"My Dear Son, James, has given me a task for my last years, or months, or whatever time I have left beyond the many years I have lived so far. It is to compile an account called 'The History of the Macarthurs of Camden Park.' Meaning myself and my late husband John Macarthur. He was barely cold in his grave when they began lauding him as a hero, even the ones who loathed him in life."
It is 1788. Twenty-one-year-old Elizabeth is hungry for life but, as the ward of a Devon clergyman, knows she has few prospects. When proud, scarred soldier, John Macarthur, promises her the earth one midsummer’s night, she believes him.
But Elizabeth soon realises she has made a terrible mistake. Her new husband is reckless, tormented, driven by some dark rage at the world. He tells her he is to take up a position as Lieutenant in a New South Wales penal colony and she has no choice but to go. Sailing for six months to the far side of the globe with a child growing inside her, she arrives to find Sydney Town a brutal, dusty, hungry place of makeshift shelters, failing crops, scheming and rumours.
All her life she has learned to be obliging, to fold herself up small. Now, in the vast landscapes of an unknown continent, Elizabeth has to discover a strength she never imagined, and passions she could never express.
But Elizabeth soon realises she has made a terrible mistake. Her new husband is reckless, tormented, driven by some dark rage at the world. He tells her he is to take up a position as Lieutenant in a New South Wales penal colony and she has no choice but to go. Sailing for six months to the far side of the globe with a child growing inside her, she arrives to find Sydney Town a brutal, dusty, hungry place of makeshift shelters, failing crops, scheming and rumours.
All her life she has learned to be obliging, to fold herself up small. Now, in the vast landscapes of an unknown continent, Elizabeth has to discover a strength she never imagined, and passions she could never express.
***
I loved every word of this book. It was beautifully written and when I got to the end I could have happily gone straight back to the beginning and started it all over again.
The book is narrated by Elizabeth, the wife of John Macarthur, and is inspired by her letters to family and friends in England. Ms. Grenville has taken those documents and given Elizabeth a voice of her own from a time when the voice of women was very rarely heard. This is the memoir that Elizabeth never wrote but the author has such acute understanding of what Elizabeth's life was probably like that this reads as an extremely believable account.
The author's description of New South Wales was highly evocative and she describes the brutality towards the indigenous population and the transported convicts with perceptive skill. This is a brilliantly imagined account, of the lives of the first settlers in Australia.
This is the first book I have read by Kate Grenville and it certainly will not be my last. Thankfully, she has already published several novels for me to choose from. I highly recommend this book. I would be surprised if it does not make it into my Top 2020 Best Books at the end of this year.
Have you read anything by this author? Which of her novels do you suggest I read next?
ISBN: 9781838851231
About the Author
Kate Grenville is one of Australia's best-known authors. She's published eight books of fiction and four books about the writing process. Her best-known works are the international best-seller The Secret River, The Idea of Perfection, The Lieutenant and Lilian's Story.
Her novels have won many awards both in Australia and the UK, several have been made into major feature films, and all have been translated into European and Asian languages.
Going on my list - sounds wonderful.
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