The Secret River
Kate Grenville
“There was hardly a door, barely a wall: only a flap of bark, a screen of sticks and mud. There was no need of lock, of door, of wall: this was a prison whose bars were ten thousand miles of water”
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Kate Grenville’s modern classic of one man’s loss, struggle and survival in the Australian wilderness, introduced by Diana Athill
SHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE
WINNER OF THE COMMONWEALTH WRITERS’ PRIZE
A BBC2 BIG JUBILEE BETWEEN THE COVERS READ
London, 1806. William Thornhill, happily wedded to his childhood sweetheart Sal, is a waterman on the River Thames. Life is tough but bearable until William makes a mistake, a bad mistake for which he and his family are made to pay dearly.
His sentence: to be transported to New South Wales for the term of his natural life. Soon Thornhill, a man no better or worse than most, has to make the most difficult decision of his life.
“An outstanding study of cultures in collision … a chilling, meticulous account of the sorrows and evils of colonialism … Kate Grenville is a sophisticated writer”
guardian
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“Splendidly paced, passionate and disturbing”
the Times
“This is a novel everyone should read”
irish Times
“A vivid and moving portrayal of poverty, struggle and the search for peace”
independent
“Beautifully written”
financial Times
Kate Grenville
Kate Grenville’s bestselling novel The Secret River received the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and the Miles Franklin Literary Award. The Idea of Perfection won the Orange Prize. Grenville’s other novels include Sarah Thornhill, The Lieutenant, Lilian’s Story, Dark Places, Joan Makes History and A Room Made of Leaves.
www.kategrenville.com
