Wyatt's been away. Now he's back.
Lt Daniel Rooke, a young astronomer, sails on the First Fleet to a land waiting for scientific discovery. But his attention soon shifts from the stars to Tagaran, an Aboriginal child who begins to teach him her language. As words unfold, a friendship grows. When he is called to duty, Daniel faces a dilemma that reaches to the heart of his being.
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Summary
Wyatt's been away. Now he's back.
Lt Daniel Rooke, a young astronomer, sails on the First Fleet to a land waiting for scientific discovery. But his attention soon shifts from the stars to Tagaran, an Aboriginal child who begins to teach him her language. As words unfold, a friendship grows. When he is called to duty, Daniel faces a dilemma that reaches to the heart of his being.
Description
Daniel Rooke, soldier and astronomer, was always an outsider. As a young lieutenant of marines he arrives in New South Wales on the First Fleet in 1788 and sees his chance. He sets up his observatory away from the main camp, and begins the scientific work that he hopes will make him famous.
Aboriginal people soon start to visit his isolated promontory, and a child named Tagaran begins to teach him her language. With meticulous care he records their conversations. An extraordinary friendship forms, and Rooke has almost forgotten he is a soldier when a man is fatally wounded in the infant colony.
The lieutenant faces a decision that will define not only who he is but the course of his entire life.
In this profoundly moving novel Kate Grenville returns to the landscape of her much-loved bestseller The Secret River. Inspired by the notebooks of William Dawes, The Lieutenant is a compelling story about friendship and self-discovery by a writer at the peak of her powers.
Awards
Winner of Australia Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature 2017 (Australia)
About the Author
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 Sarah Thornhill, The Lieutenant, Dark Places and the Orange Prize winner The Idea of Perfection. Her most recent books are two works of non-fiction, 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. She lives in Melbourne.
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