Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More


May 09

27

The Lieutenant by Kate Grenville

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on May 27, 2009
Posted in Australia • Books Read in 2009 • Kate Grenville  | 12 Comments


First settlement in New South Wales

Born in 1767 England, Daniel Rooke was a boy of great intelligence. He was exceptional with numbers and had a keen sense of curiosity about where numbers could lead him. Even though he had this intelligence or in part, due to this, he had trouble forming friendships with his peers.

Daniel was accepted to At Portsmouth Naval College on scholarship and became quite interested in astronomy. He becomes a Lieutenant in the Navy and went on a mission to take convicts to New South Wales. On the ship he took on the role of navigator and once in Australia, that of Astronomer. Part of the mission was to get to know the natives and try to befriend them so that the convicts and others could live in safety.

As Astronomer, Rooke was given permission to build an observatory away from the camp, to live and work in. After a time, some of the natives started visiting him there and he built up a friendship with a young girl named Tagaran. She taught him the native language and he kepts meticulous records about their conversations and the language. However, soon the relationship between the natives and soldiers deteriorated and Rooke had to choose between his friendship with the natives and duty.

I loved Kate Grenville’s The Secret River (see my review) and was highly anticipating her next book. While I quite enjoyed it, I didn’t love it like The Secret River. It took a long time for me to warm up to the character of Daniel Rooke . Once he started his relationship with the natives, I did warm up to him and loved reading about his special friendship with Tagaran. The problem was that it took well over 100 pages to lead up to this and it didn’t last very long. I would have like to explore the relationship further. Also, in the last chapter when we find out that Rooke had been married, there is nothing about how that relationship came about or who his wife was. We are never introduced to his wife.

That said, I did enjoy The Lieutenant and would recommend it, especially to those interested in the first settlement in New South Wales.

3.5/5

Thanks to Deanna McFadden of Harper Collins Canada for the Advanced Readers Copy of this book.

Also review at:
ReadingAdventures

Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Oct 08

23

The Longest Journey by Diana Patterson and Rita Turner

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on October 23, 2008
Posted in Australia • Books Read 2008 • Diana Patterson • Historical Fiction • Rita Turner  | 9 Comments

An Amazing Journey and Amazing Historical Fiction!

As a young child, Elspeth lived with her father, the groundskeeper of the estate of Lord Reginald Westerna. When her father died, Lord Westerna took her in and bought her up as a Lady. She was the daughter he never had.

As a young woman, Elspeth’s wealthy English gentry’ world collapses when Lord Reginald Westerna dies and leaves her alone with her cruel stepbrother, Warwick. His jealousy and hatred of her brings him to accuse her of a crime she didn’t commit and she is sentenced to deportation to Australia.

There, the Governor of the Colony, Sir Rossmore, employs her. He is widowed and once he learns Elspeth’s story, she rises in station and a romance between the two begins.
This is a beautifully written story, that really captures the time and place of both England’s and Australia’s rich gentry. We also get a glimpse at the dark “underbelly” of the two countries. It is a story of love, courage, adversity, and romance. It has a fine cast of characters and a well thought out plot. A lot of research must have gone into writing this story and describing the costuming of the day.
I highly recommend this wonderful book.
5/5
Thanks to Diana Patterson and Rita Turner for an advance reading copy!

Note to my fellow bloggers who also reviewed this book: If you would like me to link your review at the bottom of my review, please leave a comment with the link to your review.

Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Nov 07

5

The Secret River by Kate Grenville

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on November 5, 2007
Posted in Australia • Books Read B/4 2007 • Historical Fiction • Kate Grenville  | 13 Comments

Historical Fiction at it’s Finest!

The Secret River by Kate Grenville is historical fiction at it’s finest. It starts off as a quiet pondering story of the toils in poverty-stricken 19th century England where most must resort to stealing to survive. Here Grenville focused on her central character, William Thornhill who got caught thieving to feed his family. He was sentenced to death, however that was commuted to life in New South Wales.

The story then turns to the survival of the Thornhill family in a new world, with a harsh hot climate and struggles with it’s original inhabitants, the aboriginals.

Grenville writes in a quite meditative style until the Thornhills encounter the aboriginals. Then she breaks out as she shows the brutal price that must be paid by both the new inhabitants and aboriginals of New South Wales. The Secret River is a very satisfying read that will make you hungry to read more by Kate Grenville! 5/5

Also Reviewed at:
Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.