Journal Entry 1 by Cassiopaeia from Cardiff, Wales United Kingdom on Sunday, April 18, 2010

Description from Amazon
This story is set in London, 1807. William Thornhill, happily wedded to his childhood sweetheart Sal, is a waterman on the River Thames. Life is tough but bearable until William makes a mistake, a bad mistake for which he and his family are made to pay dearly. His sentence: to be transported to New South Wales for the term of his natural life. The Thornhills arrive in this harsh and alien land that they cannot understand and which feels like a death sentence. But, among the convicts there is a rumour that freedom can be bought, that 'unclaimed' land up the Hawkesbury offers an opportunity to start afresh, far away from the township of Sydney. When William takes a hundred acres for himself, he is shocked to find Aboriginal people already living on the river. And other recent arrivals - Thomas Blackwood, Smasher Sullivan and Mrs. Herring - are finding their own ways to respond to them. Soon Thornhill, a man neither better nor worse than most, has to make the most difficult decision of his life...
About the Author
Kate Grenville was born in Sydney. Her last novel, The Idea of Perfection, won the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2001 and became a long-running bestseller. Her five other works of fiction have won numerous awards. Kate Grenville lives in Sydney with her family. 

Journal Entry 2 by Cassiopaeia from Cardiff, Wales United Kingdom on Sunday, April 25, 2010

Excellent and very realistic but ultimately disturbing account of the early settlers in the penal colony in NSW. I'm looking forward to reading 'Searching for the Secret River', Grenville's account of writing this book.