The Lieutenant
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Two for £7 on top paperbacks
Choose two top paperback books and get them for £7. Learn how. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
'Grenville's prose is clear and clean, employing a gently leading storytelling style that is especially welcome with a foreign land and a foreign time ... Grenville has brought imagination and compassion to the source of so much of Australia's retroactive hand-wringing. What distinguishes her portrayal of Aboriginal culture is that or once appreciation, sympathy and admiration get the better of impotent guilt.' Daily Telegraph
The Times
Grenville is one of Australia's most popular writers, and this novel is a triumph. Read it at once.
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Daniel Rooke is a child who at eight years old, due to his astounding mathematical skills is offered a scholarship to Portsmouth Naval Academy. He has difficulty interacting with the other students from privileged backgrounds and is ridiculed and bullied.
He studies under the guidance of the Royal Astronomer but unable to gain employment in this limited field he enlists in the Marines. Offered the chance to set up an observatory and watch for the re-appearance of Halley's Comet he travels to New South Wales with the First Fleet.
Whilst at the new settlement integration with the natives does not go smoothly, Rooke living apart at his observatory begins to make cautious headway with a few of them, in particular a young girl called Tagaran. His journey to New South Wales comes to a conclusion as Rooke is made to question his loyalties.
The book started slowly for me and it was when these tenuous relationships began to form that I really began to enjoy it. A compelling tale, the authors portrayal of Rookes relationships with his fellow officers, Tagaran and the other natives are well written and meaningful.
I found that the end of Rooke's time in Australia seemed to be rushed and this was my only disappointment in an otherwise engaging novel.
As the authors notes at the end of the book states, although fiction this story is based on William Dawes and his work.
A great read and one I'd certainly recommend to others.
He studies under the guidance of the Royal Astronomer but unable to gain employment in this limited field he enlists in the Marines. Offered the chance to set up an observatory and watch for the re-appearance of Halley's Comet he travels to New South Wales with the First Fleet.
Whilst at the new settlement integration with the natives does not go smoothly, Rooke living apart at his observatory begins to make cautious headway with a few of them, in particular a young girl called Tagaran. His journey to New South Wales comes to a conclusion as Rooke is made to question his loyalties.
The book started slowly for me and it was when these tenuous relationships began to form that I really began to enjoy it. A compelling tale, the authors portrayal of Rookes relationships with his fellow officers, Tagaran and the other natives are well written and meaningful.
I found that the end of Rooke's time in Australia seemed to be rushed and this was my only disappointment in an otherwise engaging novel.
As the authors notes at the end of the book states, although fiction this story is based on William Dawes and his work.
A great read and one I'd certainly recommend to others.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I'm fascinated by the polarised opinions about this book, mainly 2-5 stars, with readers who have enjoyed Grenville's earlier writings, particularly divided. Some people dislike the England set beginning, some people dislike the Antiguan end, some the Australian sections, and some thought the whole package complete. I'm, just, one of the latter.
I was captivated by this story, based on William Dawes, a British naval officer of the 18th century, who as part of a group guarding transported prisoners, encounters Australia's original inhabitants and is forced to re-examine his own society's mores, and consider other ways of living, other ethics.
This idea has of course been examined now by many writers - Keneally probably most famously, giving rise to a stage version originally mounted at the Royal Court, but also Jane Rogers Promised Lands. It remains a story well worth telling
Grenville tells the story simply and sparely. The concept of the strangeness and uniqueness of language, and how one needs to appreciate and absorb the ethics and ways of thinking/feeling inherent in the specific cultures which give rise to their own specific language is beautifully done.
As I got towards the final section of the book, I found myself unable to believe its events. It seemed too `modern' too redolent of our current sensibilities, and I was a little disappointed with Grenville's tying up of the ends of her story....;....and THEN I read her afterword explanation and the story of the real William Dawes. So that was also a great revelation - people DO transcend their time, and it was my own limitation, in failing to imagine that the 19th century man could be so enlightened and subtle in his thoughts and actions, not Grenville's failure as a story teller.
I was captivated by this story, based on William Dawes, a British naval officer of the 18th century, who as part of a group guarding transported prisoners, encounters Australia's original inhabitants and is forced to re-examine his own society's mores, and consider other ways of living, other ethics.
This idea has of course been examined now by many writers - Keneally probably most famously, giving rise to a stage version originally mounted at the Royal Court, but also Jane Rogers Promised Lands. It remains a story well worth telling
Grenville tells the story simply and sparely. The concept of the strangeness and uniqueness of language, and how one needs to appreciate and absorb the ethics and ways of thinking/feeling inherent in the specific cultures which give rise to their own specific language is beautifully done.
As I got towards the final section of the book, I found myself unable to believe its events. It seemed too `modern' too redolent of our current sensibilities, and I was a little disappointed with Grenville's tying up of the ends of her story....;....and THEN I read her afterword explanation and the story of the real William Dawes. So that was also a great revelation - people DO transcend their time, and it was my own limitation, in failing to imagine that the 19th century man could be so enlightened and subtle in his thoughts and actions, not Grenville's failure as a story teller.
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
'The Lieutenant' tells the story of Lt. Daniel Rooke, a junior officer in the Royal Marines, sent with an expidition to Australia to found the settlement at Sydney. While there, he meets the local tribe and begins to learn their language and in doing so forms a relationship with them, thinking of them as human in a way not shared by his comrades.
That's really all there is to it, it's a simple, nicely written story, but not really enough meat to it. It feels like a framework for a more in depth story, but as it is this reads as unfinished. Characters and motives are left unexplored and the really interesting part of Rookes life, revealed in the last few pages, happens 'off screen' and takes up less than a page.
'The Lieutenant' is a pleasant diversion for a few hours, but is a disapointing book.
That's really all there is to it, it's a simple, nicely written story, but not really enough meat to it. It feels like a framework for a more in depth story, but as it is this reads as unfinished. Characters and motives are left unexplored and the really interesting part of Rookes life, revealed in the last few pages, happens 'off screen' and takes up less than a page.
'The Lieutenant' is a pleasant diversion for a few hours, but is a disapointing book.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
A Dark Character
Kate Grenville is one of my favourite authors. I am always struck by the magnificence of her writing, and I read slowly so that I don't miss a thing! Read more
Published 6 days ago by I. Johannesson
The Lieutenant
Not a book I enjoyed. Personally I longed for this to be more of a 'human interest story' about relationships and less of a story, no matter how interesting, about astronomy and... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Petty Witter
For me .... rather disappointing.
This is my first Grenville novel. Overall, I felt it promised much but somehow failed to deliver, though having read other reviews I note that many appreciated the novel more than... Read more
Published 13 months ago by John Brain
moving
Kate Grenville's latest novel, "The Lieutenant" is a beautifully crafted work. The Lieutenant in question, Daniel Rooke, is based on William Dawes, a soldier in His Majesty's... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Cloggie Downunder
Moving, Powerful and Deeply Resonant
"The Lieutenant" is the latest historical novel to be published by Kate Grenville, whose works of fiction include The Secret River, winner of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Stephanie DePue
Slow start, lacking a bit of depth but a very powerful ending
Having read many books over the years I have learned that some will instantly grab your attention whilst others will require great amounts of dedication and hard work to retain... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Mr. Anthony J. Knowles
Beautiful Book
An evocative book that allows the reader to connect with the narrator despite him beong a bit of an odd fish. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Penny Reads
Simply told, but with profound resonances
This is a beautifully written book, with not a word - or even a comma - out of place. Kate Grenville's use of language is spare, economical and of a radiant clarity. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Allegra
Worth it just for the middle
Daniel Rooke's childhood is miserable; as a smart boy born to poor parents in eighteenth century England, doors eventually open for him but he constantly struggles to fit in. Read more
Published on 22 Feb 2010 by M. K. Burton
An enjoyable introduction to Australian history
I read the Lieutenant shortly before taking a trip to Australia. It is a fictionalisation of what happened when the First Fleet arrived at, what is now, Sydney. Read more
Published on 21 Sep 2009 by Gary Nicklin
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
