The Ship Thieves by Sian Rees

Many of the HNF novels are laced with threads of the King's punishments ashore and the results of that punishment during this period -- Transportation. This is a true story of a real Englishman, James Porter, who as a result of his removal to Van Diemen's Land and the inhuman conditions of his captivity, escaped (with a small group), "hijacked a ship and crossed the perilous South Pacific to Chile, passing themselves off as shipwrecked mariners, until betrayal led to discovery. The author, Sian Rees found Porter's own account of the long forgotten story and has retold it.

Publisher's comments: "James Porter was a light-fingered, back-chatting, cocky little cockney of the type we now call a dodgy geezer. Today he would be given an ASBO, but 200 years ago the way to deal with dodgy geezers like Porter was to reel them in, ship them off, and chain them up in the worst-place-on-earth...."

An easy read and a bit of "filler" for a weekend or short trip where you're going to have alittle spare time on your hands. For a "true story" it will keep your attention, unless you have a really short attention span.

It's in my library.