The Secret River

The Secret River
First edition
AuthorKate Grenville
LanguageEnglish
GenreHistorical fiction
PublisherText Publishing, Australia
Publication date
2005
Publication placeAustralia
Media typehardback
Pages334
ISBN1-920885-75-7
OCLC70061296
823/.914 22
LC ClassPR9619.3.G73 S53 2005
Preceded byThe Idea of Perfection 
Followed bySearching for The Secret River 

The Secret River is a 2005 historical novel by Kate Grenville about an early 19th-century Englishman transported to Australia for theft. The story explores what might have happened when Europeans colonised land already inhabited by Aboriginal people. The book was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2006, and has been compared to Thomas Keneally's The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith and to Peter Carey's True History of the Kelly Gang for its style and historical theme.