by Kate Grenville
Published by Canongate (2006)
ISBN 978-1841959146
Description:
London, 1807. 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.
The Thornhills arrive in this harsh and alien land that they
cannot understand and which feels like a death sentence. But
among the convicts there is a rumor that freedom can be bought,
that 'unclaimed' land up the Hawkesbury offers an opportunity
to start afresh, far away from the township of Sydney. When
William takes a hundred acres for himself he is shocked to
find Aboriginal people already living on the river. And other
recent arrivals - Thomas Blackwood, Smasher Sullivan and Mrs.
Herring - are finding their own ways to respond to them.
Soon Thornhill, a man neither better nor worse than most,
has to make the most difficult decision of his life ...
About the Author:
Kate Grenville was born in Sydney. Her most recent novel,
The Idea of Perfection, won the Orange Prize for Fiction and
became a long-running bestseller. Her five other works of
fiction have won numerous awards. Kate Grenville lives in
Sydney with her family.
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