Fortuyn's Ghost

by Mark Greenwood, Mark L. Wilson (Illustrator)

Old seafarers believe an ancient vessel, veiled in spray, still plies the stormtossed waters. Once every year, on a three-quarter moon, a bell tolls, marking the minutes to midnight. And a rotted timber backbone slowly rises from a watery grave.... ~ From Fortuyn's Ghost --- From the award-winning Mark Greenwood comes Fortuyn's Ghost, a haunting tale of shipwreck on the high seas. In 1724, the Dutch East India Company ship Fortuyn vanished after leaving the Cape of Good Hope, bound for Batavia. Stowed below deck was the Company's trading cash (a rich cargo of silver ingots, bullion and coins), all sealed in ten oak money chests. Fortuyn's Ghost - a children's picture book - imagines the doomed ship's fateful voyage to its likely end on Western Australia's treacherous Shipwreck Coast, a place well known for nautical hauntings.

32 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2007

About the author

Mark Greenwood is a history hunter. His award-winning books include The Legend of Lasseter’s Reef and The Legend of Moondyne Joe, both winners of the West Australian Premier’s Book Award.

Mark often teams with his wife, illustrator Frané Lessac, to produce titles such as Midnight – the story of a light horse, Ned Kelly & The Green Sash and Simpson and His Donkey, a CBCA Honour Book and a USBBY Outstanding International Book.

Jandamarra, illustrated by Terry Denton, was shortlisted for the CBCA Eve Pownall Award, the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children’s Literature and the West Australian Young Readers’ Book Awards.

The Happiness Box, illustrated by Andrew McLean, was a 2019 CBCA Honour book.