The Lieutenant

The Lieutenant is a historical novel by Kate Grenville, published in 2008. The novel loosely follows historical facts based on the experiences of William Dawes, an officer of the Royal Marines who was on the 1788 First Fleet from England to the New South Wales colony. His position was astronomer, though he took an opportunity to observe and record the language of the Australian Aboriginal people (Eora) of the immediate area. It is implied that the events of the book connect to Grenville's other novel, The Secret River. Plot Daniel Rooke (loosely based on Dawes) is a self-possessed boy whose parents seek to better his prospects in life by having him brought to the attention of important people, and thus given opportunities others of his station may not have had. Among them is the Astronomer Royal. He is a mathematical prodigy but must keep this to himself or else be victimized by adults and fellow students. After graduating from the Royal Naval College, Portsmouth, he takes up a commission in the Royal Marines. During the American Revolutionary War, he is almost killed by a falling spar, and takes several years to recover. Just before the First Fleet sails for what is to be the penal colony of New South Wales, he is invited by the Astronomer Royal to take instruments and observe the passage of a predicted comet. He accepts and is also in the company of another officer named Silk who he had known during the war.