This is essentially a tale of how women are often treated as commodities. This is true all through history. Even as I was reading this beautiful story, I thought of the millions of women in India and around the world who continue to be forced by circumstances and culture to marry men they do not know and move to lands that are so alien to them. But even more than that this is a story of survival, grit, determination and the ability to rise above and even triumph over adverse circumstances.

Rajaram uses vivid imagery as across continents with Jana and Sontje from the cold streets of Amsterdam to the warmer climes of Batavia. How the relationship between the two women – once mistress and maid – evolves is also fascinating.

The author really brought to light the dark history of colonial times – racism, slavery, injustice, cruelty to women and above greed that put power and money over human rights.

It’s hard to believe that this is a debut novel for the author. It’s so beautifully written – steeped in history and yet she manages to make the characters so believable and the story so moving.

The company daughters by Samantha Rajaram is an enjoyable historical novel that portrays a story about friendship and surviving life disadvantages in a very frightening scene.

The author has brought to life two female figures from the early 1600s and their journey to another country, another world and a fate that is nothing at all the way they expected it would be. Just like an arranged marriage novel, it treats them like possession or even slaves, and their spouses couldn’t be more different from each other. It engages us in such a peculiar cultural upbringing and we can easily read that what in some cultures dignity, respect and approaching each other like equals are such a wrangling perception and the discrepancies are running from many ages back.

It’s sensual, and it shows how the characters have grown to discover what life has to offer and their own identities along with their friendship and friends that crossover their path. The power is displayed in many forms and it shows how some people will profit from it to a maximum and how others will yet be compassionate of the less fortunate.

It’s a debut novel, but it doesn’t feel like it as it’s well researched and the storyline just flows uninterrupted.

Very grateful for my review copy to the publisher through NetGalley

"Half-light and half-darkness. Like the best of lives."

Amsterdam, 1616, Jana Beil has worked hard to survive. Now, after tragedy leaves her without a position as a servant, she decides to accept the offer presented by the Dutch East Indies Company, or V.O.C. The Company will send her to Batavia on a long, dangerous journey by ship to become the bride of a settler in this Asian colony. Longing for security and a future, these Company Daughters will be married off to strange men and begin a new life on the other side of the world. Of course, nothing goes as expected and The Company promise isn't the answer to any hopes and dreams. Jana contents herself with a forbidden love but life does not come with any guarantees. NO SPOILERS.

I enjoyed this historical fiction novel and Jana's story. Jana is determined and diligently tries to improve her situation through many sorrows and travails. Although she and Sontje find mutual pleasure in their relationship, their moments are stolen and they are always at the mercy of men. Although I liked the story well enough, it seemed that much of it was centered on Jana's thoughts and reflections more than relating details that I was looking for in regard to life in the colony so it left me a bit disappointed in a vague way.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this e-book ARC to read and review.

The Company Daughters is a captivating, gripping read which was beautifully written.

Firstly I knew nothing about Dutch history so I loved all the little details describing how life was in 17th Century Holland. The author has clearly done her research and I was soon immersed into the characters lives. The practice of sending poor, ophaned girls who otherwise wouldn’t have had a future to Dutch colonies was something I hadn’t heard of before. I was quite shocked to see how they were treated and what they went through, from the dangerous journey to the bleak future that awaited them. My heart went out to them and I found myself reading faster and faster as I wanted to find out how things would end for them.

The two main characters were fantastic creations who I warned to quickly and enjoyed following throughout the book. Jana was a very endearing character who is trying to escape a life of poverty and prostitution by working as a house servant. There she meets Sontje, the daughter of the house who soon becomes a friend to her rather than an employer. I really like Jana who was incredibly strong and determined which was great to read about. She shows a lot of courage throughout the book and it was lovely to see how much she obviously cared for Sontje. The two girls soon became like friends to me and I really cared about what would happen to them. I felt quite sad to finish the book and I had to leave them behind.

Overall I really enjoyed this fascinating, gripping read which I couldn’t believe was the author’s debut novel. The author takes the reader on a wonderful journey of discovery which I didn’t know which way it was going next. My only slight niggle with this book is that I wish there had been English translations for the Dutch words that are included in the story but that’s only a small thing and didn’t stop me thoroughly enjoying the book.

Huge thanks to Bookouture for my copy of this book via Netgalley.

4.5 stars

Jana Biel has led a hard life. On her own at an early age she has been judged and defined by her circumstances. She has learned how to survive against the odds and make the most of her situation. Work hard, keep your head down, keep your past to yourself. At all costs protect your heart.

Over the course of the novel we see her growth and to some extent Sontje’s as well. The two women experience many hardships, but through it all there is light in Rajaram’s words. I was moved by the subversive text and the colorful descriptions of nature. Rajaram, although dealing with themes of oppression, kept reminding the reader of the beauty found in the everyday things in life.

To describe how ravenous Jana was – “She turns to fetch him while I wait on the doorstep next to the blue, open-mouthed crocuses. Hungry, just like me.”

On hope – “Helena once said the stars were like eyes watching us, winking like old friends, I always thought the stars protected us, reminded us that darkness is never complete.”

Comfort comes in the cadent song of the waves lapping onto the shore. Guidance is given by the unfurling branches of a tree.

Her descriptions of place make both Amsterdam and Batavia come alive. Careful attention is paid to the many layers in which people are oppressed. Through Jana’s narration we not only learn about this historical period but are provided a prism of compassion. We learn what it is like to be an orphan, a women of no means, queer in the 17th century. We are asked to consider the plight of the slave. Jana is flawed, human. But she is also empathetic and able to see outside herself. So when she falters she eventually recognizes, admits and tries to correct her mistakes. Her character and this book will stay with me for quite a while. Great debut!

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.

The story starts in Amsterdam in 1620. Jana, daughter from a modest family, arrives to Amsterdam with nothing, after suffering at the hands of her father and other men. She finds employment at the house of a wealthy merchant but things go awfully wrong with his business when the boat he put all his wealth into is lost at sea. Then, for the daughter of the family, Sontje, and for Jana, starts a new life. Their path crosses that of the East India Company and they set off to be married to settlers in Batavia (now Jakarta).
The book is based on true history and I discovered yet another side of the powerful Dutch East India Company. The characters in the book are all going through a very rough time. Life in Amsterdam in those times is not easy without any wealth, the trip on the ship is long, people get sick and die, there is violence on board and lack of decent food. The stop in the Cape brings some relief, but the settlement is quite basic in those times and the travellers are quickly on the boat again to get to Batavia. Their destination is still a new settlement where they have to deal with the new husbands they are married to without having a say in the choice, and they have to live in a society which is disconnected from their roots but also brings new discoveries and learnings.
It is a heavy story where the characters get very little joy in their life, but where friendship and love still bring some relief in an otherwise harsh and poor existence.
It is a heavy read, I personally was not convinced by some of the aspects of the story the author decided to highlight, and although I read Dutch I found the use of so many untranslated Dutch terms quite distracting (thanks to the author for now offering a glossary on her website). But it is a good story and an interesting piece of history. In fact I have now added on my reading list the book The social world of Batavia by Jean Gelman Taylor.
Thanks to Boukouture and Netgalley for this advance readers copy of the book and to the author Samantha Rajaram for bringing this interesting story to us.
#TheCompanyDaughters #NetGalley

The Company Daughters by Samantha Rajaram

Ten months on a boat hoping to reach a life better than the one you left behind cannot have been easy in the 1600’s but perhaps a better option than working in a brothel…or so thought Sontje Reynst and Jana Beil. Their journey was arduous, constrictive, perilous, and created long-lasting friendships that they would need when they arrived in Batavia, now Jakarta.

What I liked:
* Jana: strong, intelligent, gifted, hard worker, a survivor – I liked her grit, stamina, and ability to thrive wherever she was.
* Sontje: a good friend to Jana, calm, cool, docile, did what she had to.
* The feel and voice of the story were true to the times
* The ability to look at without trivializing difficult topics (poverty, slavery, abuse, rape, physical violation, treatment of indigenous people, disease, death, and more)
* Learning more about the era and lives of women
* Wondering how I would have dealt with what the main characters were presented with
* Trying to decide if this would be suitable to read for YA students and the discussions it could provide – the writing was such that it would be easy enough for them to read but some of the topics might disturb or be inappropriate…maybe?

What I didn’t like:
* Knowing that this story is based on facts – and the lives of women, indigenous people, slaves and others was not easy.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more by this author? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for the arc! This title was released October 30, 2020.

This is a sapphic historical fiction love story filled with hardships and tragedy. Jana is the servant to Sontje, but when she loses her father and fortunes, she convinces Jana to go with her on a journey to new land to become wives of settlers. Of course, over this time, their feelings for each other are deepened and explored. The pacing of their relationship was so beautifully written. I devoured it in a day!

This is overall quite a heart wrenching story with heavy themes such as sexism, colourism, homophobia, sexual assault, and slavery.

The Company Daughters by Samantha Rajaram is an historical fiction novel set in 17th Century Holland and revolves around two young women and the Dutch East Indies Company. I was instantly attracted to this book due to the cover and the fact of the Dutch East Indies Company, my husband is Dutch and for Holland this was known as The Golden Age for the Dutch.
We first meet Jana escaping from her abusive father and a life of prostitution. She knocks on a door and this changes her life. Master Reynst is a shipwright for The Dutch East Indies Company and it is his door she has knocked on, he is a wealthy and kind widower and his daughter answers the door to Jana. Sontje, a beautiful rich girl who has everything at her fingertips. Jana ends up working as a servant but soon begins to befriend Sontje and they grow close. Jana has a home and warmth she is happy. Tragedy strikes and Sontje and Jana sign up to be company daughters with the East Indies Company. This consists of sailing out to the Colonial outposts of the company amd essentially marrying the male settlers out there, total strangers. The voyage alone is a treacherous 10 months and there is no guarantee they will even make it, and if they do...what do they have to face?
An absolutely gripping and captivating read. A story based on historical facts it really made my mind boggle, but how brave of these girls to actually sign up. This was the way back then, women would have no other means of income so they were left with no option at that time. This was all part and parcel of colonialism. They needed strong Dutch stock, I would assume something similar happened with the Colonisation of India later on.
Samantha has skilfully told a tale that grips your heart and won't let go until it as wrung everything out of you. Sontje and Jana are two characters that I enjoyed getting to know and all I wanted for Jana, especially was the best. She had so much in her young life she only needed one good break.Truly enjoyed my time in the 17th century and felt like I could be there with the girls as they attempted to find a way to live.
Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for the copy of the book today for my review.

Life has not always been easy for Jana Beil. She is only a young girl when she escapes the clutches of her violent father. Jana rather be in the streets and hungry than living with a drunk and abusive man. This leads Her hungry most nights, sleeping in alleyways with rats and other bugs. Finally, having enough, Jana sets out to find a job and after the 18th door is knocked she lands herself a servant position with the Reynst family. Master Reynst and his daughter Sonjte are kind to Jana and so she finally gets to have a room to herself, food in her belly and a friend of sorts in Sontje. Life is finally easier until the Reynst’s lose their fortune forcing both Sontje and Jana to become company daughters.

Samantha Rajaram has taken a slice of history and poured her heart and soul into The Company Daughters. Her debut novel is rich in history, atmospheric and shows the harsh realities of women during the 17th century. Life during this time was not always kind to women, who really didn’t have a voice. You were either born into wealth or born poor trying to earn a decent living while trying desperately to stay out of working in a brothel.

The Dutch east Indies Company was looking for company daughters. Young women looking to escape Amseterdam due to unfortunate circumstances, to make a better life as wives of settlers in Batavia (present day Jakarta, Indonesia.) Here is where Jana and Sontje find themselves and here is where the story really takes off and shines. Rajaram really writes some heartbreaking and heart wrenching scenes that really pull on your emotions.There are many themes of this story including same sex attraction and falling in love in a time period where it is frowned upon. I really enjoyed how close Jana and Sontje become and the love they share with each other. They only have each other to lean on.

The story is broken up into three sections and each section has its own trials and tribulations as well as both Jana and Sontje learning how to adjust in each new chapter in their lives. But, there is one central theme running through each part and that is how strong women are even faced with adversity in a world where women were often scene but not heard.

If you love historical fiction rich in history and a storyline that can at times bring you to tears, then you definitely do not want to miss out on reading The Company Daughters. This is a definite five star read. I still can’t believe this is a debut novel! Well written, deeply emotional and yet at the same time uplifting.

This is an absolute gem of a book and I was delighted to have been approved for it. So excited it went straight to the top of my reading list.

I came across this novel on Twitter and after reading the synopsis decided I had to read it. I had never heard of women being transported to Batavia (now Jakarta) to start married life with Company husbands in the colony.

It’s a rough story – Jana and her friend Sontje who come from different backgrounds and different beginnings, but both take the perilous journey from Amsterdam to Jakarta in the early 17th century. Both are very different, but both are survivors, and this is their story, the story of the orphan woman who were transported out to Jakarta and treated as possessions.

What comes out is an epic journey of love, self-discovery and survival. Impressively researched its hard to believe that this is a debut novel.

Thank you again to the publisher and netgalley for the ARC in return for this very honest review.

This is a wonderful, heart-wrenching love story set in Amsterdam and Batavia (now Jakarta). The story of Jana is an inspiring read as she drags herself from the gutter into service to Sontje, before they both join the Company Daughters on a horrendous boat journey across the seas to find husbands and a new life on the Dutch colony.
The story of the two women is absorbing and emotional. The writing is beautiful and I was hooked from the very first page with the descriptions of the women 'caged' and oppressed by both society in Holland and by colonial attitudes in Batavia. A must for all historical fiction fans.

What a fabulous story this is - not only does it give life to another period in history, it takes you on a fantastic adventure to faraway places. The descriptions are so vivid you live every part of this story - you see what the characters see, feel what they feel. I went through all the emotions - happy, sad, shocked, angry and a whole lot more. With a compelling storyline, this is a book to immerse yourself in. Perfect escapism and one of my top historical reads this year.

The Company Daughters is Samantha Rajaram’s heartfelt debut and a work of historical literary fiction that is richly-imagined, based on a true story and impeccably researched. It is the story of Jana Beil, a servant in seventeenth-century Amsterdam who, alongside her companion Sontje Reynst, signs up to be a ‘company daughter’ – a mail-order bride dispatched to settlers in the far Dutch colonial East Indies. Based on true history, these two women undertake a dangerous and deadly sea journey to the colony of Batavia – present-day Indonesia – to start a new life there as wives to men they know nothing about. Most of these women are orphans and with nothing left in terms of prospects in their Dutch homeland and so they are given dowries in return for marrying the Dutch settlers in Batavia and starting families. Even if they survive the treacherous ten-month voyage across the globe there's no guarantee they will find all their answers when they step off the boat and meet those who will become their family. Will their gamble on love and the possibility of prosperity pay off or is this one gamble too far?

This is a gripping, intense and truly captivating read, and I was so moved by Jana and Sontje’s story – the company daughters of the Dutch East India Company must have been tremendously brave (and heartbreakingly desperate) to travel halfway across the world in perilous conditions to marry a stranger. Samantha really brings their unique and fascinating tale to life with her beautifully atmospheric writing and warm characters. It's heart-wrenching and unimaginable to be a young woman, most likely all alone in the world, who decides to take this huge leap of faith and it highlights many of the issues that were happening at the time as a result of colonialism; Rajaram makes a point to highlight this, and I expect this is informed by the British colonisation of India in 1858. It's superbly written and the seventeenth-century setting was depicted authentically and exotically but the characters are what really made the story wonderful; Jana, in particular, became like a friend who you wished nothing but the best for. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Bookouture for an ARC.

The Company Daughters by @samantha.r.reader - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Changing pace a little from all the gothic and fantasy fiction I’ve been reading recently, this beautiful historical novel is out on Friday - thanks so much to @bookouture and @netgalley for my advanced copy. Do go and pre-order it now - it’s just 99p I’m the Kindle store today!

The Company Daughters takes us from the cold, conformist streets of Amsterdam across the seas to brilliant blue skies Batavia with the Company Daughters, young women - mostly orphans - with nothing left for them in the Dutch homeland due to loss of fortune, families and unexpected poverty where they are to be given dowries in return for marrying the Dutch settlers there and starting families. After a brutal, 10 month long sea voyage that there is no guarantee they’ll survive they’re to be a civilising influence on the colony.

The Company Daughters is a beautiful, fascinating book that I really enjoyed reading. It’s imagery is vivid and very very real, bringing everywhere to life on the page. Jana - our narrator - is easy to emphasise with and to draw strength from with her courage, independence and insistence that she build a better life for herself. The romance in the book did not really work for me (it was certainly not ‘heart-wrenching’ as it was described in the subtitle) but then again I’m used to romances being less subtle in the books I often read. However, the book was still heavy with absence of life, loss and hardship, and certainly during these difficult times I’ve come away from reading it with a renewed appreciation for the things in my life that sometimes I’m not grateful enough to have.

The Company’s Daughter

‘The Company Daughters’ tells the story of Jana who is sent off to Batavia to be married and finds herself on a discovery of love and life.

‘The Company Daughters’ is loosely based off the real life story of the Company Daughters who used to take the daunting 10 month journey from Amsterdam to Batavia in the seventeenth century to be married off.

Women during those times were married off and didn’t get much say in any decisions. It was a time when women had no choice but to do what they was told and were kept women.

Most of the story takes place on the journey to Batavia. During what is a harrowing journey to Batavia they find out the dangers of been on the water and a deadly sickness has come upon the boat. But Jana soon finds some happiness which she finds herself having to remain a secret.

However, Jana is a force to be reckoned with and stands up for what’s she believes in. She pays the slaves where others wouldn’t and goes on to sell lace despite it been frowned upon at first. I loved reading about a character who I felt I could partly relate to as a strong, independent woman who fights for what she believes in and wants to make a difference to the world.

This is highly descriptive, you really get a feel for the hardships Jana and the rest of the daughters entail throughout this story. It’s a harrowing and touching story and I’d highly recommend if you’re a fan of historical fiction.

This novel introduced me into some parts of the world and history that were totally unknown to me. Well done to the author on linking a true story and the fate of many real 'company daughter's that were essentially sexually trafficked young girls sent across the sea to Africa to marry Dutch merchants.
The central character Jana Beil is strong willed and totally believable which is why I have a note of caution over the intense relationship with her first employer/then friend Sontje. This is entirely credible and immensely passionately written but how far would it in reality have gone within the community in Batavia in which it then relocates? However that is a minor blip in an excellent novel. Its three parts take us from the streets of Amsterdam city (very similar in tone and description for lovers of ''The Miniaturist' novel) to the superbly evocative sea voyage taking many months and with such friendships and hardships endured to the land of Batavia and its exotic forests, fauna and fruit so beautifully described by the author.
I liked the sympathetic approach to Jana's husband Mattheus and did feel eventually happiness of some sort would prevail but not expecting some of the twists and turns that were outlined in the last chapters.
Lots to learn and to love from this strong debut historical novel.

Wow! I read a lot of historical fiction, and this was excellent. Well written, well researched, with amazingly believable characters. The first third is set in Amsterdam, where a young girl trying to escape a hard home life and living on the streets manages to snag a job as a maid for a wealthy ship investor and his daughter. There were shades of "Girl with a Pearl Earring" and "The Miniaturist" here, but then tragedy strikes, and the only way for the girl and her master's daughter to survive is to board a company ship to Indonesia.

The next third of the story takes place on ship, where we learn about the hard life of the "company daughters" who have also been forced into this emigration. Having read lots of book with a similar theme where the protagonists were travelling to New Zealand or Australia, the Dutch theme and the focus on the lives of women really made this story stand out. The two women realise they are in love, in a beautifully described building up of their relationship, which only makes it sadder when they arrive in Batavia (Jakarta) and are married off to the colonists. T

he last third of the book describes their life there, with a particular focus on the female indigenous slaves, particularly the widows. A really fresh look at the history of the time, through an unusual lens.

The Company Daughters was so much more than I was expecting it to be. It's a story of both forbidden love, and the incredible resilience of the human spirit.

Jana is a young Dutch girl alone and in desperate poverty. One day she finds herself on the Reynst doorstep and is taken on as a servant for kind but absent minded Master Reynst and his daughter Sontje. The first quarter of the novel details her life in Amsterdam, working for the Reynsts and battling her growing confusing feelings for Sontje. When Master Reynst loses his fortune and then dies, Sontje signs up as a Company Daughter - to travel by ship to Batavia (modern day Jakarta) to be married off to a Dutch settler there. Jana, unwilling to imagine life without Sontje, joins her.

The second quarter details their rough ten month boat journey to Batavia, and the second half of the book their life in this new,  unfamiliar land.

I loved Jana as a character. I loved how she always made the best she could of things, even in the most difficult circumstances, and her stoic, hardworking nature. Sontje annoyed me at times but she did undergo some decent character growth.

The writing was beautiful. It swept you along just like a boat rocking on the ocean, never feeling heavy or tiresome, with some truly poignant moments. I felt so invested in Jana's story and wished so much for a bit of happiness for her.

This is a truly affecting, moving, beautiful story, I highly recommend it.