Kate Grenville

Past

• Born in Sydney Australia in 1950

• One of three children.

• She took the surname of her paternal grandmother.

• Moved to UK in her

twenties working holidays for six months and ended up staying sever years.

Past

• Lived in London and Paris.

• Began working life as

an editor of documentary films.

• Moved back to

Australia with her family after studying two year in the U.S.

• Has a husband, son and a daughter.

• Is now learning to play the cello.

Education

• University of Sydney – 1972 in bachelor

of art

• University of Colorado– 1982 in master of

arts

• University of Technology in Sydney

Career

• Arts administrator, Austrila Council 1973-74

• Documentary film producer assistant 1974-80

• Instructor in writing 1981

• Subtitle editor 1983-85

Literature Works

• Bearded Ladies 1984

• Lilians Story 1986

• Dreamhouse 1987

• Joan Makes History 1988

• Dark Places 1994

• The Idea of Perfection 1999

• The Secret River 2005

The Secret River

• She is most known for this book.

• Story of her ancestor.

• Reflects her family's past.

• Orange prize winning award.

• Best seller in Australia.

Awards

• Fellowship Award in 1981

• Australian/Vogel Award in 1984

• Writers Fellowship Award in 1985

Why write what she did?

• Her books were inspired by the desire to learn about her ancestor and their family business. She got this inspiration from her walk across Sydney Harbor Bridge when she realized she knew nothing about her family and the Aboriginal people and the settlers in those days.

Critics

• “Stories are so moving and exciting that you are barely aware of how heavy and profound its meaning is until you reach the end in a moment of stunned sadness.” Ron Charles for the Washington Post Book World

• Her books had the natives killed, threatened, and maimed in hundreds which made uncomfortable reading. Development of racism and one side was infringing on the other and it made it difficult to live with one another.

Sources

• http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/results/getResults.jhtml?_DARGS=/hww/results/results_common.jhtml.21

• http://find.galegroup.com/menu/commonmenu.do?userGroupName=meadville_mc http://biography.jrank.org/pages/4378/Grenville-Kate.html

• http://biography.jrank.org/pages/4378/Grenville-Kate.html

• http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/jan/31/the-lieutenant-kate-grenville

• http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/feb/07/secret-river-kate-grenville-review

• http://www.echonews.com/1128/book_reviews.html