Este libro me ha gustado muchísimo, es una pena que aún no esté disponible en español porque se lo recomendaría a muchísimas personas. Es la historia de lo que podríamos decir " la otra historia" es decir, las mujeres que hay detrás de esos grandes hombres que pasan a la posteridad.
La manera de narrar convierte esta historia en un texto feminista, pero presenta a una mujer real, no una heroína. Precisamente esto, lo creíble de esta novela histórica (que es ficción y no siempre sigue la línea de la realidad, como confiesa la autora) es lo que la hace cercana.

3.5 stars

Kate Grenville has, quite compellingly, brought to life Elizabeth Macarthur - someone who was an important personage in the fledgling British colony of New South Wales, yet left so few traces of herself behind for posterity. Kate's Elizabeth is an appealing character, who is intelligent, self-aware, pragmatic (calculating even), with a logical streak that invites her to question prevailing attitudes, such as the inequality of sexes, the treatment of Indigenous people, even the existence of God - a very modern sort of woman.

I am also fascinated to see how formidable Mr and Mrs Macarthur's partnership was, despite their lack of a personal/emotional relationship - just imagine what a greater team they would make, if John could trust Elizabeth and they could work towards their goals together. Despite their loveless marriage, they were very lucky to have ended up together - I don't think they could have become so sucessful without each other.

This book has certainly got me thinking. While I enjoyed the story and found it immersive, I also agreed with some of the reviewers who questioned the Elizabeth's portrayal as a woke heroine - was that really what she would have been like? This doubt was exacerbated by the central conceit (or is it a deceit?) of the story - that it was supposedly a recently discovered, previously unknown memoir. Why did the author present this as "truth", and yet, repeatedly (both as Kate Grenville and as Elizabeth) invited readers to not believe everything we have read?

Now this was interesting. I had never heard of John or Elizabeth McGregor, very early settlers to what became the city of Sydney. I know a lot now - both historical and what may or may not be true. And i have not read Kate Grenville before either, only knowing she writes fiction centred on the early history of European settlement in Australia, convicts, military figures, migrants looking for a new life. This novel is written on the premise of a mystery box of letters being discovered in the roof of the original McGregor home in Parramatta. The letters are copies that Elizabeth made of all the letters she sent back home in Devon to her childhood friend. It would seem they tell quite a different story, and show a very different Elizabeth to the woman who didn't write much at all, and what she did was not very revealing or interesting.

So what a gift for a writer to be able to transform a real person into a novel showing a much more interesting and dynamic Elizabeth. It is well known she was married to a most unpleasant man, supposedly responsible for the establishment of the wool industry in Australia, but was it really John who spent long periods back in England or Elizabeth who had grown up on a sheep farm? And was no dummy.

It's fantastic how so much of history written by the patriarchy - always written by the winners - is now being turned upside down, even if fictionalised, by writers of such skill as Kate Grenville. She has had a field day with Elizabeth. My only criticism is that it does get a bit plod-like as Elizabeth deals with the various problems she both encounters and creates. Hanging over all this is the appalling treatment meted out to the Aboriginal people of the area, repeated everywhere else in Australia. In the novel Elizabeth appears to be very sympathetic to the indigenous population, just one sentence towards the end of the novel indicating a change in that attitude. Reading about her on history sites, it would appear she was not quite so accommodating or supportive. Why not read this alongside the history for a balanced picture.

I love Kate Grenville’s writing, and this novel is no exception. She inhabits her Elizabeth Macarthur and gives an imagined but welcome female perspective on the world of the early colony.

Always love Grenville's writing and wit. Sense of place is acute and character strong. Felt the end was rushed though.