The Company: Portrait of a Murderer

by Arabella Edge

Based on the 1629 voyage of the Dutch East India Company flagship, Batavia -- which foundered off the coast of western Australia with its cargo of untold riches -- The Company tells the story of passenger Jeronimus Cornelisz, a heretical apothecary so twisted by lust and greed that he turns to mutiny, rape, torture, and murder.
With the ship wrecked, its passengers dying, and its treasure at the bottom of the sea, Cornelisz marshals his mesmerizing charisma to assume command of the survivors. For forty hellish days, Cornelisz incites a reign of terror, leaving his victims with just one wish -- that they had gone down with the ship.
In highly imaginative and exquisitely wrought prose, The Company "suggests that Robinson Crusoe was lucky to be marooned alone" (Publishers Weekly).

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Australia, Historical, Thriller, Horror, Suspense

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Arabella Edge narrates the horrifying events after the shipwreck of the Batavia, one of the most important ships of the Dutch East Indian Company. Interestingly, the moral decay of the survivors is told by Jeronimus, sadistic pervert with a love for luxury and young boys dedicating themselves to all kinds of brutally erotic games who seizes power after the tragic accident and starts to convert the island where the crew and travellers had found a scarce refuge into his own private realm of godless frivolity and crimes. He corrupts the minds of those who've accepted his guidance way too easily the same way other dictators have done too many times in history.

The story itself is enthralling, especially as I had never heard of this historic event before, unfortunately I didn't enjoy Edge's slightly convoluted and artificial writing style too much and - even knowing that all this had really happened - I didn't buy the psychological profile of any of the protagonists. The author has done her best to include childhood memories which are meant to explain the "evilness" of Jeronimus, but the thoughts of this characters never seemed the thoughts of a real person to me, mad or not. A fast read, quite enjoyable, but nothing special.

[Peyton · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Company is an interesting work of historical fiction about a 17th Century nautical expedition from the Netherlands to Australia. The writing style makes this book a deceptively quick read. Edge includes lots of details about the everyday objects aboard the ship, which paint a full and convincing picture of the historical period in the reader's mind. I struggled to understand the motives of the protagonist, however, and what he was trying to accomplish. For example, his decision to stay in the shipwreck for days, risking death by drowning, is incomprehensible to me.

As a side note, here is a great line from The Company that sounds like could have been written by Lovecraft (if the man knew how to write): "How I loathe the ocean and its fecund womb of fish scale and slime."

[Lianna · Rating 2 out of 5]

not a big fan of her writing style but the actual story of the shipwreck is exciting. you'd be better off reading a historical account of the whole thing.

[Emily]

nobody read this book. Historical fiction, at least in this case is something no one needs.

[Maggie Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth a read. Strangely good and reminiscent of Lord of the Flies and all the more interesting as its based on a true story

[Michelle Stockard Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read in pre-blogging days, before 2009.

[Kelsey Riggs]

If you are looking for a good true crime story this is one of the best. Arabella writes from the perspective of one of the bloodiest and cruelest murderers ever - Jeronimus Cornelisz. He was a heretical apothecary that organized a mutiny, tortured and killed hundreds of people, and condoned the rape of others. Did i mention the people he manipulated were all shipwrecked and starving to death too? Yeah, he didn't have any problems with that. The story itself is great to read and hard to put down and the way Arabella writes the story is a great way to for readers to don't like to read nonfiction books but want nonfiction stories. Historical crime fiction at its finest. :)

[Judi K · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I read this, I had no idea it was based on a true story, and perhaps it was better that way, as others appear to have expected more and been disappointed by the author's telling of it from the perspective of Jeronimus Cornelisz, a psycopath. While reading it, I thought it was rather a chilling tale, but on learning at the end that it was true, made it all the more fascinating.

[Rodolfo Barrientos · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't think I have ever read a more raw, brutal, and sickening piece of literature. It's not that it's badly written. It's that it depicts history under the full sunlight, with all the psychopathy, greed, and delusions of grandeur that have shaped it. It's not a bad book, but I wouldn't recommend it or read it again.

[Martin Molloy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is certainly better than its 3.2 average. It is a quick read, from the sadistic narrator's point of view and is well worth reading. Edge certainly gets the period right, and even if I did know the history of The Batavia, it is really enjoyable to read. I'm tempted to seek out her other work now.

[Rick Wolff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creepy as hell, made all the creepier by it being a true story. I understand there’s another novel based on these incidents, more popular. If you happen to have this one on hand or find it somewhere, scoop it up, and don’t wait for the other one.

[Dawnya · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just couldn't stay with the dry, lifeless narrative.

[Kevin Kosar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very impressive piece of work, which depicts the mind of a very bad man.

[Leo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting topic but pretty meh story.

[Colette Webber · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting tale with an evil twist. Disturbing but a really good read!

[Mitchan · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the prologue I assumed it was going to be a sexually gruesome tale, did turn out to be a 16th at some points a 17th century 50 Shades with a bit of Lord of the Flies and Dorian Gray thrown in. Writing however, did well to convey what it was like to be on the ship and cast away.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1692, the Dutch East India Company ship, Batavia, was wrecked off the coast of as-then undiscovered Western Australia. Stranded on an island with no fresh water, things looked dire. When the senior officers, including the captain and the commandeur, left to find drinking water a man called Jeronimus Cornelisz took charge and began a reign of terror where murder and rape came to be the norm.

The Company retells of this dreadful time through the eyes of Cornelisz himself, which is tricky to pull off. With a story so dark, told with the voice of such a disturbed and depraved individual, it could really be an incredibly off-putting book. Who, after all, wants to read about these vile acts as narrated by the man who caused them all?

Yet there's a deftness of touch there. Edge lets us know how awful Cornelisz, his "council" and his actions were, but never rams in the knife to make us see it in vivid technicolour. Most acts are mentioned, only briefly described, if ever – which would normally be seen as a bad or weak writing, but works here because a vivid description would be nauseating. It also makes some sense for Cornelisz to describe these atrocities in sparse terms.

I was not expecting to find this a decent read, was drawn to the book by the possibly accidental aged appearance of the book and the cheap price tag. I would never call this an enjoyable or pleasant read, but I will say it is a decent read, albeit dark and grim and not for the faint-hearted.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A masterly dark and disturbing tale.
Like Heath-Ledger-as-Joker disturbing.
Also disturbing: In the acknowledgements, the author thanks someone I assume is her daughter, who had to listen to the novel being read aloud every day after school. Wha? What's her bedtime story, a Clockwork Orange?

Based on true events from the 1600s, the story centers on an evil young apothecary, exiled to the colonies from Amsterdam, who is shipwrecked and spends the next 40 days marooned on desert isles playing God with his fellow castaways.

This is a truly unique read but with familiar elements. There is a strong "Lord of the Flies" element with a generous splash of S&M. The voice and style, and being forced uncomfortably into the mind of a madman, also reminds me of Perfume: The Story of Murderer. And the way the victims looked to the apothecary, sort of a modern pharmacist, for salvation and guidance even reminds me of TV's Lost and how the survivors instinctively chose Dr. Jack Shepherd as some sort of leader. But the know-how to heal is also the know-how to poison.

The known events are disturbing enough. But the author does an amazing job filling in the blanks. The chapters, dedicated to each day of the 40-day nightmare, are short and haunting. Historical fiction at its creepiest.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I reserve one-star ratings for books I do not feel the need to finish.
I finished this one. It gets two stars expressly for that.
Weird. The story, based on true events, is pretty fascinating. The writing, particularly the voice of a sociopath and ego-maniacal murderer (which should be aMAZingly fun to write... and to read), is only eh. There was a comparison of Edge and Brett Easton Ellis written in a review on the book jacket... so I expected more out of Edge. Unfortunately, I think the comparison was made only taking the Patrick Bateman character into account and disregarding all of Ellis' talent. Even more unfortunate--for me-- I fell for it and got stuck reading through the novel in its entirety.

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fictionalized account of the atrocities that befell the survivors of the Batavia's wreck. It is told from Jeronimus Cornelisz's (the mutineer and madman left in control of the survivors) point of view. I recommend reading a true account because no fictionalized account can be more compelling than the true story but it is creepy to read the first person POV. Thankfully the book is short because its so disgusting what he does to the survivors that I don't think I could have read much more. The author's writing is great and I thought she does an excellent job of making the reading see into this madman's mind. But its definitely not a book I need to read twice.

[Owen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very much enjoyed this strange tale of the fortunes endured by the survivors of the Batavia, a ship that hit a reef off the coast of Western Australia on its way to the east Indies, leaving the passengers stranded and, as it transpired, in the hands of a mass murderer. An eccentric text, written in prose designed to match the times of which it tells, and therefore not everyone's cup of tea, as noted in other reviews. Nonetheless, a fine achievement and a worthwhile read for anyone interested in both the story, which, although fictionalised here, is a true one, and a surprising and inventive use of the English language.

[A Reader's Heaven · Rating 3 out of 5]

"This is Bret Easton Ellis camped on Treasure Island with Lord of the Flies." - Robert Drewe

I have to say from the start that I couldn't finish this book. I can see why it is popular, I can see why those who love this book point to it's historical accuracies and prose - I just couldn't read it.

I put up with the language for 150 pages and the ship had only just become shipwrecked - 150 pages of painful dialogue and descriptive prose. There is just too much to read in the world to waste more time on this.

I gave it 3 stars as, like I said, I can see why it would be popular.


Paul
ARH

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not quite sure what this fictional version of the wreck of the Batavia adds to the true story. I understand why the author would try to tell the story from the point of view of the villain, to try to get into his head. She succeeds somewhat, I would say, but ultimately Cornelisz is such a creepy, evil man that it's damn hard to get into his head. Still, I enjoyed the book. Where do you go to wash your brain after enjoying such horror?

[Brigid · Rating 2 out of 5]

Follows the journey of a dandified nutjob who knows his poisons. After a shipwreck destroys his plans to mutiny (how dare Nature interfere with his plans?), our main character sets out to make himself lord and master of their little refuge. He manipulates everyone, ingratiates himself to those socially above him, and seriously misleads many of the castaways to his own advantage. The whole scene devolves into violence and debauchery, just as one would expect from an opium-addicted megalomaniac.

[Shandana · Rating 4 out of 5]

"lord of the flies" has nothing on this story of the infamous batavia shipwreck and the chaos that ensued when one of the survivors appointed himself king, enslaved the women and killed the men who didn't bend to his will. horrifying from start to finish, especially when you consider it's a true story...

[Jyv · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I read this, I had no idea it was based on a true story, and perhaps it was better that way, as others appear to have expected more and been disappointed by the author's telling of it from the perspective of Jeronimus Cornelisz, a psycopath. While reading it, I thought it was rather a chilling tale, but on learning at the end that it was true, made it all the more fascinating.

[Belinda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't love it. It was OK. I guess.

[Renae · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit slow and ponderous. I had a hard time staying with it, even if it was an ok read. Too much time spent crawling in the head of the main character, which was not a pretty place to be...

[Kevin Aston Hoey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fictionalized account of the wreck of the Batavia off the Western Australian coast in 1629. An Interesting read about power and manipulation by a 'madman' during the disaster.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you can stomach the violence, it is a fascinating read.