I loved this novel! I was pretty sure that I would enjoy it, but didn't expect to like it as much as I did. Loved the characters and the setting, and the Grenville's writing is beautiful, absolutely flawless. I raced through it because I didn't want to put it down.

As a lover of historical fiction I was very excited to read this book and I really enjoyed the idea that it was based upon found diary entries. Whilst the early part of Elizabeth’s life was quite interesting to me, once they had set sail to Australia I found that my interest began to drop rather than build. I found the sea voyage rather oddly told, it must have been beyond disgusting and so very difficult with a child and another on the way but it was made to be more about her husband and his petty squabblings. I found the characters a little flat all but a few and it didn’t quite grab my attention in the way that I’d hoped. In some areas of the book I could read and read, others I lost interest rather quickly and had to go back over paragraphs - to the point where I was becoming lost in the narrative. I think I was expecting a little bit more grit and drama than was told. Thank you to the publisher and net gallery for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Great read for those who love historical fiction, Kate Grenville’s portrayal of the wife of the wool baron John MacArthur is sympathetically told. A young lady desperate to escape the boredom of life in Devon, herself the ward of a local clergyman, falls for a reckless narcissist of a man but soon realises her mistake. A life in New South Wales with a man she abhors ensues however Elizabeth is shown to be resilient, she resolves to make the best of her life, forming friendships and bonds with those around her, moulding her husband so that he can be managed.

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for a copy of the novel in exchange for this honest review.

A ROOM MADE OF LEAVES - Kate Grenville

Kate Grenville has taken the Australian national celebration of John Macarthur as a pioneering hero and questioned why, when Macarthur spent many years in England leaving Elizabeth in charge of Elizabeth Farm, he is given full credit as the father of the Australian wool industry which played an enormous part in the success of the country. Research into the husband-censored letters of Elizabeth Macarthur led Grenville skilfully to read between the lines and so A Room Made of Leaves was born.
John Macarthur was not so interested in his army duties in the penal colony as in grabbing whatever land he could and making money. He was not a pleasant man, with a very argumentative nature and a false sense of his own superiority.
A Room made of leaves is a very readable alternative history. Elizabeth comes over as a resourceful, intelligent sociable woman who was the real architect of the success of the introduction of merino sheep which made the Aussie wool much sort after. A woman who had no choice but had to bear life with a dominating, acquisitive, self regarding husband. It is a book which sent me to Google all I could read about the Macarthurs and to come to the conclusion that Kate Grenville's reading between the lines of Elizabeth's letters home to her mother and to her friends was most likely very accurate. You won't be disappointed with this book.

I love Kate Grenville's books and was excited to read this one. It was an enjoyable and well written story about early white settlers in Australia and their impact on the lives of each other and the indigenous people. Told by one of the few women it was a glimpse into the mores of "polite society" and being married to a self proclaimed gentleman.
However, it felt quite superficial at times and not of the enjoyable depth and complexity of previous books and historical characters such as Sal and Sarah Thornhill.
Thank you to netgalley and Canongate for an advance copy of this book.

This is the story of Elizabeth Veale who, through a momentary lapse, becomes Elizabeth MacArthur. Married to a man who cares little for her and who makes enemies wherever he goes, she finds resources within herself to make a bearable life.

With no option but to follow her husband to Australia, she makes the most of the rough conditions, does her best for her children and develops friendships among the settlers and transported convicts of the growing town of Sydney, New South Wales.

This is a quiet book, steadily telling the story of a woman's survival and ability to thrive in harsh conditions, both physical and emotional. There are beautiful descriptions of the landscape alongside accounts of adversity brought on by Mr MacArthur and his obnoxious ways.

Purporting to be a newly discovered account written by Mrs MacArthur herself, this novel shows us one woman's strength and determination and her ability to win through against all the odds. A wonderful book full of insight and compassion.

A room made of leaves tells the story of Elizabeth Macarthur who was married to John Macarthur. This man was not familiar to me, but according to the book’s introduction, he was a famous wool merchant in Sydney. Kate Grenville has set out to write a historical narrative from a woman’s perspective and describes how a young Elizabeth finds herself in the family way, and therefore married the arrogant John. He then decides they will be starting a new life in Australia so they embark on the 6 month sea voyage to get there. The book then follows their new life and how Elizabeth settles into this alien land.
This would be great for fans of historical or period novels, and I thought Elizabeth’s character was incredibly well written. My interest did wain slightly but that is probably because this isn’t my favourite genre of books.

I love Kate Grenville's work anyway, so it was a massive treat to get a copy of this from NetGalley. Thank you.

This is the story of the early days of the wool industry in Australia. Very, very early - Elizabeth MacArthur travels to Australia with her totally unsuitable husband when the colony is still a convict settlement. I guess those early settlers had the choice to hate or to love their new home, to regret England, or embrace Australia. Elizabeth is canny enough to embrace things. She learns to manipulate her husband as much as possible - she's a powerless woman in a man's world.

The heat of Australia, the light, the bush - they shine through this book. Grenville is great at conjuring an atmosphere. She is also constantly aware of the impact of European settlement on the Aboriginal communities, reminding you of what was destroyed as well as created.

This is a great read.

I quite enjoyed this book in parts but it didn't "sing" for me. I found I started to lose interest, the narrative seemed quite flat. At times it said far too much about something and not enough about another. For example, onboard the ship to Australia MacArthur has one of his monumental fallouts with a superior and the family has to transfer to another ship in the middle of the ocean, all the lead up to this is described in detail but not the transfer which would have been incredibly stressful and dangerous with a small baby in tow. The story had potential but the writing style was very pedestrian and it all seemed at bit dull.

"This land - this dirt and stones and trees - was connected to me now by a thousand days and nights of breathing its air, a thousand filaments of memory."

As an expat Australian, I was drawn to reading this novel about the early settlement years of New South Wales and indeed, it was also a joy to read a book set so close to family - Toongabbie, Parramatta, Sydney Cove, Dawes Point, all of the places recognisably home; and yet also, as with Elizabeth Macarthur's experience, no longer "home" in a way because new memories and foundations are laid down on the other side of the world. I had also visited Elizabeth Farm as a school excursion when I was younger but hadn't appreciated then the importance of her role.

The book also recognises that this colonial past comes at a heavy price: the displacement of the indigenous population of the Gadigal, Cammeraygal, Burramattagal, Wangal and and others belonging to the Eora population.

The book is less sympathetic with John Macarthur, a despicable man, from the account given here (well before any decree of lunacy was made, which makes him much more sympathetic). I enjoyed time when the book veered away from that poisonous well and spent time focussing on the positive elements of Elizabeth's life and learning.

Thank you very much to NetGalley, Canongate Books and Kate Grenville for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this fictional account of the lives of John MacArthur and his wife Elizabeth. I knew nothing about these people or the early settlement of Sydney so it was real history lesson. I always know when I've read a good historical novel because it makes me do my own research as I'm reading, checking facts. Whilst this is fiction the author takes Elizabeth's letters as her starting point. The period, background and place are brilliantly drawn. The blend of the facts and fiction are seamless and Elizabeth really comes alive for the reader.

In A Room Made of Leaves, Kate Grenville gives us her imagined memoir of early Australian settler and sheep farmer, Elizabeth MacArthur, Elizabeth was the wife of John MacArthur,a figure well-known in Australian history, who became a wealthy landowner but was shadowed by controversy throughout his life.

Not that much is known of Elizabeth directly, but Grenville has cleverly taken the thin pickings of historical evidence (some letters and a portrait, for example) and woven them into this very colourful tale of Elizabeth's life. Elizabeth tells her own tale in full and frank honesty, from her origins in Devon, the mistake that led her into marriage with John Macarthur and her adult life as one of the first female settlers to the colony.

I thought this book was so well-written. I know nothing of Australian history, and thought the topic could be a little dry but this is far from the case. The narrative moves at a cracking pace and is full of drama, Elizabeth's clever, honest and witty voice carries you effortlessly through the action. My only fault would be that once she is successfully established at Elizabeth Farm, in part five, the story rushes its way through to a conclusion when in fact, there was so much more tale to tell. I would love to see a sequel.

Elizabeth’s story might be familiar to many women throughout time. She has not heeded the warnings of becoming a fallen woman, and finds herself with a soldier husband she neither wants nor loves and must follow him in his relentless ambition and mischief making. Their marriage bed is not filled with passion, but it nevertheless is a duty she cannot avoid. This is based on a true story of a remarkable woman who finds resources to deal with her situation in a time when all too few women had control of their lives. This is a man’s world in gold rush towns of the eighteenth century in Australia, where the natives were ridden off their lands and fell to foreign diseases. The land is full of promise and hardship, and we see both land and native through her eyes.. The author writes in a truly authentic voice of the lure of nature and true feelings, as well as the gulf of displaced people, who like the convicts will never see home again.

Thanks to Netgalley and Canongate for the opportunity to review this book. It was not what I expected but I thoroughly enjoyed this story of Elizabeth McArthur . Like many women of her time she was forced into an unsuitable marriage swiftly followed by a move to Australia. Her husband was a difficult,complex man driven by self ambition and rage ,taking every opportunity to fight grievances of his own making. Elizabeth was a resourceful, intelligent woman who managed her husband as best she could by guile. This book mainly centred around her early life and her personal struggle to navigate life in spite of James. Very enjoyable.

A Room Made of Leaves is an intriguing novel about a fascinating period in Australian history.
I devoured this book; it’s an easy read. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good fast paced book and you might find you can't put this one down!

Kate Grenville once again conjures up the all encompassing world of the early settlers in Australia. Featuring a lowly positioned officer McArthur with his pregnant wife Elizabeth as they travel on the high seas for six months to reach their new army posting the story is told eloquently and tellingly from her point of view. The struggles of the early settlers with the many tensions between the native people's and the convicts Elizabeth's insights into the machinations of her husband's unstable mind. She learns to harness and manipulate his moods to their advantage and together they accumulate substantial wealth and estate in their new home. Elizabeth is a dutiful wife who tolerates her husband but finds love and passion in an unexpected place -a room made of leaves providing the discretion and privacy that she needs.
A compelling and gritty read that is a fascinating glimpse into a world we can only imagine, based as it is on detailed research from letters of the time.

‘A Room Made of Leaves’ by Kate Grenville was a joy to read. So evocative of the era that it made me feel I was alongside Elizabeth all the way. A woman of her time Elizabeth was nevertheless a modern and brave woman.

What an amazing book. Tells the story of the life a woman could expect in the late 18th century. The answer to which is not much of one. She belonged to her husband - who had no more need to consult her than he would a dog or a horse. Life was to be endured, enjoyment wasn't on the cards to many women. My only complaint was that I wanted to know more of the rest of her life after the book finished.

Loved it

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I read a free advance review copy of the book. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.

This is Kate Grenville doing more of her Kate Grenville thing! Yes, it's interesting being back in the early years of Australia being built up from a penal colony, and seeing it through female eyes - but there's a kind of swimming at the surface feel as everything unrolls with swift mini-chapters and there's no real depth or change of pace. Very quick and easy reading with nothing challenging to get our teeth into.

Another phenomenal book from Kate Grenville. An alternative history to the growth & development of New South Wales. Based loosely on facts and existing documents & letters the tale is told from a woman’s perspective. I enjoyed the writing, the characters and the story.