The Ship Thieves : The Amazing Tale and Unfortunate Life of James Porter - Australian Convict, Pirate and Master Mariner

by Siân Rees

Escaping from the penal colony in Van Diemen's Land, James Porter and nine other convicts hijacked a ship and crossed the 6000 miles of waters to Chile, where they enjoyed a year's refuge before recapture. Sian Rees retells their story."

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Pirates, Australia

231 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Siân Rees is a British author and historian. She has a degree in history from University of Oxford. She lives in Brighton and is an RLF Fellow at the University of Sussex. She is particularly interested in the social and maritime history of the 17th and 18th centuries.

Reviews

[Max · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting story! I'm always interested in naval stories, the cover really drew me in. This is a book about James Porter, a thief-turned-pirate. You'll find the book is well-researched. Also, lots of great pictures are included that help the story come alive.

If you're not into naval stories though, you'll find it less dynamic. What you notice right away, it's not a book for everyone. But that's fine! If you're curious, be sure to give it a try.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

[Bandit · Rating 3 out of 5]

This read was inspired by the recent remake of Papillon in a way. James Porter, after all, was very much a Papillon of his time and place. The time being 1830s, the place being the penal colonies of Australia’s surrounding territories. Transport and living conditions as terrible as you’d imagine and Porter wasn’t having it, he tried to flee time and time again, in ways more and more daring and audacious. He’s gotten as far as South America, only to be extradited back. And yet throughout his adventures he remained a man resolute, punished but not destroyed by the system, not merely surviving, but attempting to have a life of his own, even seeing the very system that has chained him up get changed and upgraded to reflect a more civilized approach to prisoner management in agreement with more civilized times. So it’s a very interesting and compelling story as exciting as any work of fiction, although occasionally dragged down by nonfictional narrative. A lot of the material comes from Porter’s journals, which, of course, gives him a lot of control in his self representation and (possibly) skews the plot a certain way, but then again every man is very much the heroic figure of his own story and that is very much the case here. The book provides plenty of quotations from Porter himself and relevant figures. And there is also a very nice amount of photos, drawings, etc. to give the story a much welcome visual boost. It may not have been as dynamic of a book as, say, Papillon was of a movie, but it still read quite well, finishable easily in one day and told a doozy of a story. Unconquerable resolve on a quest for freedom…that’s legendary as far as literary themes go. Thanks Netgalley.

[Pete daPixie · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading 'The Floating Brothel' I just had to read this book when I saw it on a library shelf. Sian Rees has written another 'goodread' with 'The Ship Thieves'. A true tale of nineteenth century victims of transportation set initially in Van Dieman's Land, but with so many dramatic twists and turns and Rees' florid writing and detailed research makes this subject suitable for a great movie.
After escape, the scene shifts to Valdivia in Chile before the Royal Navy comes calling, to return James Porter to remote Norfolk Island.
The story contains a large and interesting cast of characters including Charles Darwin on HMS Beagle and Sir John Franklin as Governor of Van Dieman's Land.
I became so fascinated by this narrative that I had to follow Porter's trail on Google Earth, where pictures are available of many of the scenes. The penitentiary of Sarah Island on what is now Tasmania is a ruined heritage sight.
Confirms my belief that the best stories are non-fiction.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating

I know next to nothing about this period of time and I know even less about life on the high seas (or the low seas for that matter). But despite these significant intellectual pitfalls of mine, the author made this a fascinating read for me. If she can provide that to a fool on the subject then this book will be absolutely glorious in the hands of somebody who knows this period of history and this subject matter. I thoroughly enjoyed this fascinating book and I can’t thank the writer enough for her copious research and her brilliant storytelling abilities. Bravo!!

[Guy James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read The Floating Brothel a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it, so I decided to see what else Sian has written.

Once again this book really keeps you interested and the details of this story and the background to the characters involved is fascinating and well researched.

I hated history at school, if only it had been taught like this, looking at the social history, rather than the purely political side.

I'm looking forward to reading more of Sian's books.

[Jessie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Historical records interwoven with tide observations and detailed descriptions of riverbanks. It attempts to be history without any of the rigour, it attempts to be a story without any plot. Written from a strictly observational view it is impossible to engage with the people depicted or the events. This is a truly dull and unrewarding book.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an historical non fiction story, Ship of Thieves is absolutely worth reading. Well researched and relating a story about a time that is a black mark in the history of Australia, the book clearly identifies the consequences of removing any hope from those who need some hope to survive.

[Mrs Reddy Katzy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh my gosh this is so BORING ... im sure it's an interesting story but they way it's written is like chewing on coardboard

[Carmie · Rating 3 out of 5]

What an amazing story to discover! I'm sure there are lots of characters like James Porter with such stories waiting to be brought to life. I would love to see this on the big screen one day.

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting subject matter, dealt with Ann described in a fairly boring fashion.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The penal station of Macquarie Harbour was notorious, a place so awful that the convicts that the entrance to the harbour was soon called Hell's Gates. In January, 1834, the penal station was closing, the last ten convicts were hard at work on completing the Frederick, their last job before being moved to the newly opened Port Arthur. But they would never make it there. Instead, they seized the Frederick for themselves and set sail to freedom in Argentina.

Siân Rees, by using the life of James Porter, one of these ten convicts and a frequent bolter as her centring device, tells the story of these ship thieves.

The Ship Thieves is an excellent book. Rees is thoroughly engaging in her approach, creating a real, thrilling narrative as she moves through events – but it is also abundantly clear that her work is supremely well-researched and well-sourced. There's no moment where I feel Rees was moving into fiction or making observations beyond what can be known or guessed from the historical record. Where gaps and unanswerable questions lie, she suggests alternatives but does not attempt to divine the correct answer.