To Die a Dry Death: The True Story of the Batavia Shipwreck

Overview

1. Front Cover
   
2. Table of Contents
   
3. Start of Content
   

Contents

1. Front Cover
   
2. Praise for To Die a Dry Death
   
3. About the Author
   
4. Copyright Page
   
5. Author’s Note
   
6. Prologue
   
7. Chapter 1
   
8. Chapter 2
   
9. Chapter 3
   
10. Chapter 4
    
11. Chapter 5
    
12. Chapter 6
    
13. Chapter 7
    
14. Chapter 8
    
15. Chapter 9
    
16. Chapter 10
    
17. Chapter 11
    
18. Chapter 12
    
19. Chapter 13
    
20. Chapter 14
    
21. Chapter 15
    
22. Chapter 16
    
23. Chapter 17
    
24. Chapter 18
    
25. Chapter 19
    
26. Chapter 20
    
27. Chapter 21
    
28. Chapter 22
    
29. Chapter 23
    
30. Chapter 24
    
31. Chapter 25
    
32. Chapter 26
    
33. Chapter 27
    
34. Chapter 28
    
35. Chapter 29
    
36. Chapter 30
    
37. Chapter 31
    
38. Chapter 32
    
39. Chapter 33
    
40. Chapter 34
    
41. Chapter 35
    
42. Chapter 36
    
43. Chapter 37
    
44. Chapter 38
    
45. Chapter 39
    
46. Chapter 40
    
47. Chapter 41
    
48. Chapter 42
    
49. Epilogue
    
50. An Author’s Journey
    
51. Historical Fiction Blog Excerpt
    
52. More From Fingerpress
    

Praise for
To Die a Dry Death

“Utterly brilliant in every way. It’s hard to believe any book could come closer to conveying the essence of this astonishing series of events. If ever there was a five star read, this is it.”
- Bill Kirton, Booksquawk.com

“A college class could really get into a book like this, and explore its deeper meaning and even do a comparison with
Lord of the Flies
. It would make for a great movie.”

- Historical Fiction Obsession

“Greta van der Rol has done an outstanding job keeping the stories apace, and tightly reined in so as to keep the central story going ... I recommend this book to any historical fiction fan, and to all fans of books based on real life and given an extra dimension through fiction.”
- Heikki Hietala, author of
Tulagi Hotel
(also available from Fingerpress)

“A fascinating historical adventure that ratchets up the tension with every turn of the page ... a gripping exploration into both the endurance of the human spirit and its darker side. Steeped in authenticity,
To Die a Dry Death
is sure to impress even the most demanding of historical fiction readers.”
- Historical Novel Review

Find out more at:
www.fingerpress.co.uk/die-a-dry-death

About the Author

Greta van der Rol
was born in Amsterdam and grew up in Perth, Western Australia, where she went to university to complete a BA(Hons) in history, in between spending time on Perth's wonderful beaches. With that background, it's hardly surprising that she developed an abiding, almost obsessive, interest in the Dutch wrecks along the Western Australian coast, dating back to the seventeenth and eighteenth century. She always promised herself that, one day, she'd write a story about one of those wrecks. The result was
To Die a Dry Death
.

When she isn't slaving over a hot computer, Greta takes photos, cooks, and generally enjoys life near the beach in Queensland.

Catch Greta online at:

http://gretavanderrol.net/books-2/historical-fiction/

To Die a Dry Death

www.fingerpress.co.uk/die-a-dry-death

Copyright © Greta van der Rol, 2013

All rights reserved. Please respect the copyright of this work.

ISBN (Kindle): 978-1-908824-36-3

ISBN (Paperback): 978-1-908824-35-6

Published in 2013 by Fingerpress Ltd; Kindle edition published January 2014

Production Editor:
Matt Stephens

Production Manager: Michelle Stephens

Copy Editor: Madeleine Horobin

Editorial Assistant: Artica Ham

This novel is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities, is entirely coincidental.

FINGERPRESS LTD

LONDON

www.fingerpress.co.uk

Author’s Note

Many people have assisted me in the writing of this book. They know who they are—Ellie, Gemi, Anthony and others—and I’m most grateful to each of them. I particularly wish to express my thanks to M.M. Bennetts, who wrote Jeronimus’s sonnet for him and without whose encouragement this book would still be rattling around in the space between my ears; and to Malcolm Mendey for his invaluable assistance with matters nautical.

For the reader who wishes to find out more about the wreck of the
Batavia,
I recommend the following:

Batavia’s Graveyard
by Mike Dash (Phoenix, 2002)

Voyage to Disaster
by Henrietta Drake-Brockman (University of Western Australia Press, 2006)

The First and Last Voyage of the Batavia
by Philippe Godard

Map (dated 1626) used with the permission of the Australian National Library.

The surviving officers’ 2000-mile journey to the nearest port.

Site of the 1629 shipwreck, and the nearby uninhabited islands.

Prologue

Now would I give a thousand furlongs of sea for an acre of barren ground, long heath, brown furze, anything. The wills above be done! but I would fain die a dry death.

—The Tempest, William Shakespeare

Amsterdam, January 1632

The traveller brought a gust of winter in through the door with him, a howl of wind, a swirl of snow. He shrugged his shoulders and stamped his feet on the stone floor, grateful to be inside. The room was busy, thick with smoke and heavy with the scent of tobacco and beer. A fire crackled in the hearth beyond the crowded bench tables where voices buzzed in conversation. In a corner a whore flashed her wares to a couple of drunken sailors. A barmaid carrying a tray of foaming jars pushed between the drinkers.

“Welcome, sir. A room? A woman? Or just schnapps and beer?”

“A room for the night, if you please,” said the traveller, pulling off thick leather gloves. “A bitter night it is. The canals are all frozen and the cobbles might as well be ice.”

“Winter in Amsterdam can be bitter indeed,” said the landlord. He jerked his head at a hovering servant. “The maid will take you to your room upstairs. Then come down and share a beer, or eat a meal.”