The Secret River
Encyclopedia
The Secret River, written by Kate Grenville
in 2005, is a historical fiction about an early 19th century Englishman transported to Australia for theft. The story explores what may have happened when Europeans colonised land already inhabited by Aboriginal people. The book is also one of careful observation and vividly imagines an early Australian landscape with rich precision. The book has been compared to Thomas Keneally
's The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith
and to Peter Carey's True History of the Kelly Gang
for its style and historical theme.
at the area now known as Wiseman's Ferry] and started the business of 'settling'". Her inspiration to understand this came from her taking part in the 2000-05-28 Reconciliation Walk across Sydney Harbour Bridge
during which she realised that she didn't know much about "what had gone on between the Aboriginal people and the settlers in those early days". Initially intended to be a work of non-fiction about Wiseman, the book eventually became a fictional work based on her research into Wiseman but not specifically about Wiseman himself.
The novel is "dedicated to the Aboriginal people of Australia: past, present and future".
The early life of William Thornhill is one of poverty, depredation and criminality, which is also seen in Charles Dickens
. The early settlements are described passionately by the author. Though Thornhill is a loving husband and a good father, his interactions with Indigenous inhabitants are villainous. Thornhill dreams of a life of dignity and entitlement, manifested in his desire to own land. After befriending Blackwood under his employ, Thornhill finds a patch of land he believes will meet his needs, but alas, his past comes back to haunt him. His interactions with the Aboriginal people progress from fearful first encounters to (after careful observation) appreciation. The desire for him to own the land contrasts with his wife wanting to return to England . The clash is one between a group of people desperate for land and another for whom the concept of ownership is bewildering .
Grenville further explores at book end, that even though the extermination of the 'blacks' had occurred to a degree- William Thornhill never feels at peace with his conscience. “They will only be seen when they want you to see them”. The “blacks”, as they are referred to in Kate Grenville’s novel, The Secret River, are depicted as reappearing and disappearing into the looming darkness of the colonial settlement. Attempting to resist the fierce smothering caused by the English settlers, the various dialects of the Indigenous population seem to slowly disappear, but not without numerous confrontations, as if a night fading into a new horizon. At the readers' final glimpse of Thornill's Place, the setting is characterised by industrialised farming and the destruction of land. Yet, the mystery of their existence influences William until death.
, to writing a fictional work.. Reviewer Stella Clarke writes that "Searching for the Secret River records Grenville's five-year journey to the finished novel, which started out as nonfiction, moved from first to third person, through exhaustive dissections and revolutions, before completion. It is education in the art, and craft, of fiction, a lesson in the arduous devotion it can command. Yet is [sic] much more than a quite unbelievably generous 'invitation into her writing room'. It is a courageous public scrutiny of her motives".
distributed 7000 copies of The Secret River to enrolling first-year students in January 2011 as part of the inaugural 'First-Year Book Club', which aims to bring students together to discuss and debate big ideas around a common theme.
Kate Grenville
Kate Grenville is one of Australia's best-known authors. She's published nine novels, a collection of short stories, and four books about the writing process....
in 2005, is a historical fiction about an early 19th century Englishman transported to Australia for theft. The story explores what may have happened when Europeans colonised land already inhabited by Aboriginal people. The book is also one of careful observation and vividly imagines an early Australian landscape with rich precision. The book has been compared to Thomas Keneally
Thomas Keneally
Thomas Michael Keneally, AO is an Australian novelist, playwright and author of non-fiction. He is best known for writing Schindler's Ark, the Booker Prize-winning novel of 1982 which was inspired by the efforts of Poldek Pfefferberg, a Holocaust survivor...
's The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith is a 1972 Booker Prize-nominated novel by Thomas Keneally, and a 1978 Australian film of the same name directed by Fred Schepisi. The novel is based on the life of bushranger Jimmy Governor....
and to Peter Carey's True History of the Kelly Gang
True History of the Kelly Gang
True History of the Kelly Gang is an historical novel by Australian writer Peter Carey. It was first published in Brisbane by the University of Queensland Press in 2000. It won the 2001 Man Booker Prize and the Commonwealth Writers Prize in the same year. Despite its title, the book is fiction and...
for its style and historical theme.
Background
The Secret River was inspired by Grenville's desire to understand "what had happened when [her ancestor, Solomon] Wiseman arrived ... [on the Hawkesbury RiverHawkesbury River
The Hawkesbury River, also known as Deerubbun, is one of the major rivers of the coastal region of New South Wales, Australia. The Hawkesbury River and its tributaries virtually encircle the metropolitan region of Sydney.-Geography:-Course:...
at the area now known as Wiseman's Ferry] and started the business of 'settling'". Her inspiration to understand this came from her taking part in the 2000-05-28 Reconciliation Walk across Sydney Harbour Bridge
Sydney Harbour Bridge
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge across Sydney Harbour that carries rail, vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district and the North Shore. The dramatic view of the bridge, the harbour, and the nearby Sydney Opera House is an iconic...
during which she realised that she didn't know much about "what had gone on between the Aboriginal people and the settlers in those early days". Initially intended to be a work of non-fiction about Wiseman, the book eventually became a fictional work based on her research into Wiseman but not specifically about Wiseman himself.
The novel is "dedicated to the Aboriginal people of Australia: past, present and future".
Plot summary
After a childhood of poverty and petty crime in the slums of London, William Thornhill (for stealing wood) is sentenced to be killed, but is let of, but instead in 1806 to be transported to New South Wales for the term of his natural life. With his wife Sal and children in tow, he arrives in a harsh land that feels at first like a death sentence. However, there is a way for the convicts to buy freedom and start afresh. Away from the infant township of Sydney, up the Hawkesbury River, Thornhill encounters men who have tried to do just that: Blackwood, who is attempting to reconcile himself with the place and its people, and Smasher Sullivan, whose fear of this alien world turns into brutal depravity towards it. As Thornhill and his family stake their claim on a patch of ground by the river, the battle lines between old and new inhabitants are drawn.The early life of William Thornhill is one of poverty, depredation and criminality, which is also seen in Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
. The early settlements are described passionately by the author. Though Thornhill is a loving husband and a good father, his interactions with Indigenous inhabitants are villainous. Thornhill dreams of a life of dignity and entitlement, manifested in his desire to own land. After befriending Blackwood under his employ, Thornhill finds a patch of land he believes will meet his needs, but alas, his past comes back to haunt him. His interactions with the Aboriginal people progress from fearful first encounters to (after careful observation) appreciation. The desire for him to own the land contrasts with his wife wanting to return to England . The clash is one between a group of people desperate for land and another for whom the concept of ownership is bewildering .
Literary significance and criticism
While the story has a morality theme, it is treated subtly by the author. It is not a predictable one of right and wrong, but one of fear and ignorance. This is a fine novel of colonial life and of "the tragedy of the confrontation between Aborigine and white settler". Though the book does not give an insight into the minds of the Aborigines, it goes into great depth in the troubled mind of the main character. The book is a powerful, highly credible account of how a limited man of good instincts becomes involved in enormity and atrocity.Grenville further explores at book end, that even though the extermination of the 'blacks' had occurred to a degree- William Thornhill never feels at peace with his conscience. “They will only be seen when they want you to see them”. The “blacks”, as they are referred to in Kate Grenville’s novel, The Secret River, are depicted as reappearing and disappearing into the looming darkness of the colonial settlement. Attempting to resist the fierce smothering caused by the English settlers, the various dialects of the Indigenous population seem to slowly disappear, but not without numerous confrontations, as if a night fading into a new horizon. At the readers' final glimpse of Thornill's Place, the setting is characterised by industrialised farming and the destruction of land. Yet, the mystery of their existence influences William until death.
Searching for the Secret River
Grenville followed up The Secret River with a non-fiction book titled Searching for the Secret River in which she describes both the research she undertook into the history behind the book and her writing process. She chronicles how she changed from her original plan of writing a non-fiction book about her great-great-great-grandfather, Solomon WisemanSolomon Wiseman
Solomon Wiseman was a convict, merchant and ferryman. The town called Wiseman's Ferry, New South Wales, Australia is named after him....
, to writing a fictional work.. Reviewer Stella Clarke writes that "Searching for the Secret River records Grenville's five-year journey to the finished novel, which started out as nonfiction, moved from first to third person, through exhaustive dissections and revolutions, before completion. It is education in the art, and craft, of fiction, a lesson in the arduous devotion it can command. Yet is [sic] much more than a quite unbelievably generous 'invitation into her writing room'. It is a courageous public scrutiny of her motives".
Use in curricula
The Secret River is a text used for the Victorian Certificate of Education Year 12 English course. It is also used for the Western Australian TEE course through Secondary school. The University of SydneyUniversity of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
distributed 7000 copies of The Secret River to enrolling first-year students in January 2011 as part of the inaugural 'First-Year Book Club', which aims to bring students together to discuss and debate big ideas around a common theme.
External links
- Podcast of Kate Grenville discussing The Secret River on the BBC's World Book ClubWorld Book ClubWorld Book Club is a radio programme on the BBC World Service. Each edition of the programme, which is broadcast on the first Saturday of the month with repeats into the following Monday, features a famous author discussing one of his or her books, often the most well-known one, with the public...
Awards and nominations
- FAW Christina Stead Award, 2005: joint winner
- Commonwealth Writers Prize, South East Asia and South Pacific Region, Best Book, 2006: winner
- Commonwealth Writers Prize, 2006: winner
- Miles Franklin Literary Award, 2006: shortlisted
- New South Wales Premier's Literary AwardsNew South Wales Premier's Literary AwardsThe New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards were established in 1979 by the New South Wales Premier Neville Wran. Commenting on its purpose, Wran said: "We want the arts to take, and be seen to take, their proper place in our social priorities...
, Community Relations Commission Award, 2006: winner - New South Wales Premier's Literary AwardsNew South Wales Premier's Literary AwardsThe New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards were established in 1979 by the New South Wales Premier Neville Wran. Commenting on its purpose, Wran said: "We want the arts to take, and be seen to take, their proper place in our social priorities...
, Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, 2006: winner - Nita Kibble Literary AwardNita Kibble Literary AwardThe Kibble Literary Awards comprise two awards which are presented annually: the Nita B Kibble Literary Award, which recognises the work of an established Australian female writer, and the Dobbie Literary Award, which is for a first published work by a female writer. The Awards recognise the works...
, 2006: shortlisted - Booksellers Choice Award, 2006: winner
- Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA), Australian Book of the Year, 2006: winner
- Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA), Australian Literary Fiction Book of the Year, 2006: winner
- The Age Book of the YearThe Age Book of the YearThe Age Book of the Year Awards are annual literary awards presented by Melbourne's The Age newspaper. The awards were first presented in 1974. Since 1998 they have been presented as part of the Melbourne Writers Festival...
Award, Fiction Prize, 2006: shortlisted - Man Booker PrizeMan Booker PrizeThe Man Booker Prize for Fiction is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original full-length novel, written in the English language, by a citizen of the Commonwealth of Nations, Ireland, or Zimbabwe. The winner of the Man Booker Prize is generally assured of international renown and...
, 2006: shortlisted - Queensland Premier's Literary AwardsQueensland Premier's Literary AwardsThe Queensland Premier's Literary Awards were inaugurated in 1999 and have grown to become a leading literary awards program within Australia, with $225,000 in prizemoney over 14 categories. One of Australia's richest prizes, top categories offer up to $25,000 for 1st prize.-Fiction Book...
, Best Fiction Book, 2006: shortlisted - Victorian Premier's Literary AwardVictorian Premier's Literary AwardThe Victorian Premier's Literary Awards were created by the Victorian Governmentwith the aim of raising the profile of contemporary creative writing and Australia's publishing industry....
, The Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction, 2006: shortlisted - Colin Roderick AwardColin Roderick AwardThe Colin Roderick Award is presented annually by the Foundation for Australian Literary Studies at Queensland's James Cook University for "the best book published in Australia which deals with any aspect of Australian life". It was first presented in 1967 and currently has a prize of A$10,000....
, 2005: shortlisted - International IMPAC Dublin Literary AwardInternational IMPAC Dublin Literary AwardThe International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award is an international literary award for a work of fiction, jointly sponsored by the city of Dublin, Ireland and the company IMPAC. At €100,000 it is one of the richest literary prizes in the world...
, 2007: longlisted