The Secret River by Kate Grenville
Grenville’s historical novel about the impact on indigenous culture of white settlement in early colonial New South Wales, displays a humane concern for those caught on both sides of the ensuing cultural conflict. It centres around the experiences of the proud, but poverty stricken William Thornhill who, along with his equally determined wife, Sal rises to prominence through hard work and astute business sense on the Hawkesbury River. His subsequent fall from grace underscores a human tragedy from which arguably all Australians are still suffering.
Mr Burton
