Sarah Thornhill - Softcover

Grenville, Kate

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1443410349 ISBN 13: 9781443410342

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers, 2012

Synopsis

When The Secret River, a novel about frontier violence in early Australia, appeared in 2005, it became an immediate bestseller—but it also caused controversy for its unflinching look at Australia’s history. It has since been published all over the world and translated into twenty languages. The follow-up novel, The Lieutenant, continued Grenville’s exploration of the story of first settlement and once again caused controversy in her homeland. Now Sarah Thornhill brings the trilogy to an emotionally explosive conclusion.

Sarah is the youngest daughter of William Thornhill, the pioneer at the centre of The Secret River. Unknown to her, her father—an illiterate ex-convict from London—has built his fortune on the blood of Aboriginal people. With a fine stone house and plenty of money, Thornhill is a man who’s reinvented himself. As he tells his daughter, he “never looks back,” and Sarah grows up learning not to ask about the past. Instead, her eyes are on handsome Jack Langland, whom she’s loved since she was a child. Their romance seems idyllic, destined, but the ugly secret in Sarah’s family is poised to ambush both of them.

With Sarah Thornhill, Grenville uses family history to tell a story about the past that’s also about the present and its dilemmas. Driven by the captivating voice of the illiterate Sarah—at once headstrong, sympathetic, curious and refreshingly honest—this is an unforgettable portrait of a strong and passionate woman caught up in a historical moment that has left an indelible mark on the present.

About this title

About the Author:

KATE GRENVILLE was born in Sydney, Australia. Her bestselling novel The Secret River has won numerous international awards, including the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best Book. It was also a finalist for the Man Booker Prize and the Miles Franklin Award. The Idea of Perfection won the Orange Prize for Fiction, Britain’s most valuable literary award. Grenville is also the author of several other novels and three books on the craft of writing. She lives in Sydney with her family. Visit her online at kategrenville.com.

Review:

Grenville inhabits characters with a rare completeness . . . She writes with a poet's sense of rhythm and imagery * * Guardian * * Here is someone who can really write -- Peter Carey I was thrilled to find myself back beside the river I'd come to know so well in The Secret River. The power with which Kate Grenville evokes places and people is so remarkable that I could remember the smell of the air there - and it was no surprise to discover that Sarah Thornhill's story is as gripping and illuminating as her father's was -- Diana Athill A graceful, passionate story of love, loss and treacherous family histories. * * Marie Claire * * Beautifully written. * * We Love This Book * * Be warned: [Sarah Thornhill] will wrench your heart ... Grenville's description of the harshly beautiful Australian landscape is unforgettable, more poetry than prose. * * Guardian * * Immensely readable * * Sunday Times * * Both brilliant fiction and illuminating personal history -- Arifa Akbar * * The Independent * * This powerful saga of colliding histories blends romance and honesty -- Mary Shine Thompson * * The Irish Independent * * It is with often marvellous vividness and clarity that Grenville evokes Sarah's world [she] is well inhabited by her creator, and through the eyes of this young woman, the physical and cultural strangenesses of a nation still clambering into existence spring richly to life -- Belinda McKeon * * The Guardian * * Her voice has an attractive personality and proves adept at describing the landscape and those who struggle to survive in its unforgiving beauty * * The Daily Telegraph * * Kate Grenville has completed her trilogy with another enthralling tale -- Ion Trewin * * Sunday Express * * Richly wrapped in language so colourful and lively, you can taste it -- Tom Adair * * The Scotsman * *

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1443410349
• ISBN 13: 9781443410342
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320