A Room Made of Leaves

Awards:   Long-listed for The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2021 (UK) Short-listed for The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2021 (UK)
Author:   Kate Grenville
Publisher:   Canongate Books
Edition:   Main
ISBN:  

9781838851231


Pages:   336
Publication Date:   06 August 2020
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Our Price $43.96 Quantity:  
Add to Cart

Share |

A Room Made of Leaves


Add your own review!

Awards

  • Long-listed for The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2021 (UK)
  • Short-listed for The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2021 (UK)

Overview

SHORTLISTED FOR THE WALTER SCOTT PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL FICTION - the new novel from the Women's Prize for Fiction winner and Man Booker prize-shortlisted author of The Secret River 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. Inspired by the real life of a remarkable woman, this is an extraordinarily rich, beautifully wrought novel of resilience, courage and the mystery of human desire.

Full Product Details

Author:   Kate Grenville
Publisher:   Canongate Books
Imprint:   Canongate Books
Edition:   Main
Dimensions:   Width: 16.20cm , Height: 3.20cm , Length: 24.00cm
Weight:   0.555kg
ISBN:  

9781838851231


ISBN 10:   1838851232
Pages:   336
Publication Date:   06 August 2020
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Table of Contents

Reviews

Praise for The Secret River: An outstanding study of cultures in collision . . . a chilling, meticulous account of the sorrows and evils of colonialism . . . Kate Grenville is a sophisticated writer * * Guardian * * Splendidly paced, passionate and disturbing * * The Times * * This is a novel everyone should read * * Irish Times * * A vivid and moving portrayal of poverty, struggle and the search for peace * * Independent * * Beautifully written * * Financial Times * * Sumptuous . . . Brilliantly atmospheric * * Independent on Sunday * * A rich novel of character * * Sunday Telegraph * * A magnificent novel - an unflinching exploration of modern Australia's origins * * New Yorker * * Here is someone who can really write -- PETER CAREY Reading The Secret River may put you off anything less accomplished for a while * * Daily Express * *


An imaginative depiction of a relationship forged in the earliest days of the Australian colony . . . an engaging book -- ERICA WAGNER * * Guardian * * Elizabeth Macarthur manages her complicated life with spirit and passion, cunning and sly wit . . . Kate Grenville's return to the territory of The Secret River is historical fiction turned inside out, a stunning sleight of hand by one of our most original writers * * Australian Arts Review * * Historical fiction at its best . . . breathtaking . . . [Elizabeth is a] plucky, sharp-minded young woman * * Good Housekeeping * * Evocative . . . [A] gorgeous, generous novel * * Sunday Express * * Vivid, lyrical and engrossing. Both authentic and imaginative, the voice of the female narrator quietly challenges not only conventional historical narratives but our whole idea of what history is about -- ALICE JOLLY The absorbing story of a woman discovering herself in the vast expanse of a new world, told in rich, insightful prose * * Sunday Times * * Kate Grenville gives voice to this reticent woman, allowing her smart, sparky, shrewd heroine a chance at last to speak . . . eloquent [and] evocative * * Daily Mail * * Grenville cleverly uses Elizabeth's bland and pleasant missives home, showing that they were a carefully constructed fiction. The real Elizabeth - passionate, clever and endlessly resilient - is brilliantly conjured * * The Times * * Kate Grenville spins a delicately teasing novel about the inherent untrustworthiness of the official record . . . beautiful and subtle * * Financial Times * * Beautifully written, insistently eloquent and expressive of connection . . . [a] stunning literary achievement * * Guardian * *


Here is someone who can really write -- PETER CAREY A magnificent novel - an unflinching exploration of modern Australia's origins * * New Yorker * * A rich novel of character * * Sunday Telegraph * * Sumptuous . . . Brilliantly atmospheric * * Independent on Sunday * * Beautifully written * * Financial Times * * A vivid and moving portrayal of poverty, struggle and the search for peace * * Independent * * This is a novel everyone should read * * Irish Times * * Splendidly paced, passionate and disturbing * * The Times * * Praise for The Secret River: An outstanding study of cultures in collision . . . a chilling, meticulous account of the sorrows and evils of colonialism . . . Kate Grenville is a sophisticated writer * * Guardian * * Vivid, lyrical and engrossing. Both authentic and imaginative, the voice of the female narrator quietly challenges not only conventional historical narratives but our whole idea of what history is about -- ALICE JOLLY


Author Information

Kate Grenville's bestselling novel The Secret River received the Commonwealth Writers' Prize, and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and the Miles Franklin Literary Award. The Idea of Perfection won the Orange Prize. Grenville's other novels include Sarah Thornhill, The Lieutenant, Lilian's Story, Dark Places and Joan Makes History.

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

No review item found!

Add your own review!

Countries Available

All regions
Latest Reading Guide

ls

Shopping Cart
Your cart is empty
Shopping cart
Mailing List