The Ship Thieves: The True Tale of James Porter, Colonial Pirate

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. She discovered Porter's astonishing long-forgotten writings, and, inspired by his charisma and his defiance in the face of authority, has retold his extraordinary story with all the brio of her enormously popular The Floating Brothel".