Author Event: In Conversation with Samuel Ridley, Author of The Mahogany Ship

Join us for a special conversation with local author Samuel Ridley as we delve into his latest gripping historical novel, The Mahogany Ship.

1523: A Portuguese exploration vessel is shipwrecked on an uncharted coast at the end of the known world. Desperate Dhauwurd wurrung warriors defend their country against the surviving armoured knights and sailors.

1818: A British naval veteran transporting convicts from England to New South Wales is shipwrecked on the barely known southern coast of Australia. Surviving the strange land and its indigenous population will take, and give, more than the officer could ever know.

2001: An isolated teenage boy meets a mysterious teenage girl inside an ancient shipwreck buried beneath the sands of Warrnambool. In time a truth will surface that brings them closer, while challenging history itself.

Place is everywhere and time is everywhen as the myth of the Mahogany Ship connects the dots on the map of Australia’s violent forgotten history. This is a story about acceptance and love, exploration and loss, and the human capacity to endure.

Samuel Ridley grew up in the rugged coastal paradise of Warrnambool where he still lives with his daughter, Evelyn. Sam enjoys bringing historical events to readers in the hope that it inspires them to continue learning about Australian history, and to remember the past. He has tertiary studies in Arts, Law, Education and Science. The Mahogany Ship is his second novel.

Copies of Samuel's book The Mahogany Ship will be available to purchase from our friends at Collins Booksellers Warrnambool.