''The Lieutenant'' is a historical novel by

Kate Grenville Catherine Elizabeth Grenville (born 1950) is an Australian author. She has published fifteen books, including fiction, non-fiction, biography, and books about the writing process. In 2001, she won the Orange Prize for '' The Idea of Perfectio ...

, published in 2008. The novel loosely follows historical facts based on the experiences of

William Dawes William Dawes Jr. (April 6, 1745 – February 25, 1799) was one of several men who in April 1775 alerted colonial minutemen in Massachusetts of the approach of British army troops prior to the Battles of Lexington and Concord at the outset ...

, an officer of the Royal Marines who was on the 1788 First Fleet from

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

to the New South Wales colony. His position was

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either ...

, though he took an opportunity to observe and record the language of the

Australian Aboriginal people Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...

( Eora) of the immediate area. It is implied that the events of the book connect to Grenville's other novel, The Secret River.

Plot

Daniel Rooke (loosely based on Dawes) is a self-possessed boy whose parents seek to better his prospects in life by having him brought to the attention of important people, and thus given opportunities others of his station may not have had. Among them is the

Astronomer Royal Astronomer Royal is a senior post in the Royal Households of the United Kingdom. There are two officers, the senior being the Astronomer Royal dating from 22 June 1675; the junior is the Astronomer Royal for Scotland dating from 1834. The post ...

. He is a mathematical

prodigy Prodigy, Prodigies or The Prodigy may refer to: * Child prodigy, a child who produces meaningful output to the level of an adult expert performer ** Chess prodigy, a child who can beat experienced adult players at chess Arts, entertainment, and ...

but must keep this to himself or else be victimized by adults and fellow students. After graduating from the Royal Naval College, Portsmouth, he takes up a commission in the Royal Marines. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, he is almost killed by a falling

spar SPAR, originally DESPAR, styled as DE SPAR, is a Dutch multinational that provides branding, supplies and support services for independently owned and operated food retail stores. It was founded in the Netherlands in 1932, by Adriaan van Well, ...

, and takes several years to recover. Just before the First Fleet sails for what is to be the

penal colony A penal colony or exile colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general population by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory. Although the term can be used to refer to ...

of New South Wales, he is invited by the Astronomer Royal to take instruments and observe the passage of a predicted comet. He accepts and is also in the company of another officer named Silk who he had known during the war. As the astronomer, Rooke is given considerable freedom and constructs an observatory on a headland outside the colony's camp. Conflicted by internal struggles and driven by his desire to be undisturbed, he asks permission to establish his own hut in the vicinity of the observatory, remaining in it except when required to be at the camp or on routine, and for weekly meals to keep in contact with other officers. Rooke creates a connection with the local Aboriginal people, and a young girl in particular: Tagaran, who teaches him words while also learning English. Rooke keeps several books written with his interpretations of the grammar and meanings of words he is taught. When Silk finds the books, he wants them to become part of his reports on the colony to a publisher in London and tries to bribe Rooke to agree with him. A member of the colony is speared by Aboriginal People after what may have been an attempt to kill Aboriginal People. The Governor of New South Wales orders Silk to lead a party to kidnap six Aboriginal People. Rooke is ordered to accompany the party however he disagrees with the decision and shares the orders given to the party with Tagaran so she can warn her community. On the first night of the expedition, after Rooke finds out their true intent was to murder six Aboriginal People by beheading them, he leaves the party in horror. Upon arriving back, he makes it clear to the governor how wrong his orders were and, as a consequence for refusing to follow them, Rooke is sent back to England for legal trial. In England, Rooke is spared and spends the rest of his life in Antigua where he frees slaves.

Publication history

2008, Australia, The Text Publishing Company ISBN, hardback *2008, USA, Grove Press , paperback

Explanation of the novel's title

The main character is a lieutenant in the Royal Marines at the time of the majority of the novel.

Literary significance and reception

''The Lieutenant'' was very favourably received.

Awards and nominations

* shortlisted:''The Lieutenant - Kate Grenville''

Text Publishing Text Publishing is an independent Australian publisher of fiction and non-fiction, based in Melbourne, Victoria. Company background Text Media was founded in Melbourne in 1990 by Diana Gribble and Eric Beecher, along with designer Chong Weng ...

** NSW Premier’s Literary Awards ** Queensland Premier’s Literary Awards ** WA Premier’s Awards, 2008

References

''The Lieutenant - Kate Grenville''
-

official page
''The Lieutenant by Kate Grenville''
- Grove Press official page

External links

Heavenly and earthly bodies
Jay Parini,

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

, Saturday 31 January 2009 - review
Reviews

's website list of reviews {{DEFAULTSORT:Lieutenant 2008 Australian novels Historical novels