Book info

• Title The Secret River
• Author Kate Grenville
• Year 2005
• Genre Historical

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.

Thoughts

This book chronicles the dark tale of one of the early settlers into the Sydney penal colony - a young thief from London with his wife and child banished to the other side of the world to start a new life. The book spans an entire lifetime, and dips into how flawed a character we are dealing with, but it’s that honesty that makes it fascinating.

Of course life in Australia is harder than ever, and we touch upon the atrocities rained down on the natives, which makes for a difficult read, harrowing in places.

It’s well written and a solid page turner, although I felt it was a bit drawn out in places. Ultimately it was good, though, and I’m now curious about the sequel moving forward to the next generation of Thornhills down under!

Rating: 3 / 5