Sarah Thornhill

‘This is a beautiful book, one that pulses with insight and compassion, even while addressing some of the most shameful episodes of our past… There has been some discussion of late, within both review pages and the blogosphere, about the dearth of well-written, literary love stories. Readers who are looking for such a book will embrace Sarah Thornhill. Not only is it gorgeously written, but the love story at its heart is as real and true as it is unexpected. While Sarah Thornhill is billed as a sequel, anyone who hasn’t already read The Secret River should not be put off. This is a novel that stands by itself and that will be treasured, I’m sure, by generations to come. It is that rare book that manages to wholly engage both head and heart, and it’s a long time since I’ve been quite so sorry to say goodbye to a character at the end of a book as I was saying goodbye to Sarah. Grenville has done a splendid job here, and anyone who loved The Secret River will not be disappointed by Sarah Thornhill.’ – Canberra Times
‘A beguiling love story…The voice of illiterate Sarah, in which the whole story is told, is Grenville’s great triumph…The book is a moving double love story – of a wild, romantic love and a slower, more mature, developing variety – an imaginatively convincing recreation of history and a celebration of country tenderly and beautifully observed, but above all it is a powerful plea for due acknowledgement and remembrance of the veils of the past…We may not be able to change the actions of the past that gave us this country, Grenville says through charismatic Sarah Thornhill, but if we are not at least mindful of them we are no better than fools or accomplices.’ * Adelaide Advertiser *
‘One of Grenville’s many triumphs is managing to make Sarah’s first-person narrative so convincing and compelling…Sarah Thornhill is simply yet luminously written…The plot is superbly crafted – you really won’t want to put the book down, but at the same time, you’ll be afraid of what’s coming next.’ * Sunday Star Times *
’[Grenville] is a gift of a writer…a haunting performance.’ * Age *
‘Grenville’s great strength is her sensual fleshing-out of the past…Her vision of our colonial history is at once compelling and fable-like, as she writes contemporary white self-knowledge back into it. Like its predecessors, Sarah Thornhill will be welcomed by many readers as just the story we need now’. * The Monthly *
‘If you read just one Australian novel this year, make it this one.’ * Melbourne Weekly *
‘Grenville’s extraordinary trilogy is a major achievement in Australian literature.’ * Australian Book Review *

Kate Grenville is one of Australia’s most celebrated writers. Her international bestseller The Secret River was awarded local and overseas prizes, has been adapted for the stage and as an acclaimed television miniseries, and is now a much-loved classic.

Grenville’s other novels include A Room Made of Leaves, Sarah Thornhill, The Lieutenant, Dark Places, and the Orange Prize winner The Idea of Perfection.

Her non-fiction books include One Life—My Mother’s Story and The Case Against Fragrance. She has also written three books about the writing process.

In 2017, Grenville was awarded the Australia Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature.

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