Sunday 22 February 2009

Book of the Week - Kate Grenville, The Lieutenant


Kate Grenville is one of Austalia's foremost writers, with a significant record of success in literary prizes. The Lieutenant is her seventh novel, and should do very well this year. I will update with a bibliography later in the week - I am on an early flight in the morning and time is short!


In 1787 Lieutenant Daniel Rooke sets sail from Portsmouth with the First Fleet and its cargo of convicts, destined for New South Wales. The shy and quiet Rooke is full of anticipation about the natural wonders he might discover in this strange land on the other side of the world. After the fleet arrives in Port Jackson, some of the Aboriginal people who live around the harbour soon pay a visit. One of them, a girl named Tagaran, starts to teach Rooke her own language. But her lessons and their friendship are interrupted when Rooke is given an order that will change his life forever.

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