Awards

• Long-listed for ABIA Australian General Non-fiction Book of the Year 2016.
• Long-listed for General Non-Fiction Book of the Year, Australian Book Industry Awards 2016 (Australia)
• Short-listed for Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction, NSW Premier's Literary Awards 2016 (Australia)
• Short-listed for Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction, NSW Premier’s Literary Awards 2016 (Australia)
• Short-listed for Indie Award for Non-Fiction 2016 (Australia)
• Shortlisted for Australian Independent Booksellers Indie Awards: Non-Fiction 2016.
• Shortlisted for NSW Premier's Literary Award Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction 2016.

Overview

Nance was a week short of her sixth birthday when she and Frank were roused out of bed in the dark and lifted into the buggy, squashed in with bedding, the cooking pots rattling around in the back, and her mother shouting back towards the house- Goodbye, Rothsay, I hope I never see you again! When Kate Grenville's mother died she left behind many fragments of memoir. These were the starting point for One Life, the story of a woman whose life spanned a century of tumult and change. In many ways Nance's story echoes that of many mothers and grandmothers, for whom the spectacular shifts of the twentieth century offered a path to new freedoms and choices. In other ways Nance was exceptional. In an era when women were expected to have no ambitions beyond the domestic, she ran successful businesses as a registered pharmacist, laid the bricks for the family home, and discovered her husband's secret life as a revolutionary. One Life is an act of great imaginative sympathy, a daughter's intimate account of the patterns in her mother's life. It is a deeply moving homage by one of Australia's finest writers. Praise for One Life- 'A work of imaginative sympathy, it is as successful as it is audacious... Clear, authentic and utterly engaging...Provides a microcosm for the changes taking place on the world stage in the period spanned.' Independent on Sunday 'Losing your mother is a turning point in everyone's life...Kate Grenville has translated that revelation into a totally mesmerising story which reads not like a memoir, but rather like a perfectly paced novel.' Australian Women's Weekly 'What a difficult thing it must have been to write, but what a treasure Grenville has given us...Evocative and fascinating, this brave and heartfelt tribute will appeal to anyone interested in their own family story, Australian history, or the lives of women.' Books & Publishing 'Real life painted with with an almost fictional verve, it's an intensely engaging portrait of a world in flux.' New Daily 'The writing glides, egoless, through this one life that adapted to the massive changes of a century...I closed the book with regret, wanting more.' Monthly ' A social history written with the storytelling skill of a novelist.' Australian 'There's no denying that the story she has to tell makes for a compelling read...Kate Grenville's recapitulation of her mother's voice is in the end very moving.' Age 'A gift to countless readers who will recognise their own experience, or their mother's experience in these pages.' Australian Book Review

Full Product Details

9781925240962

Table of Contents

Reviews

'Once again, Grenville treats her readers to a brilliant read.' * Australian Pharmacist * 'The sharing of this story of resilience, persistence and a mother's enduring love will resonate across generations.' * Good Reading * `A tribute to a generation of tough Australian women whose stories have mostly been considered unworthy.' * North and South * `With her customary elegance and warmth, Kate Grenville has lovingly documented her mother's life, capturing the aura of the times.â ¨ I thoroughly enjoyed her engrossing story.' * Chronicle * `A gift to countless readers who will recognise their own experience, or their mother's experience in these pages.' * Australian Book Review * `There's no denying that the story she has to tell makes for a compelling read...Kate Grenville's recapitulation of her mother's voice is in the end very moving.' * Age * `A very brave and loving recount of a daughter's view of her mother's history...A powerful piece of nonfiction, important equally for its capacity to capture one life as its ability to summarise that of an entire generation of women.' * Lip Mag * `[A] social history written with the storytelling skill of a novelist.' * Australian * `The writing glides, egoless, through this one life that adapted to the massive changes of a century...I closed the book with regret, wanting more.' * Monthly * 'Real life painted with with an almost fictional verve, it's an intensely engaging portrait of a world in flux.' * New Daily * 'What a difficult thing it must have been to write, but what a treasure [Grenville] has given us...Evocative and fascinating, this brave and heartfelt tribute will appeal to anyone interested in their own family story, Australian history, or the lives of women.' * Books & Publishing * `Losing your mother is a turning point in everyone's life...Kate Grenville has translated that revelation into a totally mesmerising story which reads not like a memoir, but rather like a perfectly paced novel.' * Australian Women's Weekly * `A work of imaginative sympathy, it is as successful as it is audacious . . . Clear, authentic and utterly engaging . . . Provides a microcosm for the changes taking place on the world stage in the period spanned' * Independent on Sunday *

'Once again, Grenville treats her readers to a brilliant read.' * Australian Pharmacist * 'The sharing of this story of resilience, persistence and a mother's enduring love will resonate across generations.' * Good Reading * `A tribute to a generation of tough Australian women whose stories have mostly been considered unworthy.' * North and South * `With her customary elegance and warmth, Kate Grenville has lovingly documented her mother's life, capturing the aura of the times. I thoroughly enjoyed her engrossing story.' * Chronicle * `A gift to countless readers who will recognise their own experience, or their mother's experience in these pages.' * Australian Book Review * `There's no denying that the story she has to tell makes for a compelling read...Kate Grenville's recapitulation of her mother's voice is in the end very moving.' * Age * `A very brave and loving recount of a daughter's view of her mother's history...A powerful piece of nonfiction, important equally for its capacity to capture one life as its ability to summarise that of an entire generation of women.' * Lip Mag * `[A] social history written with the storytelling skill of a novelist.' * Australian * `The writing glides, egoless, through this one life that adapted to the massive changes of a century...I closed the book with regret, wanting more.' * Monthly * 'Real life painted with with an almost fictional verve, it's an intensely engaging portrait of a world in flux.' * New Daily * 'What a difficult thing it must have been to write, but what a treasure [Grenville] has given us...Evocative and fascinating, this brave and heartfelt tribute will appeal to anyone interested in their own family story, Australian history, or the lives of women.' * Books & Publishing * `Losing your mother is a turning point in everyone's life...Kate Grenville has translated that revelation into a totally mesmerising story which reads not like a memoir, but rather like a perfectly paced novel.' * Australian Women's Weekly * `A work of imaginative sympathy, it is as successful as it is audacious . . . Clear, authentic and utterly engaging . . . Provides a microcosm for the changes taking place on the world stage in the period spanned' * Independent on Sunday *

'A work of imaginative sympathy, it is as successful as it is audacious ... Clear, authentic and utterly engaging ... Provides a microcosm for the changes taking place on the world stage in the period spanned' Independent on Sunday 'Losing your mother is a turning point in everyone's life...Kate Grenville has translated that revelation into a totally mesmerising story which reads not like a memoir, but rather like a perfectly paced novel.' Australian Women's Weekly 'What a difficult thing it must have been to write, but what a treasure [Grenville] has given us...Evocative and fascinating, this brave and heartfelt tribute will appeal to anyone interested in their own family story, Australian history, or the lives of women.' Books & Publishing 'Real life painted with with an almost fictional verve, it's an intensely engaging portrait of a world in flux.' New Daily 'The writing glides, egoless, through this one life that adapted to the massive changes of a century...I closed the book with regret, wanting more.' Monthly '[A] social history written with the storytelling skill of a novelist.' Australian 'A very brave and loving recount of a daughter's view of her mother's history...A powerful piece of nonfiction, important equally for its capacity to capture one life as its ability to summarise that of an entire generation of women.' Lip Mag 'There's no denying that the story she has to tell makes for a compelling read...Kate Grenville's recapitulation of her mother's voice is in the end very moving.' Age 'A gift to countless readers who will recognise their own experience, or their mother's experience in these pages.' Australian Book Review 'With her customary elegance and warmth, Kate Grenville has lovingly documented her mother's life, capturing the aura of the times. I thoroughly enjoyed her engrossing story.' Chronicle 'A tribute to a generation of tough Australian women whose stories have mostly been considered unworthy.' North and South 'The sharing of this story of resilience, persistence and a mother's enduring love will resonate across generations.' Good Reading 'Once again, Grenville treats her readers to a brilliant read.' Australian Pharmacist

`A work of imaginative sympathy, it is as successful as it is audacious . . . Clear, authentic and utterly engaging . . . Provides a microcosm for the changes taking place on the world stage in the period spanned' * Independent on Sunday * `Losing your mother is a turning point in everyone's life...Kate Grenville has translated that revelation into a totally mesmerising story which reads not like a memoir, but rather like a perfectly paced novel.' * Australian Women's Weekly * 'What a difficult thing it must have been to write, but what a treasure [Grenville] has given us...Evocative and fascinating, this brave and heartfelt tribute will appeal to anyone interested in their own family story, Australian history, or the lives of women.' * Books & Publishing * 'Real life painted with with an almost fictional verve, it's an intensely engaging portrait of a world in flux.' * New Daily * `The writing glides, egoless, through this one life that adapted to the massive changes of a century...I closed the book with regret, wanting more.' * Monthly * `[A] social history written with the storytelling skill of a novelist.' * Australian * `A very brave and loving recount of a daughter's view of her mother's history...A powerful piece of nonfiction, important equally for its capacity to capture one life as its ability to summarise that of an entire generation of women.' * Lip Mag * `There's no denying that the story she has to tell makes for a compelling read...Kate Grenville's recapitulation of her mother's voice is in the end very moving.' * Age * `A gift to countless readers who will recognise their own experience, or their mother's experience in these pages.' * Australian Book Review * `With her customary elegance and warmth, Kate Grenville has lovingly documented her mother's life, capturing the aura of the times. I thoroughly enjoyed her engrossing story.' * Chronicle * `A tribute to a generation of tough Australian women whose stories have mostly been considered unworthy.' * North and South * 'The sharing of this story of resilience, persistence and a mother's enduring love will resonate across generations.' * Good Reading * 'Once again, Grenville treats her readers to a brilliant read.' * Australian Pharmacist *

Author Information

Kate Grenville is one of Australia’s most celebrated writers. Her international bestseller The Secret River was awarded local and overseas prizes, has been adapted for the stage and as an acclaimed television miniseries, and is now a much-loved classic. Grenville’s other novels include Sarah Thornhill, The Lieutenant, Dark Places and the Orange Prize winner The Idea of Perfection. Her most recent books are two works of non-fiction, One Life: My Mother’s Story and The Case Against Fragrance. She has also written three books about the writing process. In 2017 Grenville was awarded the Australia Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature. She lives in Melbourne.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available