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Transporting and beautifully written, left me with a longing to travel back to the settlers in Australia

Excellent book, liked the wiliness of the female narrator, and the convict characters throughout.
I must find some more by her, I've really enjoyed those I've read.

Another beautiful cover.
It was The Secret River years ago, hoping this is as good and historically factual.

22 September-4 October 2020
An easy to read, fictional memoir of Elizabeth McCarthur, the wife of one of the soldiers sent to Australia and early settlers. This was lighter than I expected - The Secret River affected me greatly and I suppose I was expecting something similar. I was probably a little disappointed but this was still a good book and an interesting attempt to imagine the story of someone who at that time was mostly voiceless.

I enjoyed this story of Elizabeth Macarthur & the early years of the settlement at Sydney Cove, & the establishment of Elizabeth Farm at Parramatta, more than I expected to, but it's only just a pick for me. I was surprised by how little description appears. Because I know the places referred to in their modern condition I had some framework to picture them as they must have been then, but I wonder how it would read to people who don't know them👇

Our new episode of Books On The Go is up - the one where I didn‘t read the book! 😱

Elizabeth, Mrs John Macarthur, travels from her home on the Devon/Cornwall border to Sydney, Australia, in 1790, one of the first soldiers‘ wives to do so. This is the story of a strong, canny woman finding a way to make her own space, in a world that offers her limited choices and in a marriage not of love, but of grudging appreciation.

. Beautifully crafted. A fictional account of the life of Elizabeth MacArthur . I so wanted it to be true. 😊.
My reading has slowed up of late and this was easy to pick up and put down. A gentle story . I loved it.
#2020joybooks
@MrsMalaprop

I‘m making my way much-too-slowly through this ARC.

I have such admiration for Elizabeth Macarthur! This is her fictionalised memoir, but she was real, travelling from Devon to New South Wales in 1790, the first soldier‘s wife to arrive in Sydney. She‘s written with such a strong sense of self, a determination to get through, and patience while she finds her own agency. I‘m not sure if I like her, but am SO loving the book! #NetGalleyReviewathon

I really enjoyed this book. It felt a bit like Jane Austen with talk of social standing, favourable marriages and finances :-P It depicts the life of the real historical figure Elizabeth Macarthur. It was interesting to see Colonial Australia through her eyes. ⭐⭐⭐.5 stars.

Birthday book and game haul. Looking forward to reading tagged book. @MrsMalaprop

This book is an imagined memoir of Elizabeth Macarthur (1766-1850), wife of wool baron John Macarthur, whom history has all but erased. Grenville dedicates it “to all those whose stories have been silenced”, and it speaks to those gaps in the archive. It reads like True History Of The Kelly Gang meets Jane Austen - absorbing and intriguing. An extended review available here: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/new-releases/ #Australian #HistFic