Ready Reference Treatise: The Secret River

By Raja Sharma

“The Secret River” by Kate Grenville was first published in 2005. It is a highly interesting historical novel.

The novel is about an early 19th century Englishman who was transported to Australia on the charge of theft. Australia was inhabited by Aboriginal people when the Europeans colonized the land. The novel explores what may have happened after the colonization.

“The Secret River” is often compared to “The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith” and “True History of the Kelly Gang” by Thomas Keneally and Peter Carey respectively for the historical theme and the writing style.

The major plot of the story rests on the destructive clash of civilizations which took place during the colonization of Australia.

The author presents a highly compelling story describing the initial encounters between the natives of Australia and the white settlers. Both of them fought battles to lay their claims on the land which caused the violent dispersal of the natives, the Aborigines, and the founding of modern Australia.

Ready Reference Treatise: The Secret River
Copyright
Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: Plot Overview
Chapter Three: Characters
Chapter Four: Complete Summary
Chapter Five: Critical Analysis

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raja Sharma
• Release date: Jun 18, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311460752

Raja Sharma

Raja Sharma is a retired college lecturer.He has taught English Literature to University students for more than two decades.His students are scattered all over the world, and it is noticeable that he is in contact with more than ninety thousand of his students.

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Ready Reference Treatise: The Secret River

Copyright

Ready Reference Treatise: The Secret River

Raja Sharma

Copyright@2015 Raja Sharma

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Chapter One: Introduction

The Secret River by Kate Grenville was first published in 2005. It is a highly interesting historical novel.

The novel is about an early 19th century Englishman who was transported to Australia on the charge of theft. Australia was inhabited by Aboriginal people when the Europeans colonized the land. The novel explores what may have happened after the colonization.

The Secret River is often compared to The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith and True History of the Kelly Gang by Thomas Keneally and Peter Carey respectively for the historical theme and the writing style.

The major plot of the story rests on the destructive clash of civilizations which took place during the colonization of Australia.

The author presents a highly compelling story describing the initial encounters between the natives of Australia and the white settlers. Both of them fought battles to lay their claims on the land which caused the violent dispersal of the natives, the Aborigines, and the founding of modern Australia.

The author describes how the convict past of Australia has been ignored. The book sets a new trend in Australian literature. It illustrates highly descriptively how the Aborigines were marginalized.

The historical facts have been very successfully and effectively turned into fiction by the author. The Secret River can also be called a part memoir, part research report, and part creative writing manual.

The book also introduces the reader to the aspects of the beginning of the writing process of the present book and how it eventually got written.

When the book published for the first time, it immediately proved highly successful and soon became an international bestseller. The book also received several highly prestigious literary awards.

The high profile awards that the book received included The Commonwealth Prize for Literature, The Christina Seated Prize, and The Bookseller’s Choice Award. The novel was also nominated for the Man Booker Prize.

The book has been included in the curriculum of several schools and colleges in Australia and many other English speaking countries. It is often discussed among several prestigious literary and academic circles.

Chapter Two: Plot Overview

The Secret River is primarily the story of William Thornhill, who happens to be a poor waterman from London. He is charged and deported, with his family, to New South Wales in 1896.

As the story begins, William Thornhill happens to be spending his first night in the convict settlement in Sydney, Australia. He is sitting outside a mud hut. Suddenly, an Aboriginal man appears in the darkness. William gets scared and he yells at the man. He shouts and commands that native to go off.

Although it is minor incident, the author foreshadows the conflict which is going to take place between the Aborigines and the new settlers in Australia. Neither the Aborigines nor the settlers have anything to do with each other and each wishes the other would go away.

The white settlers are compelled to stay there because they are convicts and they have been sent from England to Australia as a punishment. They can’t leave the new land. On the other hand, the Aborigines feel spiritually connected to the land. They will never leave the land voluntarily.

The narrative takes us back to the time when William happens to be a child in London. William is born into poverty in Southwark. He first works as an apprentice to Mr. Middleton, a waterman on the Thames.

He continues to row up and down the river Thames for seven years. He takes gentry from one side of the river to the other side. With the passage of time, he begins hatred of the gentry and their superior lifestyle.

Since he is from the lower social class, he feels inferior, but he feels that it is unjust. He continues to strain against the limitations of his social class.

By working hard, he also wants to gain the security which he sees Mr. Middleton has. His house on Swan Lane represents the comparative security that William yearns for.

Sal is Mr. Middleton’s daughter. William falls in love with her. The day William becomes a free man, he marries Sal. However, he continues to work