The Convict Ship

England, 1816. The Napoleonic Wars have only just ended, and poverty is widespread. Eleven-year-old Tom, desperate with hunger, breaks into a bakery with his new friend, Horatio. They are caught and thrown aboard a notorious convict ship. Tom and Horatio meet friends as well as enemies in the darkness of the hold and find themselves faced with a dilemma: can you let other people die to save yourself?
A modern ‘Oliver Twist’ tale for contemporary young readers that is captivating and entertaining, and written with gorgeous visual details. In The Convict Ship Erik Barfoed and Peter Bay Alexandersen have created a story that puts contemporary children’s lives in perspective, offering children who are curious about facts and history some knowledge and insight into another era, one with an entirely different social and family structure.

About the author and illustrator 

Erik Barfoed studied classical philology and debuted as a children's book author in 2005 with his books about a boy called August. Barfoed has also worked as a children’s book editor for several years, including at Egmont Kids, and has been a senior figure in the publishing industry as well as a communications manager in local government. He currently works as an author, translator and communications officer.

Peter Bay Alexandersen trained at the Design School in Kolding in 1978. For a number of years he worked as a designer for LEGO, where he built models and came up with new toys, before becoming a freelance illustrator in 1985. Since then he has illustrated numerous newspaper articles, magazines, children’s and picture books both within and outside Denmark, including for Kim Leine, Anne Sofie Hammer and Mette Eike Neerlin.

Text translated by Denise Rose Hansen