The Secret River
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The Secret River
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Narrated by:
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Paul Blackwell
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By:
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Kate Grenville
About this listen
In 1806 William Thornhill, a man of quick temper and deep feelings, is transported from the slums of London to New South Wales for the term of his natural life. With his wife, Sal, and their children he arrives in a harsh land he cannot understand. But the colony can turn a convict into a free man. Eight years later Thornhill sails up the Hawkesbury to claim 100 acres for himself.
Aboriginal people already live on that river. And other recent arrivals - Thomas Blackwood, Smasher Sullivan, and Mrs Herring - are finding their own ways to respond to them. Thornhill, a man neither better nor worse than most, soon has to make the most difficult choice of his life.
©2005 Kate Grenville (P)2005 Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Producer: Heather Steen.Listeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
What listeners say about The Secret River
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 24-03-19
Great Book; really helpful for the English course
The book had a great storyline and was incredibly thought provoking. The themes of ownership, love and hate were fantastically portrayed through Grenville’s descriptive and often sometimes unforgiving writing which displayed the good, the bad and the ugly of Thornhills character who represented her ancestor. Her ability to accept the fact that her heritage came from the atrocious acts carried out by the colonialists is refreshing and this book creates a sense of outright guilt and remorse for Thornhill, especially as we see how Thornhill becomes detached from his family after carrying out the atrocious acts and coercing with the plans of smasher and co. Her use of symbolism and description of nature throughout the book plays with the readers emotion, as she also successfully conveys the message that the aborigines belonged there as nature itself favoured them and they would never leave South Wales despite the hate towards them as symbolised at the end. The performers voice was very calming and he defined different characters very well but I could see myself wanting more action in his tone if I listened to this book in a few sittings rather than over a long period of time listening to 10 minute snippets of this book. However his performance of the book is still one of the best I’ve heard and someone’s voice can be a subjective topic so I would still recommend everyone to get this book as in some way or another you would have been affected by British colonialism and will be able to relate the wide selection of characters in this book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- h
- 29-04-21
Enthralling
Powerfully written, the story starts very slow, but it builds and builds. A wonderful dramatisation of the struggles and entitlement of early Sydney convict settlers.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- eGJ
- 20-01-23
Riveting, but the missing chapter?
Absorbing and full of detail, and William shows his realisation at the end, but it would have been satisfactory (though lengthy);to hear the story not told.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Maudy
- 19-05-20
A wonderful listen
I had to read the book for school and it's not my cuppa, but the Australian accent and sometimes dramatic story made it nice.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 19-01-19
Thank you for helping me through my English GCSE
Great book will a deep compelling message about Australia’s struggle with the country’s culture. An interesting listen that is really worth it but on repeat listening it fails to hold up. There is a very good performance form the reader but it lacks the defining features.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 22-07-24
Gruesome story
I found the first half of the story boring, but wanted to give it a chance to get better. The second half was distressing with too much gruesome detail and racist behaviour to be enjoyable.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Maren
- 03-08-20
Perfect
This is a beautiful reading of a devastating book. A subtle understated story of the cruel colonisation of Australia
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ray
- 22-05-23
Thought provoking, you’ll need a tissue.
This book opened my heart and eyes ,to so many emotions and depths of feeling. A sad time in history. 😢
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Gillian
- 08-08-19
an uncertain narrative
The contemporary narratives of diverse peoples' presence in Australia are missing as ever. One day someone will offer perspectives of experience and reflect on the uncertainty of identity.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 01-04-23
Depressing tale
Bloody awful pan pipes. Depressing story. Obvious ending - not my cup of tea.
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