‘When a man escapes alive, he has a chance to survive.’
In the unforgiving docklands of east London, young orphan William must do all he can to survive. Like the other ‘wharf rats’, his life of petty crime is not a choice; it’s a necessity. But William’s misdeeds won’t remain hidden for long. When the boy unknowingly steals from a murderous pirate captain, escape is his only option. He is forced to stow away and begin a life that will take him to the far side of the world; a life as a soldier of the East India Company.
Brimming with adventure and peril, East Indiaman is a story about self-discovery and a relentless pursuit of freedom. Through the use of evocative prose, Hosker immerses the reader into the seafaring world of the late 1700s where an opportunistic youth transforms from a hunted thief into an unexpected soldier.
East Indiaman is the story of a life in the East India Company at the end of the eighteenth century. The story indulged my passion for sailing ships and my love of redcoats!
The story was inspired by the Hartlepool East India Company reenactors.
Like the journey of my hero, the start of such a journey and the beginning of a new series is always both exciting and intimidating.
