Joan Makes History [Hardcover]

Kate Grenville (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: University of Queensland Press; Ex-library edition (1988)
• ISBN-10: 0702220728
• ISBN-13: 978-0702220722
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Kate Grenville (kategrenville.com) was born in Sydney, Australia. She's published eight books of fiction, including the multiple prize-winners 'The Secret River', 'The Lieutenant', 'The Idea of Perfection', and 'Lilian's Story'. She's also published three books about the writing process that are classic texts for Creative Writing classes, and a memoir about the research and writing of 'The Secret River'.

Grenville writes about Australia, but her themes are universal: love, violence, and survival. Her characters are often inspired by real historical characters: her own nineteenth century convict ancestor, an early Australian settler; a bag-lady on the streets of 1950s Sydney who quotes Shakespeare for a living; a soldier in the Sydney of 1788 who shares an extraordinary friendship of tenderness and respect with a young Aboriginal girl.

Grenville's international prizes include the Orange Award, the Commonwealth Writers' Prize, and a shortlisting for the Man Booker Prize. Her books have been published all over the world and translated into many languages, and two have been made into feature films.

Learn more about Kate Grenville, her books, and how to get hold of them, at kategrenville.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars irreverent and imaginative, January 7, 2012

By 

Cloggie Downunder (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Joan Makes History (Paperback)

Joan Makes History is the 3rd book by Australian author, Kate Grenville. Joan Redman(Radulescu) is a minor character from Grenville's first novel, Lilian's Story. From an early age, Joan has been determined to make her mark in history, and as we follow her life as she loved and was bored, betrayed and was forgiven, ran away and returned, those chapters of her life alternate with chapters that reflect or echo events in her life, and in which Grenville takes historical facts and inserts her characters into her own interpretation of events. We see James Cook's first sighting of the Great South Land as observed by his wife; the landing of the First Fleet through the eyes of a female convict; an encounter of Bass and Flinders through the eyes of an aboriginal girl; the hardships of taming the land, seeking gold, treatment of the blacks, war and rebellion, modes of travel, bushrangers, the late 19th century depression, and Federation, all through the eyes of women present at those events. There is humour and heartache; some chapters are quite thought-provoking, others are written very much tongue-in-cheek. Irreverent and imaginative.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Service, March 10, 2011

By 

Jess - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Joan Makes History (Paperback)

While I was a little bit hesitant to pruchase this item due to the time it would take to get here I was greatly surprised. It arrive much earlier than estimated. Definality will use this again!