on this occasion.

Rather than aim for a new life on the harsh islands of the Bass Straits or the isolated coasts of New Zealand, the men decided to make their way to Valdivia, on the coast of Chile. Six thousand miles away on the other side of the Pacific, surely they could evade the British and assume new identities as shipwrecked mariners? (Back cover)