In 1628, a ship called the Batavia set sail from the Netherlands. It would never reach

its intended destination. Instead, almost eight months after departure, the ship is dashed

on a coral reef. And what followed is considered by some to be one of the worst shipwrecks in history.

And yet, the story is not particularly well known, though it certainly should be.

Although many of the ship's crew and passengers survived, having been hurriedly packed onto the

Batavia's smaller craft, what befell them when they reached a nearby island was both horrifying

and tragic. Although there were many moments of incredible human compassion and courage as well.

Coming across the story of the Batavia, today's guest chose to turn it into an absolutely

gripping and incredibly moving novel. I'm delighted to welcome Costa's short story winner,

Jess Kid, whose work includes Dirty Little Fishers, himself, things in jars and the hoarder.

Today, Jess is with us to talk about the night ship, a novel about the Batavia,

which is based on extensive research, that took her from Europe to Australia to acquaint herself

with the sources, archives and stories of those on board.

Welcome to not just the Tudors, Jess. Thank you so much. As people may not be

familiar with the history about which you build your novel, the night ship, it might make sense

to start by recapping some of the key details. So can you tell us about the Batavia,

where she was built, how big she was for whom she was built? Certainly. This was a story that I

hadn't come across either and I was casting around to write another historical novel and a friend

of mine bought me this story and said, you've just got to base something on this. It's a phenomenal

story. It's one of the most compelling real life shipwreck, mutiny and murder stories that I've

come across. So basically, the Batavia is a flagship of the Dutch East India Company and so she's

built just outside Amsterdam and she's set sail at the end of 1628. There's lots of things

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