The story of Daniel Rooke (based on the life of William Dawes) starts with a socially inept, solitary child with a passion for numbers and the stars. After leaving Portsmouth Academy, through necessity and lack of funds, he takes up the role of lieutenant, navigator and astronomer, aboard the Sirius with the First Fleet in 1787. When he first meets black people, the voiceless person that he’s been until then, is transformed into something extraordinary. Rooke’s interest in the natives’ language and their sense of community, leads him to befriend a group of Aborigines, in particular a young girl named Tagaran, and to create a comprehensive documentation of their language. The flow of Rooke’s life encompasses his astronomical and linguistic pursuits, his bold refusal to take part in the slaughter of native people, and his return to England. This is followed by a life fighting for the abolition of slavery and ending with his death in abject poverty, in Antigua, in 1836. This outstanding version of the book will reach out to booklovers that prefer to hear the sound of words, the cadence of the reader’s voice, and enjoy the pleasure of aurally savouring the richness of Grenville’s language.

Anastasia Gonis is a freelance writer and reviewer and former bookseller

This review from Australian Bookseller & Publisher magazine is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2008, Thorpe-Bowker

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