The Lieutenant - Couverture souple

In 1788, Lieutenant Daniel Rooke sails into Sydney Cove with the First Fleet, hoping to advance his career. Instead, his life is unimaginably changed.

As a young officer and a man of science, the eccentric Rooke is full of anticipation about the natural wonders he might discover in this strange new land. As the newcomers struggle to establish a settlement for themselves and their cargo of convicts, Rooke sets up his observatory to chart the stars.

A young Aboriginal girl visits and begins to teach him her language. As they learn to speak together, they build a rapport that bridges the gap between their dangerously different worlds. Then Rooke is given a command that forces him to choose between his duty as a soldier and the friendship that’s become so precious to him.

The Lieutenant charts a unique moment when one world engaged with another, leaving both changed forever.

Kate Grenville is one of Australia's best-loved authors. Her works of fiction have won numerous awards both in Australia and internationally. The Idea of Perfection won the 2001 Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction and became a long-running bestseller. In 2006 The Secret River won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Searching For The Secret River, the story behind that novel, is also available from Canongate, alongside her first novel, Lilian's Story. Kate Grenville lives in Sydney.

www.kategrenville.com