The book was well written but I could not cope with the switching between the characters and the time lines. I am afraid that I gave up half way through.

This is a richly imagined and compelling story written in two time periods and connecting two young people. It has its roots in the true story of the sinking of the Batavia off the west coast of Australia in the 17th Century and moves backwards and forwards between the story of Mayken from Holland and of Gil, also motherless. Moving and memorable.

This is exactly the sort of historical fiction i love-based on real events and with a wonderful sense of time and place. Mayken is sailing to be with the father she has never known on the doomed ship Bratavia in 1629. 300 years later, Gil is sent to a remote island off Australia to be with his grandfather. Both are strange, resourceful, troubled children that have had to deal with things that haunt them. A cruel ship, a cruel community where secrets and grudges are held and life is in the balance. There’s a great story here with symmetry and adventure and the characters are memorable. Really excellent.

This is a haunting tale based on a true historical event linked through to modern day events on the same western Australian island. The story of the wreck of the ship Batavia is told through the eyes of Mayken, a nine year old girl aboard the ship, and Gil, a nine year old boy now living on the island with his grandfather.

The wrecking of the Batavia, the events leading up to it, and most of all, the subsequent horrors of the survivors, all make for fascinating if rather ghastly reading. And threading throughout is the presence (?) of a never-quite defined other-worldly folk tale monster.

This story is linked to present day events on the same island, also somewhat brutal, and also with the shadowy presence of a monstrous something in the background.

Is it real? We are never told. But this is an absorbing read which is highly recommended for readers in search of a gripping novel on the literary side of the best-seller spectrum. Because this is a best seller in the making or I’m a Dutchman, like the crew of the Batavia.

Thanks to NetGalley and Canongate for supplying a pre-publication review copy

I reviewed The Night Ship for book recommendation site LoveReading. I’ve chosen it as both a LoveReading Star Book and Liz Robinson Pick of the Month. Please see link for full review.

This is a haunting and beautifully written story that is actually based on a true story.

The story sets back and forth between 1629 and 1989. In the year 1629, after her mother dies, Mayken travels through the ship with her maid, traveling in Batavia, one of the greatests ships at the time. With tales of monsters and stories, Mayken soon experiences the true monster. Back in 1989. a boy named Gil is sent to live on the western coast of Australia and joins the fishing community where his mother used to live, where he hears stories about the shipwreck. Both Mayken and Gil are nine year old and both have lost their mothers when the story is taking place.

This is the first time I am reading from this author and I didn't expect this book to be really good. Truly haunting and engaging, and it was actually fascinating to read, considering the fact that this was based on a true story. The most interesting parts was when reading Mayken's part set in 1629--I don't really read books based in the 15th century so it was actually interesting. There were some heartbreaking and emotional moments in the book, but I found this book really interesting and engaging. The author must have done so much of tremendous research, particularly when describing about the social status, which existed mostly back in the 15th century, unhygienic conditions, brutalities...at times, you could appreciate your life in the present day.Some of the characters are "real" characters and so it shows how much the author has done research in just writing this book. If you like a haunting historical fiction that will draw you into the story, then this book is one for you--worth five stars!

Big thanks to Netgally and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for a honest review

A story based upon a true story of shipwreck in the 1600's and a young lad being sent to live with his grandad, who wants to know more about the ship, as well as the myths surrounding it.
Both the main characters are young, alone, desparate for company and adventure.
Unfortunately, I struggled with this book despite the writing style and the characters.

This dual timeline tale was inspired by the true events surrounding the sinking of a ship in 1629. It’s a beautifully written tale and a compelling read. But be warned – this is no heartwarming tale about survival and hope. This is a bleak tale about mutiny and the horrific behavior of a madman survivor. The modern timeline has similar sad undertones running through it. Despite the sadness that pervades this tale, it’s an excellent read, and a story that will haunt me for many years to come. Highly recommended ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my Advance Review Copy of this novel.

"'I hope we never get to Batavia,' says Mayken. There is silence. Something in the room shifts...The candle flames, hitherto steady, waver and splutter. Mayken has cursed the voyage."

1629 - Dutch, high-born orphan Mayken and nursemaid Imke board the Batavia, a Dutch East India ship on its maiden voyage to what is now Indonesia. Bright and mischievous, Mayken is soon hunting a mythical monster, Bullebak, which that prowls the huge ship. However, the monsters prove to be human and fast-approaching as tragedy strikes the ship, its passengers and crew.
1989 - Australian, poverty-stricken orphan Gil arrives on tiny Beacon Island, off the coast of Western Australia to live with his gruff and distant grandfather, who's part of a seasonal fishing community. As Gil settles in, he learns of a terrifying shipwreck of a Dutch ship, some of whom found brief safety on Beacon Island, which became many of their graves. For Gil too, the islands holds monsters he must hide from.

Based on the true storey of the Batavia, Kidd weaves fiction with fact around her two protagonists, May and Gil and their dual time lines. At times those timeliness appear to meet, particularly through the witches /hag stone May and Gil are given. Both children, with many similarities, they're both curious, both face struggles, both are misunderstood by many of the adults around them but find friends and both search for a mythical monster, when it's the humans they should fear. It's beautifully written, particularly the descriptions of life on board the Batavia, the language and characters. This is an epic and enthralling tale of human endeavours and human connection, striving for better and tragedy, when survival is threatened and monster surface.

The Night Ship is structured with a dual time period, which tells the story of two nine year old children Mayken and Gil more than 300 years apart. The author weaves fiction around fact to tell the story of Mayken, who is a newly motherless child en route to the care of her father. She is travelling with her nursemaid Imke on an East India Company ship The Batavia. The ship is undertaking the long and hazardous sea voyage from Holland to Batavia, the capital of the Dutch East Indies as it was (Jakarta in Indonesia as it is now called.) It is carrying goods and 200 passengers.

Gil is also newly motherless and has been sent to his Grandfather Joss to spend the fishing season on a remote island off the west coast of Australia.Their story and developing relationship is rather touching as both adjust to each other and become closer.

Mayken is a fabulous character, she and Imke definitely have all the best lines. Mayken’s story made me both laugh and cry. She is a character who will stay with me.

Jess Kidd paces this atmospheric story perfectly, as usual in her writing there is folklore and supernatural elements. The tension gradually ramps up until the denouement for both children.

I enjoyed the parallels between the two children and found myself thinking a lot about cultural norms and what is thought of as endearing, or alternatively as weird; particularly from a gendered point of view.

From now on I shall be keeping witch’s / hagstones that I find on the beach and trying to see what has already been and what is to come!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC. I hope this book will be a huge hit. It really deserves to be a best seller.

To anyone who has not yet read any of Jess Kidd’s books I urge you to find them. She’s such a talented and entertaining writer. I cannot wait to see what she writes next.

The Night Ship is the fourth adult novel by award-winning London-born author, Jess Kidd. In 1628, following the death of her mother, nine-year-old Mayken van den Heuvel is on the ship Batavia, en route to her father’s marble mansion with its gold plates, legion of servants and magnificent stallions, in Batavia. She’s accompanied by her nursemaid, Imke whose health deteriorates during the journey, allowing Mayken to somewhat regulate her own activities.

Mayken keeps her own ship’s log and does her regular patrols. Aware she must stay aft-the-mast, she still manages to access forbidden areas: Below Deck and even The Hold, by virtue of a disguise that allows her to become cabin boy Obbe.

Mayken meets all sorts of people that, as a rich merchant’s daughter, she would normally never encounter: Smoert, the kitchen boy, Aris Jansz, the barber-surgeon, Pauwels Barentsz, whom she calls Holdfast, a sailor, and John Pinten, an English Soldier. She also learns of the ancient monster that resides in the hold, the eel-like Bullebak, whose bite, she is certain, had made Imke ill.

Mayken is also aware of various enmities between those in power: the captain, the upper-merchant, the under-merchant and a fearsome soldier knows as Stonecutter. Trial and error teaches her whom not to trust, proven in no uncertain terms when the ship eventually founders on reef off the western coast of the great south land.

In 1989, following the death of his mother, nine-year-old Gil Hurley is on the ferry to Beacon, one of the Houtman Abrolhos Islands, where is grandfather, Joss Hurley holds a cray-fishing lease. Joss seems to be a taciturn loner, unpopular with the rest of the islanders and, after one unsuccessful outing on his boat, leaves Gil to wander the island on his own while he checks his pots.

Gil explores, meets Silvia Zanetti, the wife of Joss’s great rival, Birgit, one of the scientists diving the Batavia wreck, and Joss’s new deckie, Dutch, who comes with a gift, a tortoise that Gil names Enkido. He also comes across The Raggedy Tree, apparently a shrine to Little May, one of the survivors of the Batavia sinking.

The product of an unconventional upbringing, Gil is dealing with grief and guilt, but is mystified by the feud between his grandfather and certain islanders, the origin of which he only learns much later. He is also fascinated by the story of the Batavia, although he doesn’t believe in ghosts, or that Little May haunts the island. The Bunyip, though….

Alternating chapters carry the dual timeline narrative, in which there are dozens of echoes three centuries apart: the thoughts, words and deeds of nine-year-olds whose mothers died in circumstances not mentioned in polite company, as well as a good luck charm, cross-dressing, betrayals, stories of water-dwelling monsters, and people with mysteriously missing fingertips. The depth of Kidd’s extensive research is apparent on every page, and she captures the feel of both her settings and eras with consummate ease.

Kidd’s descriptive prose, as usual, is often gorgeous, evocative, and a pleasure to roll off the tongue: “Bad dreams come like beetles, crowding and clicking, overturning one another, scrabbling.” She gives her characters words of wisdom and insightful observations: “The world can think you’re all wrong if there’s one person who thinks you’re just right.” Brilliant historical fiction.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Canongate.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59366231-the-night-ship

At first I thought this book was 100% a work of fiction, but after a quick Google about halfway through I realised it was based on the (completely fascinating) true story of the Batavia, a Dutch ship which sunk off the coast of Australia in the 1600s, leaving its treasures at the bottom of the ocean and its passengers stranded on a string of tiny uninhabited islands. The stranding takes an even worse turn when the strongest of the islands' new inhabitants start to prey on the weak, amid dwindling supplies, and by the time rescue comes only 80 of 300 or so are left standing.

The story is told through the eyes of nine year old Mayken, one of the passengers on the ill fated ship, and her nine year old counterpart Gil, who lives on the islands in the present day, in alternating chapters. The facts of the disaster are so fascinating that they don't need much help from the author to create a real page turner, but she does a beautiful job in any event. Seeing events unfold through the eyes of children only makes them more haunting, and the little supernatural touches are a perfect complement to the story.

I will read more of this author.

Thanks to her, NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

The Night Ship by Jess Kidd
Jess Kidd’s latest novel has the usual mix if historical and supernatural elements. The story is told in two different time periods through the life of two unusual children. Mayken is aboard a ship called The Batavia with her nursemaid Imke. At the age of 9 she is on her way to meet her father for the first time following the death of her mother in childbirth. (Or the bloody flux as she is told to tell everyone.) The ship, which made its maiden voyage in 1628, was owned the Dutch East India Company.
The other thread of the story is set in 1989 on a small fishing island off the coast of Australia. It tells the story of Gil a 9 year old sent to live with his grandfather following the death of his mother of a drugs overdose. His grandfather is shunned by the other fishermen on the island and Gil, who had an unusual upbringing, is left to his own devices.
Mayken is a fascinating child with a great sense of adventure. She spends her time aboard the ship trying to perfect her spitting technique and attempting to explore the life of those below deck where she is not allowed to explore. She believes the stories she is told about a fearsome ancient eel-like monster and determines to capture it and save all those aboard.

Gil accompanies his grandfather on his boat but he has no desire to be a fisherman. He refuses to discuss what happened to his mother. He talks to Silvia about the island and becomes fascinated with the story of Little May and the offerings which are left by the Raggedy Tree.
There are similarities between the lives of Mayken and Gil; there is brutality, madness and suffering in the both children’s lives but the truth is that the real monsters are not those of myth but the humans around us. This a fascinating piece of dark historical fiction based around the true horror of The Batavia. I did feel that at times the pace of the novel slowed a little in the middle but overall I really enjoyed it.
I will be recommending it to my various book groups and would like to thank the author, the publishers and Net Galley for the opportunity to read it in return for an honest review.

Parallel lives, hundreds of years apart; an island of desolation, quite horrific events and two children who suffer loss, possibly to find redemption. Casual cruelty and friendship exist in equal numbers, and it is hard to know who to trust in extreme situations. The hag stone, a time travelling relic joining distant histories with meaning, and a whistle found with its own story are a link between two histories, heavy with connected childhoods and the mysteries of the unknown.
The night ship sails out of Holland with a young girl and her nurse, destined for Batavia and life with an unknown father. There is a shipwreck and a scandalous story of every man for himself, as power is held by the strongest. Many years later we meet Gil, who has his own demons, links being made with events 300 years earlier in very clever ways by the author, in structural form as well as storyline. A feeling of impending disaster does not detract from the wonderful characterisation and evocative language, which carries the reader through this really terrific book.

This was such a good book. I love historical fiction, especially when it is about eras/ situations that I previously knew nothing about and this was definitely one of those books. It was so well researched and so compelling in its narrative that not only did I love reading it but I felt that I learned too. A really enjoyable read and perfect for any fans of historical fiction. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

An extraordinary book, told through the eyes of two children some 300 years apart. I had to keep reading it , through death, shipwreck, cruelty, feuds etc.

This is a novel about two nine year olds, Mayken and Gil. Mayken lives in 1629 and Gil in 1989. Both live in enclosed worlds. Mayken sis on the newly built ship Batavia, is journeying half way round the world to the Dutch East Indies to be reunited with her wealthy father now that her mother has died. Gil has been taken to an island off the West Coast of Australia, part of the Wallabi Group, to live with his grandfather now that also his mother has died.

The narrative alternates between the POVs of the 2 children and the time zones which they live in. We see Mayken exploring and surviving on the Batavia and we see Gil striving to make sense of his new life, the new adults and children on the island.

Eventually there is the ship wreck of the Batavia onto the island where in 1989, Gil will be living. The survivors of the shipwreck salvage what they can and set up camp. We see a new social order emerging on the island – a dreadful oppressive order which is like a cross between ‘Animal Farm’ and ‘Lord of the Flies’.

There is a symmetry about these two stories, both in the big themes of a child making his/her way and in the small details. Just as Mayken dons a different garb to enter the Below World of the ships hold, , so does Gil don different clothes in his Granny's in a ‘Billy Elliot’ episode of exploring his femininity in the midst of rough, tough men.

Jess Kidd (JK) is supremely successful at having researched in depth the true history of the voyage of the Batavia. As in the best of historical novels, the research is subservient to the interplay of characters. The characterisation of all these people is very skilfully done. JK writes beautifully and evocatively but without over-writing, often in short subject-verb-object sentences, almost as if she’s writing a book for children. But this is not a book for children. Mayken and Gil are survivors and both have to face up to the dreadful deeds of the adults around them. There are touches of magical realism mixed in with the descriptive writing. Both children are aware of monsters – Bullebak for Mayken and Bunyip for Gil.

But halfway through, the narrative pace began to flag. The alternating between the worlds of 1689 and 1989 became too symmetrical and I wanted the drive to see development to become stronger.
Although both stories are brilliantly told, I felt that this was a fundamental problem. l couldn’t see how the one related to the other apart from the broad theme of ‘child making its way in the world’
Disappointingly, the resolution at the end when you might expect the two stories to in some way come together and be resolved was, for me, quite unsatisfying. The story of Mayken would have been enough for me. I loved her courage and bravery, her steadfastness, and wanted to read much more about her.

Not doubt about it, this is great writing and great story telling. Had the focus been on either just Mayken or just Gil, I would have rated it with five stars. But still, a great read.

Disclosure: NetGalley made available a complimentary pre-publication copy so that I might write an honest and unbiased review.

I can’t add much to others’ reviews here. A novel told in dual timelines, this story about the fate of the ship the Batavia is meticulously researched and rendered onto the page with the most beautiful prose. I found that Mayken’s narrative was the more captivating of the two, but the author carefully uses both to propel you forward to the end. So much skill in the writing makes this book a great read.

I discovered Jess Kidd through her fabulous novel Things in Jars, after which I wanted to read everything she writes. A popular opinion that I encountered among readers then is that her books are very different from one another. Reading The Night Ship, I am convinced this is completely true. This is based on the real life event (google Batavia ship), told through two timelines and two characters. In 1628, a newly orphaned girl Mayken is on the Batavia (the pride of Dutch golden age) to meet her grandfather. She is accompanied by her nursemaid. She is adventurous, mischievous and hunting for monsters. In 1989 a young boy is sent to live on the west coast of Australia and he discovers the story of the shipwreck. Gill and Mayken's stories fall alike; and there might be other monsters lurking that they do not dream of. Deeply researched, dark historical tale that occasionally feels folklore-ish. I think the easiest way to know if you would enjoy a Jess Kidd book is to read the blurb and if it appeals to you, pick it up. Her writing is unique, original, and style is non-repetitive. So each book is a surprise.

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!