In the London portion of The Secret River, readers may notice similarities with Charles Dickens’s depiction of the poverty and moral tone in nineteenth-century London. The Dickens version has become an archetype. Grenville is very effective at evoking the period, as well.. (Questions issued by publisher.) top of page (summary).
The Secret River shows a contrast between the colonial and Indigenous perspectives on land ownership. As established above, the western understanding of ownership is centered around material possession, however, the Indigenous view is that they and the land are one. Until the colonists arrived, the question of the ownership of the land irrelevant.
The Secret River Essay Characters in the text The Secret River by Kate Grenville represent a variation of attitudes and views towards the colonisation of Australia and the Aboriginal Australians. While many characters are indecisive about their opinion on the natives, some characters have a clear mind-set on how they are to be treated.
The Secret River is actually inspired by Kate Grenville's own convict ancestor, Solomon Wiseman. He was brought to Australia from England as punishment for theft and, like William Thornhill, never returned to England. Kate Grenville's father was a judge and a barrister in Sydney, while her mother was a pharmacist.