Always Greener cover art

Always Greener

The true story behind Restless Dolly Maunder

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Always Greener

By: Kate Grenville
Narrated by: Kate Grenville
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Summary

'If there’d been a gun in her hand at that moment she knew she’d have shot them.... She’d been so pleased with little Dolly Russell, the good life she’d got for them all. Thought she had it made, had got her hands at last on the levers of her life.... Now it turned out that all that, being so pleased with herself, was no more real than a puff of smoke.'

Always Greener is an exquisite portrait of Kate Grenville's complex, conflicted grandmother, who she feared as a child and only in adulthood came to understand. Born in rural Australia, Dolly Russell becomes a successful businessperson, mother and troubled wife. Then came the depression, bankruptcy and World War I. Yet, in a way, those disasters freed her. They allowed her to use her intelligence and ambition to make a space for herself in a man’s world.

With all the pathos and subtlety that defined Grenville’s Australian classics such as Lilian’s Story and her Booker-shortlisted The Secret River, Always Greener tells the story of a generation of women often forgotten at our own cost.

©2021 Kate Grenville (P)2021 Audible Australia Pty Ltd. Historical
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A moving loving insight into another time,towards the end the relationship between Frank and his mother is heart rending,a truly magnificent story.

Always greener.

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Thank you audible for the chance to hear the story of Kate Greenville’s grandmother; an absorbing listen throughout and enhanced by the background noises!

Fascinating record of a life

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Honest and thought provoking. Makes me grateful to those women who came before me.

Doesn't disappoint

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listened to this twice,loved it somuch. heartbreaking but such an interesting account of what life must have been like for women at the turn of the century.

poignant and beautifully told

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A story with a beautiful understanding of the experience of Australian women in the past. I could see all the characters and settings. I also loved the tiny historical details such as the men camping in the Sydney Showground after enlisting. While Dolly appeared to be a woman without love, this story sees her through a lense of empathy and I felt inspired by her story.

Compassionate narration of the past

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