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Title: The Lieutenant
Author: Kate Grenville
Narrator: Nicholas Bell
Format: Unabridged
Length: 7 hrs
Language: English
Release date: 12-04-08
Publisher: Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd
Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 42 votes
Genres: Fiction, Historical
Publisher's Summary:
Set a quarter of a century before The Secret River, at the moment when the British arrive in Australia, The Lieutenant tells an unforgettable story about friendship, language and power.
In 1787 Lieutenant Thomas Rooke sets sail from Portsmouth with the First Fleet and its cargo of convicts, destined for New South Wales. As a young officer and a man of science, the shy and quiet Rooke is full of anticipation about the natural wonders he might discover in this strange land on the other side of the world.
After the fleet arrives in Port Jackson, Rooke sets up camp on a rocky and isolated point, and starts his work of astronomy and navigation. It's not too long before some of the Aboriginal people who live around the harbour pay him a visit. One of them, a girl named Tarunga, starts to teach him her own language. But her lessons and their friendship are interrupted when Rooke is given an order that will change his life forever.
Inspired by the 1790 notebooks of William Dawes in which he recorded his conversations with a young Gadigal woman, The Lieutenant is a story about a man discovering his true self in extraordinary circumstances.
Editorial Reviews:
A well-told and immersive work of historical fiction by one of Australia's most popular authors. The Lieutenant was inspired by the notebooks of William Dawes, scientist and lieutenant with Britain's First Fleet, who arrived with the convicts who would found the first European settlement in Australia. The story concerns Dawes' friendship with a young aboriginal girl, which blossoms amid the difficult relationships between black and white groups in New South Wales, at least until Dawes is forced to take sides in their growing confrontation. Nicholas Bell's precise enunciation and truly beautiful voice lend charm to this sensitively told story.
Members Reviews:
Very disappointing.
What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?
Nothing, the story was just plain boring.
Would you ever listen to anything by Kate Grenville again?
Maybe
What didnt you like about Nicholas Bells performance?
He has a nice voice, and it made for pleasant listening, but unfortunately there just isn't enough story for him to make it interesting.
What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?
Boredom, couldn't even make it thru the book.
Any additional comments?
Not up to Kate Grenville story telling. I enjoyed The Secret River very much and that is why I tried to listen to The Lieutenant.... It is hard to believe the two books were written by the same author.
Great Story
What did you like best about this story?
Listened to this before a vacation to Australia. Loved hearing the historical fiction and feeling a bit more connected to the area.
a great story based on real events
This is a most fascinating and moving story set around the time of England colonising Australia with the First Fleet. Based largely on the diaries of a young scholarly officer Dawes, the book starts with glimpses of the snobbery and bullying of the British class system in England and moves onto their settlement of a penal colony in New South Wales.
Kate Grenville writes a sensitive and griping story, the characters are portrayed in such a way that I could see it all happening and wanted to know what would happen next. The narration by Nicholas Bell is excellent. I found the story spell binding.
