Daughters of the Wreckage: A Gripping Dual-Timeline Historical Novel Inspired by the True Story of the Batavia Shipwreck and the Women Who Survived It

“An immersive and engrossing mystery.” –Tania Blanchard, bestselling author

“A masterfully crafted dual timeline.” –Tea Cooper, USA TODAY bestselling author

Two women. One shipwreck. And four centuries of secrets.

Shortly before Christmas in 2018, Tess McCarthy, after years as a hard-working English teacher who never did anything out of the ordinary, flies to Western Australia’s remote Abrolhos Islands. She is in search of answers–both to the infamous Batavia shipwreck and her personal family crises.

In 1628, Saskia, an orphaned young Dutchwoman, boards Batavia with relatives, bound for a new and potentially dangerous life in the East Indies–only for her world to first collide with Aris Jansz, the ship’s taciturn under surgeon.

Tess, Saskia, and Aris–their lives linked by secrets that span generations–carry the baggage of past losses and the uncertainty of their futures. And, in the most unlikely circumstances, they may find qualities that echo through centuries: faith, acceptance, and love.

A woman searching for answers in her own life finds them–and much more–in the wreckage and haunting stories of the Batavia shipwreck.

Previously published in Australia as Daughters of Batavia.

Author: Stefanie Koens
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 09/15/2026
Pages: 368
ISBN: 9781400356560
Language: English