The Secret River
Books / Paperback
ISBN: 1841956821 / Publisher: Canongate Books, February 2006
A dramatic historical novel set between the slums of 19th century London and the convict colonies of Australia. This book joins a tradition of grand historical action. It etches the intense light and scribble of the Australian bush, making them the backdrop to a story about ownership, belonging and identity.
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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.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 rumour 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 themSoon Thornhill, a man neither better nor worse than most, has to make the most difficult decision of his life.
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