Description

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Kate Grenville's return to the territory of The Secret River is historical fiction turned inside out, a stunning sleight of hand by one of Australia's most celebrated writers.

What if Elizabeth Macarthur--wife of the notorious John Macarthur, wool baron in the earliest days of Sydney--had written a candid secret memoir? And what if novelist Kate Grenville had miraculously found and published it? That's the starting point for A Room Made of Leaves, a dance of possibilities between worlds real and invented.

Marriage to a ruthless bully, the impulses of her heart, the search for power in a society that gave women none: Grenville's Elizabeth Macarthur manages her complicated life with spirit and passion, cunning and wit. Her memoir lets us hear what a seemingly demure woman of history might really have thought.

At the heart of A Room Made of Leaves is one of the most toxic issues of our own age: the seductive appeal of false stories. This book may be set in the past, but it's just as much about the present, where secrets and lies have the power to shape reality.

About the Author

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Kate Grenville is one of Australia's most celebrated writers. Her international bestseller The Secret River is a much-loved classic. It has received local and overseas prizes and has been adapted for TV and the stage. Grenville's other novels include Sarah Thornhill, The Lieutenant, Dark Places and the Orange Prize winner, The Idea of Perfection. Her most recent books are two works of non-fiction, including The Case Against Fragrance. In 2017 she was awarded the Australia Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature. She lives in Melbourne.