Quilty Book Club: ‘The Secret River’ (2005)
3.00PM Sat 21 Sep 2019
QAG | Members lounge | Ticketed
During spring the titles on the Members Book Club reading list have been selected by Ben Quilty to connect to, contextualise and discuss ideas presented in his work.
Book 1: The Secret River (2005), Kate Grenville
After a childhood of poverty and petty crime in the slums of London, William Thornhill is transported to New South Wales for the term of his natural life. The harsh land of the colony feels like a death sentence, but he soon realises that his freedom can be bought. As Thornhill stakes his claim on a patch of ground by the Hawkesbury River, already home to the Darug people, the battle lines between the old and new inhabitants are drawn. Inspired by research into her own family history, Kate Grenville vividly creates the reality of settler life, its longings, dangers and dilemmas.
Book 2: Murder At Myall Creek (2016), Mark Tedeschi
Book 3: The Burial (2014), Courtney Collins