The Lieutenant by Kate Grenville

Drawing its inspiration from historical events, Kate Grenville's Orange prize-winning novel is a fictionalised account of the story of a young lieutenant, Daniel Rooke, who travels to New South Wales in 1788. Ostensibly there to chart the stars of the southern hemisphere, he gradually develops a friendship with a young Aboriginal girl. With her help, he starts to learn the language of her people, adopting the same methodical manner as his study of astronomy, but as his connection with the girl becomes stronger he starts to question the presence of his countrymen in her homeland. Writing in a clear, simple style, Grenville elegantly evokes the wonder and tension inherent in the first meetings between these two different worlds.