A Room Made of Leaves
| Author | Kate Grenville |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Literary novel |
| Publisher | Text Publishing |
Publication date | 2 July 2020 |
| Publication place | Australia |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 352 pp. |
| Awards | 2021 New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, winner |
| ISBN | 9781922330024 |
A Room Made of Leaves is a 2020 novel by the Australian author Kate Grenville, originally published by Text Publishing.[1]
It was the winner of the 2021 New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, Christina Stead Prize for Fiction.[2]
Synopsis
[edit]This novel tells the story of Elizabeth Macarthur, wife of John Macarthur, a wealthy and corrupt early pioneer of Australia's wool industry. Genville uses the trope of imagining she has found a long lost memoir of Elizabeth's, upon which she bases her book.
Critical reception
[edit]Writing in The Guardian Kirsten Tranter called the novel a "stunning literary achievement", and went on to note: "Most striking is the way Grenville makes images startlingly fresh that ought to be worn out with use. She turns inside-out the conventional emblem of birdsong as heartfelt expression, making it expressive only of tragic limitation: as a newly married, unhappy wife, Elizabeth hears a bird that sings 'a lovely song' at dawn."[3]
In Australian Book Review Don Anderson notes that Grenville hints at a possible adulterous relationship between Elizabeth Macarthur and botanist William Dawes, and wonders if it is "ethical for a novelist to do what Grenville does and impute such details into the private lives of historical personages?"[4]
Publication history
[edit]- 2020 Text Publishing, Australia[1] and 2023[5]
- 2020 Canongate, UK and 2021[5]
The novel was also translated into Italian and German in 2021.[5]
Awards
[edit]- 2021 New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards – Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, winner[2]
- 2021 The Age Book of the Year – Fiction, shortlisted[6]
- 2021 Walter Scott Prize, shortlisted[7]
Notes
[edit]- Dedication: Dedicated to all those whose stories have been silenced.
- Epigraph: Do not believe too quickly! - Elizabeth Macarthur
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b "A Room Made of Leaves by Kate Grenville (Text)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
- ^ a b "NSW Premier's Literary Awards 2021 winners announced". Books+Publishing. 27 April 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
- ^ Tranter, Kirsten (30 July 2020). ""A Room Made of Leaves by Kate Grenville review – the untold story of an unruly woman"". The Guardian. The Guardian, 31 July 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
- ^ ""A Room Made of Leaves by Kate Grenville"". Australian Book Review, September 2020. 24 August 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
- ^ a b c "Austlit — A Room Made of Leaves by Kate Grenville". Austlit. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
- ^ ""Age Book of the Year 2021 shortlist announced"". Books+Publishing, 2 August 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
- ^ "Awards: Walter Scott Shortlist; PEN America Literary". Shelf Awareness. 25 March 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2025.