num_pages: 334
description: In 1806 William Thornhill, an illiterate English bargeman and a man of quick temper but deep compassion, steals a load of wood and, as a part of his lenient sentence, is deported, along with his beloved wife, Sal, to the New South Wales colony in what would become Australia. The Secret River is the tale of William and Sal’s deep love for their small, exotic corner of the new world, and William’s gradual realization that if he wants to make a home for his family, he must forcibly take the land from the people who came before him. Acclaimed around the world, The Secret River is a magnificent, transporting work of historical fiction.
language: English
title: The Secret River
titlecomplete: The Secret River
characters: Ningali Lawford-Wolf, Kate Grenville
genres: Historical, Literature, School, Literary Fiction, Novels, Book Club, Australia, 19th Century, Historical Fiction, Fiction
ratings_count: 22345
places: Australia, New South Wales, Dhirrumbim, New South Wales
series: Thornhill Family
awards: awardedAt: 1136102400000
name: Booker Prize, awardedAt: 1136102400000
name: New South Wales Premier's Literary Award
category: Christina Stead Prize for Fiction & Community Relations Commission Award, awardedAt: 1136102400000
name: Miles Franklin Literary Award, awardedAt: 1136102400000
name: Australian Booksellers Association Book of the Year, awardedAt: 1136102400000
name: Commonwealth Writers' Prize
category: Best Book Overall, awardedAt: 1136102400000
name: Australian Book Industry Award (ABIA)
category: Literary Fiction and for Book of the Year, awardedAt: 1136102400000
name: Nita B. Kibble Literary Award
publisher: Canongate U.S.