41. The Idea Of Perfection By Kate Grenville (Used, New, Out-of-Print Alibris has The Idea of Perfection and other books by kate grenville, including new used copies, rare, outof-print signed editions, and more. http://www.alibris.com/search/books/author/Kate Grenville/title/Idea Of Perfecti

You'll find it at Alibris! Log in here. Over 60 million used, new, and out-of-print books! YOUR CART items ACCOUNT WISHLIST HELP search all sellers in Books Movies DVD VHS Music - Pop/Jazz Pop/Jazz CD Pop/Jazz Vinyl Music - Classical Classical CD Classical Vinyl by title / ISBN by song title by author by composer by subject your shopping cart order status wish list book fetch ... help Sign up for our newsletter and enter to win FREE books. your e-mail address see this month's winners NEW BOOKS OF NOTE COLLEGE TEXTBOOKS BARGAIN BOOKS ... RARE BOOKS Cover may not depict edition offered for sale available COPIES The Idea of Perfection by Kate Grenville About this title: Winner of the Orange Prize in Britain, Kate Grenville's THE IDEA OF PERFECTION is set in a small Australian town where two awkward misfitsDouglas, an engineer, and Harley, a museum curatorfind themselves at odds until, unexpectedly, they fall in love. A New York Times Notable Book for 2002. Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below. Your search: Books Author: Kate Grenville Title: Idea Of Perfection The Idea of Perfection (142 available copies) Narrow your results by: Hardcover Softcover Signed First edition ... Eligible for FREE shipping Narrow results by publisher Sometimes it pays off to expand your search to view all available copies of items matching your search terms.

42. Today We Are Reading: 'The Secret River' By Kate Grenville Peter Carey, kate grenville, Tim Winton and I have my mother-in-law Chris to thank for introducing me to Murray Bail via his amazing book Eucalyptus. http://todaywerereading.blogspot.com/2008/01/secret-river-by-kate-grenville.html

skip to main skip to sidebar Today we are reading A bookish blend of life, motherhood and love with a few reviews thrown in for good measure Tuesday, 8 January 2008 'The Secret River' by Kate Grenville I have a bit of a thing for Australian writers. (in fact you could say I have a bit of a thing for Australians seeing as I married one!) Peter Carey Kate Grenville Tim Winton - and I have my mother-in-law Chris to thank for introducing me to Murray Bail via his amazing book Eucalyptus. So it's surprising that it took me so long to get around to reading The Secret River by Kate Grenville, especially as I love her book T he Idea of Perfection so much. It's a love story of two misfits falling in love in a little outback town in New South Wales written with enormous compassion and skill. Grenville mixes tenderness with comedy, never once falling into sentimentality. Her vivid descriptions have this bush town jumping off the page at you and her imagery is haunting, lingering in your mind for the longest while afterwards. The Secret River begins in London in the early 1800's and ends decades later in New South Wales. At it's core are two decisions which change the lives of the main character William Thornhill, his wife Sal and their family forever. William makes a bad mistake which takes them from a tough, but bearable life in the docklands area of London via the convict ship to New South Wales where Thornhill has been sentenced to live out the rest of his natural life. Thornhill ends up on the edge of the Hawkesbury River, harsh frontier land where he begins to scratch out a life for his family believing it will make him rich. This land isn't uninhabited though, it belongs to the Darug people who have lived on it for many thousands of years before him. Thornhill must face another decision, one which he will have to stand by forever.

43. The Skinny - Lilian's Story - Kate Grenville The Skinny Lifestyle, Film, Music, Clubbing, LGBT, Theatre, Comedy, Art, Books, DVDs, Games and comprehensive listings for Edinburgh and Glasgow. http://www.skinnymag.co.uk/content/view/5352/

var jw_slideSpeed = 50; var jw_timer = 2; @import "http://www.skinnymag.co.uk/mambots/content/plugin_jw_tabs_slides/slides.css"; @import "http://www.skinnymag.co.uk/mambots/content/plugin_jw_tabs_slides/tabs.css"; @import "http://www.skinnymag.co.uk/mambots/content/plugin_jw_tabs_slides/tabs_print.css"; Get Involved! About Contact Sunday, 27 January 2008 Username Password Remember me Lost Password? No account yet? Register Lilian's Story - Kate Grenville Written by Gemma Nugent Monday, 27 August 2007 Be first to comment this article Only registered users can write comments. Please login or register. Powered by AkoComment Tweaked Special Edition v.1.4.6 www.mamboportal.com All right reserved See also: Searching for the Secret River - Kate Grenville The Secret River - Kate Grenville The Skinny is Edinburgh and Glasgow's free entertainment, culture and listings magazine. You can get it in over 500 cafes, bars, theatres, and live music venues across Edinburgh and Glasgow, and it is jam-packed full of all the good stuff going on in Scotland for the month. Want to get involved? You could contact us or advertise

44. Kate Grenville If you like kate grenville, try Peter Carey; Brian Castro; Michelle de Kretser; Nicholas Drayson; Sonya Hartnett; Annamarie Jagose; Anthony O Neill http://www.yarracity.vic.gov.au/Library/Reading room/Kate Grenville.asp

Home Animals Health Older Persons ... Youth Contact Council t (03) 9205 5555 e info@yarracity.vic.gov.au Contact Libraries t 1300 695 427 e yarralibraries@ yarracity.vic.gov.au Home Page Library ... Reading room In this section: A.McCall Smith Agatha Christie Alex Miller Alice Pung ... Judith Armstrong Kate Grenville Kate Holden Matthew Reilly Muslim writersasp Nicki Greenberg ... You recommend We Recommend If you like Kate Grenville, try... Peter Carey Brian Castro Michelle de Kretser Nicholas Drayson Sonya Hartnett Annamarie Jagose Anthony O'Neill Peter Temple Hsu-Ming Teo Ian Townsend Arnold Zable Top Further information Postal Address City of Yarra PO Box 168 Richmond 3121 Ph: 1300 695 427 Email: yarralibraries@yarracity.vic.gov.au Carlton Library 667 Rathdowne St, North Carlton Vic 3054 Fax: Collingwood Library 11 Stanton St, Abbotsford Vic 3067 Fax: Fitzroy Library 128 Moor St, Fitzroy Vic 3065 Fax: North Fitzroy Library 240 St Georges Rd

45. Reading Matters: 'The Secret River' By Kate Grenville This is what happened to me with kate grenville s Booker shortlisted and much acclaimed The Secret River. I had not expected to like this book. http://kimbofo.typepad.com/readingmatters/2006/10/the_secret_rive.html

Reading matters Main Tuesday, October 03, 2006 'The Secret River' by Kate Grenville Fiction - paperback; Canongate; 349 pages; 2006. You generally know that a book has had an impact when you dream about it or when you wake and it's the first thing on your mind. This is what happened to me with Kate Grenville's Booker short-listed and much acclaimed The Secret River. I had not expected to like this book. This is because I think there are too many Australian novels about the country's convict past and one more wasn't really going to add anything to the sum of human knowledge. But I was wrong about this one. On the face of it The Secret River is a good old-fashioned tale about a poor Thames waterman who, having been found guilty of stealing some precious timber, is sent to the other side of the world New South Wales for the term of his natural life. Here, accompanied by his wife and children, he is eventually pardoned and then tries to make a new life for himself as a waterman on the Hawkesbury River. He secures a 100-acre plot in the forest, where he builds a hut and plants a cornfield, and contends with the native population and their intimidating ways... But delve a little deeper and this novel explores all kinds of moralistic issues: what constitutes crime and how should criminals be punished?; at what point should a man fight for what he believes in?; when does land ownership become a right and not a privilege?; do you have a right to defend your property by force?; and how should one handle cultures in collision?

46. From My Personal Site: The Secret River By Kate Grenville « English/ESL — The Secret River by kate grenville (2005). grenville has also written one of the best books on writing that I know. (Australian historical fiction) http://neilwhitfield.wordpress.com/2007/08/14/from-my-personal-site-the-secret-r

@import url( http://s.wordpress.com/wp-content/themes/pub/k2/style.css?m=1193810771 ); Blog About Diversity Links ... by Kate Grenville Published August 14, 2007 Australian works/authors writing Tags: Australian history Australian literature fiction Kate Grenville Substantial additions have been made to this post, thanks to Adrian Phoon. Go to the original post for his comment. See also Just something to think about… , a follow-up post. The Secret River by Kate Grenville (2005). Grenville has also written one of the best books on writing that I know. (Australian historical fiction) As I said last week: I mentioned in my comment on that I am at last reading The Secret River The Secret River (that is, the Hawkesbury) attracted some little controversy on that score, much of it misplaced. But I will take that up when I review the novel. You will see I have already given The Secret River a best read of 2007 tag though. That still stands, now that I have finished. The novel began, Kate Grenville tells us, as a work of non-fiction; she is fortunate enough to have a very interesting convict ancestor, Solomon Wiseman, about whom rather more is known and told than is the case with my ancestor Jacob. Some stirring tales appear in . Grenville does her subject novelistic justice in that flesh-and-blood characters really emerge in her writing. It is true, nonetheless, that, while true to what we know of Aboriginal life and culture in that time and place, she does fail to render her Indigenous characters quite so fully. Perhaps given the perspective of her narrative this is not possible, but her convicts and emancipists are rendered brilliantly and individually.

47. The Secret River, By Kate Grenville - Reviews, Books - Independent.co.uk kate grenville writes this compressed epic of the unenfranchised with great authority at times and subtle pacing throughout, giving voice to the unheard, http://arts.independent.co.uk/books/reviews/article347291.ece

var contextSectionId = '1297'; var contextName = 'independent_www_arts-entertainment_books'; Skip Links Skip to navigation Skip to primary content Skip to secondary content Skip to tertiary content ... What's Tom Lubbock's favourite kiss in art? Find out in Great Works Books London Search Query: Go Headlines On the Campaign Trail Live reporting from the US see Race for White House Click here... Navigation News UK Home News UK Politics ... Reviews var articleheadline = "The Secret River, by Kate Grenville"; The Secret River, by Kate Grenville Lands of beauty, lands of blood Print Email Search Search Go Independent.co.uk Web Digg It del.icio.us Facebook Stumbleupon ... What are these? By Sean O'Brien Friday, 24 February 2006 This novel is a tale of two rivers - one lost, the other ambiguously claimed. It is also the story of a marriage. William Thornhill is born in poverty in London at the start of the 19th century. By good luck he is apprenticed to a Thames waterman, and marries his childhood sweetheart, Sal, daughter of his employer. A shift in the economy ruins his livelihood. Facing the rope for theft, he is spared and sent to Australia. Impoverished in Sydney, Thornhill sets his heart on farming a small peninsula on the Hawkesbury River, a region scarcely touched by settlers. Thornhill's dream is both supremely simple and intractably complex: it involves having something that no one can take from him - not the law, not the gentry, not economic change. Ultimately, he is more anxious to feed his children than to be good (religious belief is silently absent from these settlers' lives).

48. Fiction - Secret River - The Secret River is a compelling, superbly written novel of colonialism; kate grenville brilliantly evokes both the grinding poverty of Victorian London, http://www.britishbookshop.at/shop/prod_summary.asp?cat=329&id=4763&ucat=332

49. Information Portal The writing book a workbook for fiction writers / kate grenville. by grenville, kate Writing from start to finish a sixstep guide / kate grenville. http://catalogue.onkaparinga.sa.gov.au/uPortal/Initialize?uP_tparam=props&props&

50. Kate Grenville On LibraryThing | Catalog Your Books Online LibraryThing catalogs yours books online, easily, quickly and for free. http://tr.librarything.com/author/grenvillekate

Bu sayfayı terc¼me edin! T¼rk§e diğerleri Almanca Arnavut§a Bask§a ... Ä°zlandaca Yirmi iki milyondan fazla kitap kullanıcıların raflarında. Anasayfa Kitap –nerileri Genel G¶r¼ÅŸ Gruplar ... Blog Courtesy of Allen and Unwin resim resim ekle Yazar : Kate Grenville Ayrıca Grenville Kate Grenville œyeler Eleştiriler Oy Favorited Konuşmalar Books by Kate Grenville §alışmaları birleştir/ayır The secret river 553 kopya 28 reviews The idea of perfection 221 kopya 8 reviews Lilian's story 100 kopya 1 review 45 kopya review Dark places 29 kopya review Joan makes history 28 kopya review Searching for the Secret river 26 kopya 1 review Albion's story 18 kopya review 13 kopya review 12 kopya review Dreamhouse 9 kopya review Bearded ladies 6 kopya review Member ratings Ortalama 0.5 stars 1 stars 1.5 stars 2 stars 2.5 stars 3 stars 3.5 stars 4 stars 4.5 stars 5 stars Common Knowledge Ne biliyorsan paylaş ge§mişi g¶r¼nt¼le You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data. For more help see the Common Knowledge help page Canonical name Gender Date of birth Date of death Burial location Nationality Places of residence Education Occupations Organizations Awards and honors Agents Short biography Disambiguation notice Konuşmalar There are 203 conversations about Kate Grenville's books.

51. BBC - Radio 4 - Woman's Hour -The Idea Of Perfection By Kate Grenville But there was a shock result when the novel The Idea of Perfection by Australian kate grenville beat the bookies’ favourite The Blind Assassin by Margaret http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/2005_38_mon_01.shtml

@import '/includes/tbenh.css'; @import url(/radio4/womanshour/secondary.css); Home TV Radio Talk ... BBC Radio Listen online to Radio 4 Listen Live Woman's Hour home Listen ... Contact Us Like this page? Send it to a friend! The Idea of Perfection by Kate Grenville 19 Sep 2005 Listen to this item Rosie Boycott makes the case >Add your comments on this book This year the Orange Prize for Fiction is celebrating its 10th year in association with Woman's Hour. To mark the occasion we're inviting you to vote for your favourite winner. Each of the Orange Prize judges will try in turn to persuade you that their winning novel deserves your vote. In 2001 the Orange Prize organisers appointed an all-male advisory judging panel to placate critics of the awards. But there was a shock result when the novel The Idea of Perfection by Australian Kate Grenville beat the bookies’ favourite The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood. Chair of the judges for 2001 Rosie Boycott joins Jenni in the studio to discuss the book, what effect the male judging panel had on the award and why a story of a romance between two unattractive people, in an unremarkable town in Australia, beat the 2001 Booker prize-winning novel to take the award. Read a synopsis of  The Idea of Perfection and add your comments Find out more about Best of the Best The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites.

52. So Many Precious Books, So Little Time: The Secret River By Kate Grenville The Secret River by kate grenville is historical fiction at it’s finest. It starts off as a quiet pondering story of the toils in povertystricken 19th http://teddyrose.blogspot.com/2007/11/secret-river-by-kate-grenville.html

skip to main skip to sidebar So Many Precious Books, So Little Time I am a certified bookaholic and decided to blog about my addiction. Instead of seeking therapy to over come my addiction, I am embracing it! Here you will find my short book reviews and other wonderful information all about books. You may even find an occasional movie review. About Me Teddy Rose Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada I am a certified bookaholic, international film lover, animal lover, and am Vegan because of my love for animals. View my complete profile My Boy Robbie Wet and Wild In Memory of My Girl Tina The Mini Challenge 2008 THE MINI-CHALLENGE 2008 Sponsored by Wendy at http://caribousmom.blogharbor.com/ 1. Complete all twelve mini-challenges from January 1st through December 31st of 2008. DO NOT start this challenge prior to January 1, 2008. 2. Challenges may be completed in any order and may overlap other challenges. Work through them at your own speed. 3. Participants must post their progress (and reviews if appropriate) to their blog with links to the group. Here are the challenges: 1. Read a short story - review it

53. Eve's Alexandria: Settling A Claim grenville The “blurb” for The Secret River compares it to both Sarah Waters’ Fingersmith .. Grumpy Old Bookman Historical / Present kate s Book Blog http://evesalexandria.typepad.com/eves_alexandria/2006/09/settling_a_clai.html

Eve's Alexandria ...not afraid of snakes... January 2008 Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Esther's Currently Reading Daniel Defoe: A Journal of the Plague Year: Being Observations or Memorials of the Most Remarkable Occurences, as Well Public as Private, Which Happened in London During ... Great Visitation in 1665 (Penguin Classics) Barry Cunliffe: The Celts: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) Nic's Currently Reading J.V. Jones: A Sword from Red Ice (Sword of Shadows) For review at Strange Horizons Sheri S. Tepper: Blood Heritage Victoria's Currently Reading Ellen Klages: Portable Childhoods: Stories Ralph Waldo Emerson: The Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson (Modern Library Classics) (Modern Library Classics) Essay of the Week: An Address to Harvard Divinity School, 1838 Emma's Currently Reading Jo's Currently Reading Ernest Hemingway: A Farewell to Arms David Mitchell: Black Swan Green Recent Comments On Desire, Or The Wishlists Victoria Emma Jo Esther ... Nic Support Alexandria, and Miscellaneous Alexandrian reviews published elsewhere LiveJournal syndicated feed Amazon.co.uk Past Posts (sorted by Author) Aboulela, Leila : "Minaret"

54. The Secret River - Kate Grenville - The Travels Of Mary Loosemore The Secret River kate grenville. Having enjoyed The Idea of Perfection I decided to try The Amazon.coluk link The Secret River - by kate grenville http://www.sparklytrainers.com/reading/archive/2007/05/02/the_secret_river_kate_

var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www."); document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E")); The travels of Mary Loosemore Home Blog Reading ... About me The Secret River - Kate Grenville By Mary on 2 May 2007 Permalink Comments (0) Having enjoyed The Idea of Perfection I decided to try The Secret River , and found it an excellent read. Set in the late 18th/early 19th century, it follows the descent into poverty and crime of Thames waterboatman William Thornhill, culminating in Will's being transported to Australia, and fortunately (for him) his childhood sweetheart Sal and wife was allowed to follow. The New South Wales section of the novel is a reflection of the London opening - seeing roles reversed and the family slowly but surely pulling themselves out of penury in this strange new land of heat and big skies. Their relationships with the local aborigine peoples of the Hawkesbury River provide a whole range of reflections - cultural, personal, political - not just between the native population and the European settlers, but between the incomers themselves, highlighting the range of approaches and opinions across the generations. A good book. Strange reading it in Iran.

55. Kate Grenville. The Secret River.(Book Review) Industry & Business Article - Res kate grenville. The Secret River. Melbourne Text Publishing, 2005. 334 pp. A$39.95 ISBN 1 920885 75 7 The Secret River comes with a formidable array of http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-6266055/Kate-Grenville-The-Secret-River.

We have detected that your web browser does not have JavaScript enabled. To view Goliath's company profiles, news and business information, please enable JavaScript now. About Us My Account View Cart Browse ... View article excerpt Read this article now - Try Goliath Business News - FREE! You can view this article PLUS... Over 5 million business articles Hundreds of the most trusted magazines, newswires, and journals ( see list Premium business information that is timely and relevant Unlimited Access Now for a Limited Time, try Goliath Business News - Free for 7 Days! Tell Me More Terms and Conditions Already a subscriber? Log in to read full article Publication: Antipodes Publication Date: 01-DEC-06 Delivery: Immediate Online Access Author: Carr, Richard Article Excerpt New Narrative, Old Story' Kate Grenville. The Secret River. Melbourne: Text Publishing, 2005. 334 pp. A$39.95 ISBN 1 920885 75 7 The Secret River comes with a formidable array of plaudits. It won the 2006 Commonwealth Prize and was shortlisted for (and expected by many to win) the 2006 Miles Franklin Prize and the Man Booker Prize. The New Yorker, in a short review earlier this year, labeled it "magnificent," and Christina Schwarz, in her monthly Atlantic column on "What Makes Good Writing," presented an excerpt from The Secret River. The novel thus reaches the United States with high anticipation. Grenville relates the story of William Thornhill, a poor lad stuck in late-eighteenth-century London, who has to scrapeoften literallyto earn a living, who finds temporary solace in marrying Sal and taking on work as a wherry driver. Thornhill is arrested as a thief; is tried,...

56. Chapters.indigo.ca: The Secret River: A Novel: Kate Grenville: Books With publication in Australia, Canada, the US, the UK andseveral other European countries, The Secret River signals the arrival ofa true global literary http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/The-Secret-River-A-Novel-Kate-Grenville/9780

Shopping Bag Wish List Your Account Store Locator ... irewards Program In Books In Books Outlet In Toy Store In DVD In Music In iPod Search All Books Advanced Search Search Tips Where Canadians shop for books, DVDs, kid's toys, games and music CDs at Canada's online bookstore - chapters.indigo.ca The Secret River: A Novel Author: Kate Grenville See more titles by Kate Grenville List Price: Our Price: You Save: $11.21 (34%) irewards Member Price: Usually ships in 3 - 5 weeks Rate this Item Average Customer Rating 6 ratings Community Reviews 2 reviews write a review - Shopping Canadian saves you more! Find out why Eligible for FREE Shipping on orders over $39 See Details Don't forget the gift wrap! You can have your book or toy beautifully wrapped, plus include a personal message. + Learn How Become an irewards member and enjoy off books online, and off books in store every day. + Join Now! write a review add to my shelf add to recommendations ... create a top ten list del.ici.ous create a post see all see less About this Book Format: Hardcover Published: January 26, 2006

57. Book Reviews - The Secret River By Kate Grenville Links to multiple reviews of The Secret River by kate grenville. http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/secret_river/

Site Map Main Page/Fiction Page 2/Fiction Nonfiction ... UK Fiction Search this Site powered by FreeFind Search other book review web sites 2008 Calendars ReviewsOfBooks.com Your one stop for finding multiple professional reviews of recently released books. The Secret River by Kate Grenville In The Secret River , William Thornhill is a good man forced by poverty into petty crime to provide for his wife, Sal, and his son. Once he's caught, he's spared from hanging by the sentence of lifetime transport to Australia. Accompanied by his family, he builds a new life in New South Wales, eventually winning his freedom. He hungers to have a piece of land to call his own and carves out a plot for himself along the Hawkesbury River he calls Thornhill's Point. But it's land that rightly belongs to the aborigines, although they have no concept of ownership. This longing for land that will be his legacy leads to actions that will change him, and his life, forever. Kate Grenville's novel has received positive reviews with Scotland on Sunday saying, "Nonetheless, this is a dramatic, beautiful work - on a par with Patrick White or Sally Morgan - that will ensure Grenville's place on the international market." The Age review by Peter Craven The Guardian review by Jem Poster ... The Secret River Kate Grenville Hardcover [click book cover for amazon.com page for

58. ACT Public Library Blog: Author Kate Grenville Visit the web site of bestselling author kate grenville for information about the author herself and about her books, including interviews and notes for http://actpubliclibrary.blogspot.com/2007/02/author-kate-grenville.html

skip to main skip to sidebar ACT Public Library Blog The ACT Public Library is located in Canberra, the capital city of Australia. 08 February 2007 Author Kate Grenville Visit the web site of bestselling author Kate Grenville for information about the author herself and about her books, including interviews and notes for reading groups. Kate Grenville is the author of The Secret River and Lilian's Story along with several other books Search the library catalogue for all works by Kate Grenville by clicking here Posted by ACT Public Library Blog at 12:43 PM Labels: authors web sites Newer Post Older Post ... Home ACT Public Library Links ACT Public Library catalogue ACT Public Library eBooks and eAudio ACT Public Library web site Canberra Links ACT Department of Territory and Municipal Services ACT Government National Capital Authority Visit Canberra What is a blog? Blog definition from Wikipedia Blog Archive January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 ... January 2007 Labels animals antiques arts authors ... Young adult About Me ACT Public Library Blog View my complete profile

59. Hawkesbury City Council: Latest News: Kate Grenville To Speak At Regional Galler An awardwinning novel based on the Hawkesbury identity, Solomon Wiseman, will be the subject of a talk by kate grenville at Hawkesbury Regional Gallery on http://www.hawkesbury.nsw.gov.au/news/pages/22635.html

@import url(/ssi/site_style_import.css); @import url(/ssi/site_style_import.css); Search Latest news What's on Contact us Community directory ... FAQs Subscribe to our mailing list: more info Home Latest news Printer friendly version An award-winning novel based on the Hawkesbury identity, Solomon Wiseman, will be the subject of a talk by Kate Grenville at Hawkesbury Regional Gallery on Saturday 17 June. Grenville is descended from Wiseman, who gave his name to Wisemans Ferry. Transported in the early 1800s for trying to steal timber, he eventually became rich on the timber trade. It wasn’t until the Reconciliation Walk in 2001 that the much-praised author realised her famous forebear must have had contact with the Aboriginal people. 'I didn’t know, I realised, what he had done in relation to the Aboriginal people and it became an urgency to find out,' Kate Grenville said. She soon discovered that in 200 pages of documents about Wiseman, there was no mention of the indigenous people. 'A silence can mean nothing happened — or something did, and no-one wants to write it down,' Ms Grenville said. It was then she knew she had to write a novel — to allow her imagination to fill in the gaps in the records. This meant not only reading copious records, from Old Bailey transcripts to accounts by Governor Phillip ('a fantastic writer'). It involved making her own 'slush lamp' to determine what lighting the settlers had at night. It also meant spending huge amounts of time exploring evidence, like axe grinding grooves, of a heritage 40,000 years old.

60. Words And Flavours: 'The Secret River', Kate Grenville The Secret River , kate grenville. Of recentlyreleased fiction, this was the novel I was most keen to read. It was Australian, it dealt with history, http://blog.youknowitmakessense.net/2007/12/secret-river-kate-grenville.html

skip to main skip to sidebar Words and Flavours One can't describe flavours without words. Words themselves, especially when they're compiled en masse into books, take on very distinct flavours of their own - moreish, bland, even rancid. And then there are the smaller groups of words that people smarter than me compile into witty and worthy aphorisms. 04 December, 2007 'The Secret River', Kate Grenville Of recently-released fiction, this was the novel I was most keen to read. It was Australian, it dealt with history, it was from an admired publishing house ( Text ) and it had been decorated with multiple awards. Such a build-up can lead to disappointment, but I don't think it was my expectations that gave me a confused response to this book. The first part of the book is concerned with the London life of William Thornhill: his childhood, marriage to Sal and the lead- up to when a robbery, necessary to keep his young family in food, goes wrong and he is sentenced to transportation to Australia. After some time in the new colony the Thornhills settle upriver on the Hawkesbury and the core of the book is concerned with their struggle and that of other 'emancipists' to establish themselves on the land that they were encouraged to claim and work in order to help the colony prosper. This land, of course, contrary to British decree, was not unoccupied. The relationship between the settlers and the indigenous inhabitants was never peaceful and from the beginning showed the worst in white culture. Some of the conversations in the book about the 'natives' are sickening. Not because of any graphic detail, however, but for the undisguised ignorance and unforgivable presumption being shown on the part of the settlers.

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