> Skip to content
Read an extract
Play sample
  • Published: 5 July 2022
  • ISBN: 9780143778813
  • Imprint: Penguin Random House Australia Audio
  • Format: Audio Download
  • Length: 10 hr 17 min
  • Narrators: Fleur De Wit, Adam Fitzgerald
  • RRP: $32.99

The Night Ship




The Night Ship is an enthralling tale of human cruelty, fate and friendship – and of two children, hundreds of years apart, whose fates are inextricably bound together.

Based on a real-life event, an epic historical novel from the award-winning author of Things in Jars that illuminates the lives of two characters: a girl shipwrecked on an island off Western Australia and, three hundred years later, a boy finding a home with his grandfather on the very same island.

1629: A newly orphaned young girl named Mayken is bound for the Dutch East Indies on the Batavia, one of the greatest ships of the Dutch Golden Age. Curious and mischievous, Mayken spends the long journey going on misadventures above and below the deck, searching for a mythical monster. But the true monsters might be closer than she thinks.

1989: A lonely boy named Gil is sent to live off the coast of Western Australia among the seasonal fishing community where his late mother once resided. There, on the tiny reef-shrouded island, he discovers the story of an infamous shipwreck…?

With her trademark ‘thrilling, mysterious, twisted, but more than anything, beautifully written’ (New York Times) storytelling, Jess Kidd weaves a unputdownable and charming tale of friendship and sacrifice, brutality and forgiveness.

  • Published: 5 July 2022
  • ISBN: 9780143778813
  • Imprint: Penguin Random House Australia Audio
  • Format: Audio Download
  • Length: 10 hr 17 min
  • Narrators: Fleur De Wit, Adam Fitzgerald
  • RRP: $32.99

About the author

Jess Kidd

Jess Kidd was brought up in London as part of a large family from county Mayo and has been praised for her unique fictional voice. Her debut, Himself, was shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards in 2016, the Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award 2017 and longlisted for the John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger 2017. Jess won the 2016 Costa Short Story Award. Her second novel, The Hoarder, also titled Mr. Flood's Last Resort (U.S.), was shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year 2019 and longlisted for the 2020 International Dublin Literary Award. Her third book, the Victorian detective tale Things in Jars, has been released to critical acclaim. Jess’s work has been described as ‘Gabriel García Márquez meets The Pogues.’ Jess's first book for children, Everyday Magic, was published in April 2021. Jess's fourth novel for adults, The Night Ship, will be released in July 2022. Jess is currently developing her own original TV projects with leading UK and international TV producers.

Discover more

Article
How 7 designers created the most beautiful book covers of 2022

We talked to some of our graphic designers to learn more about the amazing book covers they created this year. Find out what runs through the mind of a designer as they bring a book to life through design.

Article
6 books that will show you a new side of Australian history

These six books will deepen your understanding of our country’s past by showing you a different side of Australian history.