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The Lieutenant

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About this listen

 Simultaneous release of the new novel by the author of the universally acclaimed prize-winner The Secret River, The Lieutenant is a major new novel that will captivate readers and continues the author's enthralling exploration of historical themes.

Set a quarter of a century before The Secret River, at the moment when the British arrive in Australia, The Lieutenant tells an unforgettable story about friendship, language and power.

In 1787 Lieutenant Thomas Rooke sets sail from Portsmouth with the First Fleet and its cargo of convicts, destined for New South Wales. As a young officer and a man of science, the shy and quiet Rooke is full of anticipation about the natural wonders he might discover in this strange land on the other side of the world.

After the fleet arrives in Port Jackson, Rooke sets up camp on a rocky and isolated point, and starts his work of astronomy and navigation. It's not too long before some of the Aboriginal people who live around the harbour pay him a visit. One of them, a girl named Tarunga, starts to teach him her own language. But her lessons and their friendship are interrupted when Rooke is given an order that will change his life forever.

Inspired by the 1790 notebooks of William Dawes in which he recorded his conversations with a young Gadigal woman, The Lieutenant is a story about a man discovering his true self in extraordinary circumstances.

©2008 Kate Grenville (P)2008 Bolinda Publishing Fiction Historical Fiction Solider Friendship
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a very enjoyable read that gives insight in to history and what could well have happened

Really enjoyed this.

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you'll need to enjoy linguistics for this one...and don't look at their relationship through modern eyes...there's nothing untoward. Just another reminder that the world was pink at the expense of native peoples....

Linguistics...

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very moving and showing the depths of feeling and acceptance it is possible for a man to process.

Amaising writing

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I just didn’t enjoy this book. Constant repetition of the language used by the indigenous peoples of NS Wales was tedious and annoying. The ending was rubbish and clearly rushed.

Tiresom.

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