Daughters of Batavia

A woman searching for answers in her own life finds them – and much more – in the wreckage and haunting stories of the Batavia shipwreck. This powerfully moving historical debut comes from the winner of the Banjo Prize for Fiction and is perfect for all fans of Natasha Lester, Lauren Chater, and Tea Cooper.

Two women. One shipwreck. And three centuries of secrets.

Shortly before Christmas in 2018, Tess McCarthy, a hard-working English teacher who never does anything out of the ordinary, flies to Western Australia's remote Abrolhos Islands. She is in search of answers – both to the infamous Batavia shipwreck and her personal family crises.

Amsterdam, 1628. Saskia, an orphaned young Dutchwoman, boards Batavia with relatives, bound for a new and potentially dangerous life in the East Indies – only for her world to first collide with Aris Jansz, the ship's reluctant under-surgeon.

Tess, Saskia, and Aris – their lives linked by secrets that span generations – carry the baggage of past losses and the uncertainty of their futures. And, in the most unlikely circumstances, they find qualities that echo through centuries: faith, acceptance, and love.