Jana arrives at the door of a house in Amsterdam desperate for food, work and a place to call home. Hired as a maid she grows to love the indulgent Master Reynst and his daughter the spoilt, beautiful Sontje. But when her master looses his fortune and suddenly dies, she must seek a new position. Left penniless by her father's debts Sontje must start again and so both girls set out on a new adventure. The Dutch East India company needs them.
Wanted: Company Daughters. Virtuous young ladies to become the brides of industrious settlers in a foreign land. The Company will pay the cost of the lady’s dowry and travel. Returns not permitted, orphans preferred.
They make friends and share hardships on their long journey and the two women grow closer becoming lovers as well as friends. Finally arriving in Batavia in the Dutch East Indes pale, thin shadows of themselves as they prepare for new lives as company wives.
The Company Daughters is a powerful debut novel of the burgeoning wealth of the 17th Century Dutch and the hardship, poverty and cruelty that made that wealth possible. It's also a beautifully written tale of friendship and forbidden love, of colonialism, class and the horrific treatment of women, the native population and the poor. A gifted new writer for fans of Tracy Chevalier, Jessie Burton and Sarah Waters. Thank you to Bookouture and Netgalley for a copy of the book.
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