The Secret River

By: Kate Grenville

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Paperback | 3 May 2013

At a Glance

Paperback
352 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
19.5 x 12.5 x 2.5

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After a childhood of poverty and petty crime in the slums of London, William Thornhill is transported to New South Wales for the term of his natural life. With his wife Sal and children in tow, he arrives in a harsh land that feels at first like a death sentence. But among the convicts there is a whisper that freedom can be bought, an opportunity to start afresh. As Thornhill stakes his claim on a patch of ground by the Hawkesbury River, the battle lines between the old and new inhabitants are drawn.
The critics agree, The Secret River is a masterpiece; a spellbinding Australian classic about ownership, belonging and identity with universal themes

Industry Reviews

'When William Thornhill steps ashore in 1806, it's as if no one has described the scene before him. Such is the power of Grenville's imagination that everything seems newly minted.' * Bulletin *
'Fabulous historical fiction.' * Australian *
'A few sentences of Grenville's makes one realize that much of the writing one encounters in a novel these days is thin and perfunctory. Reading The Secret River may put you off anything less accomplished for a while.' * Daily Express *
'One of the most entertaining, accomplished, engaging novels written in this country...We always knew Kate Grenville was good but this one is brilliant.' * Courier Mail *
'There is no doubt Grenville is one of our greatest writers... A book everyone should read. It is evocative, gracefully written, terrible and confronting. And it has resonance for every Australian.' * Sunday Mail *
'The Secret River is a wonderful novel that will change the way we think about our past...I couldn't put it down.' -- Diana Gribble * Reader *
'...a powerful, highly credible account of how a limited man of good instincts becomes involved in enormity and atrocity.' -- Peter Craven * Age *
'Kate Grenville's The Secret River stands out as a work of sustained power and imagination, of poetry and insight. No truer piece of fiction has been written about the Australian past.' -- Peter Temple * Weekend Australian *
'Splendidly paced, passionate and disturbing.' -- Salley Vickers * The Times *
'An outstanding study of cultures in collision...chilling, meticulous account of the sorrows and evils of colonialism.' * Saturday Guardian *
'A vivid and moving protrayal of poverty, struggle and the search for peace.' * Independent *
'...Grenville's magnificent novel [is] an unflinching exploration of modern Australia's origins.' * New Yorker *
'The Secret River is a masterwork, a book that transcends historical fiction and becomes something deeply contemporary and pressing.' * Chicago Tribune *
'Grenville's powerful telling of this story is so moving, so exciting, that you're barely aware of how heavy and profound its meaning is until you reach the end in a moment of stunned sadness.' * Washington Post *

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