The Man Who Stole the Cyprus: A True Story of Escape

(Paperback)

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On the evening of 14 August 1829 the government brig 'Cyprus' was sheltering in Recherche Bay on the remote south-east coast of Tasmania when she was captured by eighteen convicts under the leadership of William Swallow, a prisoner for life. After marooning the crew, military guard and passengers on the desolate shore, Swallow skilfully sailed the brig across the Pacific to Tahiti then back to the Tongan Islands and on to Japan before finally scuttling her off the Chinese coast. Hirst has written a fascinating account of a rogue whose undoubted leadership, determination and resourcefulness might, in different circumstances, have led him to a far more favourable fate.

Reviews

"An adventure story of some magnitude, it grips the reader from the strat." -- Sea Breezes November 2009