Author Spotlight: Kate Grenville

Kate Grenville is most well known for her historical Australian family drama 'The Secret River'. Written in 2005 it wasn’t her first book, but certainly won her a whole slew of awards that has made her a household name. Then when it was set as a text for various curricula around Australia, the second hand market was been flooded with copies - and yet I still run out on a regular basis! People were so fascinated with the story of the story, that she put together a book ‘Searching for the Secret River’ detailing the process of research and writing of the original book. So clearly onto a good thing, Grenville released ‘The Lieutenant’ (my personal favourite) and then ‘Sarah Thornhill’ the sequel to 'The Secret River'.

In recent years Grenville has been delving more into the non-fiction with a biography of her mother simply titled ‘One Life’ and a detailed look at the fragrance industry and it’s affect on her personally with ‘The Case Against Fragrance’.

For people who have read all her books (including the four books before ‘The Secret River’), you might wonder what to do now while we eagerly wait for her next masterpiece. Here’s a few ideas for you to try in the meantime.

Fiction:

Peal in the Cage by Joy Dettman (Woody Creek Series)

Carpentaria by Alexis Wright

Foal’s Bread by Gillian Mears

Harp in the South by Ruth Park

Non-Fiction:

High Sobriety by Jill Stark

The Secret of Chanel No 5 by Tilar Mazzeo

Reckoning by Magda Suzbanski

On Writing by Stephen King