In 1806, William Thornhill, an English poor man with a quick temper, steals firewood, and along with his beloved wife Sal, he is deported to New South Wales (the future Australia). William’s incredible love for the exotic corner of this new world is overshadowed by the realization that to build a home for his family would mean depriving the land of those who live there. "The Secret River" is a novel about moral choice and its consequences, a powerful work of anti-colonial literature created based on the writer’s family history. "Grenville’s flexible, flowing, river-like prose is pure pleasure for the reader." (c) Natalia Lomykina, Forbes