A Room Made of Leaves

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What if Elizabeth Macarthurwife of the notorious John Macarthur, wool baron in the earliest days of Sydneyhad written a shockingly frank secret memoir And what if novelist Kate Grenville had miraculously found and published it Thats the starting point forA Room Made of Leaves, a playful dance of possibilities between the real and the invented.

Marriage to a ruthless bully, the impulses of her heart, the search for power in a society that gave women none: this Elizabeth Macarthur manages her complicated life with spirit and passion, cunning and sly wit. Her memoir lets us hearat last!what one of those seemingly demure women from history might really have thought.

At the centre ofA Room Made of Leavesis one of the most toxic issues of our own age: the seductive appeal of false stories. This book may be set in the past, but its just as much about the present, where secrets and lies have the dangerous power to shape reality.

Kate Grenvilles return to the territory ofThe Secret Riveris historical fiction turned inside out, a stunning sleight of hand by one of our most original writers.

kategrenville.com.au

Reviews

Kate Grenville is a literary alchemist, turning the leaden shadow of the historical Elizabeth Macarthur into a luminescent, golden woman for our times. Intelligent, compassionate, strategic and dead sexy, Grenvilles Macarthur is an unforgettable character who makes us question everything we thought we knew about our colonial past. A polished gem of a novel by a writer who is as brave as she is insightful. I simply loved it. * Clare Wright *
'This story, told through Grenvilles sharp lens, is one that will stay with the reader for a long time. * Readings *
'An ingenious tapestry of history and invention, A Room Made of Leaves is a novel of womanhood, motherhood, secrets, lies, obsession, transformation and the loss of innocence. Its a true pleasure to read Grenvilles writing, and this ones been well worth the wait! * Booktopia *
Giving voice to the countless generations of women who were prevented from telling their true storiesCompelling. * Herald Sun *
A little bit of Austen, a little bit of the Brontes, a little bit of Thomas Hardy. * RN Bookshelf *
Vividly rendered, warmly sympathetic, daring in speculative breadth: a full-length portrait in oils of a woman known to most of us only in profile miniatureIf Grenvilles novel is inspired by provocation, it unfolds as a feeling, organic story. * Australian *
'Grenville so convincingly creates Elizabeths voice it is easy to forget her opening warning: Do not believe too quickly!...Grenvilles Elizabeth stays with you.' * Conversation *
Her fiction is always a challenge, a goad to our complacencies, social decorums and repressionsRichly imagined[Provides] the shock we perhaps need to remind us of what might still be possible. * Age/SMH *
Grenvilles prose is elegant and meticulously craftedDespite the trappings of history in A Room Made of Leaves and Grenvilles impressive use of the archive to conjure the novel, her achievement here is not a historical one. A Room Made of Leaves questions, rhetorically, how to live ethically with a history that is unfair. * Saturday Paper *
Another book in her fantastic collection of work about early Australian colonial times and its at least as good, if not even better, than all the others Absolutely brilliant. * Radio NZ Nine to Noon *
Stunninga clever mix of fact and fiction. * Weekly Times *
Grenville invites the reader to reflect on the complex relationship between truth and falsehood, history and fiction[A] stunning literary achievement. * Kirsten Tranter, Guardian *
Grenville is as canny as she is imaginative[She] colours your imagination, designs a setting and gives you a push. Australian history is relentlessly inglorious but Grenville allows you to rearrange it through individuals who were notAn interesting prism of a bookGrenville knows exactly what she can do and does it. * Monthly *
FabulousIt will delight you and it will keep you company during lockdown. But it will also make you think deeply about home and belonging and our hidden and brutal colonial past. And although Kate implores us to not believe too quickly, I would like you to please believe me when I declare that you will adore this book. * Melanie Cheng *
[A] shimmering new novelGrenville gives us throughout a gorgeous tactile sense of the Australian bush in all its idiosyncratic light, colour and movement. * SA Weekend *
SkilfulAn engaging book. * Guardian *
MemorableMacarthur comes to vivid lifeA gorgeously tactile sense of the Australian bush. * Mercury *
The captivating story of a woman navigating a difficult marriage and an affair of the heart. * Sunday Life *
Kate Grenvilles A Room Made of Leaves - an almost flawless novel about our early colonial history told through the fictional eyes of Elizabeth MacArthur - its deep in research and beautifully realised. * Heather Rose, author of The Museum of Modern Love *
'Kate Grenvilles A Room Made of Leaves (Text) gives us an unforgettable flesh-and-blood re-imagining of 18th-century mother of the Australian wool industry, Elizabeth Macarthur. * Clare Wright, Age *
'Grenville is challenging the reader, through the eyes of Elizabeth, to face the harsh reality that success and flourishing can so often be at the expense of others. * Catholic Outlook *
ExcellentSo beautifully observed and writtenAn accomplished novel with all the experience that a writer like Kate Grenville brings to her work...Really a superb piece of work. * Leigh Sales *
Vividly, even wickedly, re-imagines the life of Elizabeth Macarthur. * Australian *

Author Bio

Kate Grenville is one of Australias most celebrated writers. Her international bestseller The Secret River was awarded local and overseas prizes, has been adapted for the stage and as an acclaimed television miniseries, and is now a much-loved classic. Grenvilles other novels include Sarah Thornhill, The Lieutenant, Dark Places and the Orange Prize winner The Idea of Perfection. Her most recent books are two works of non-fiction, One Life: My Mothers Story and The Case Against Fragrance. She has also written three books about the writing process. In 2017 Grenville was awarded the Australia Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature.