Benevolence: A Novel

Blending the mythical power of Téa Obreht and the epic scope of Min Jin Lee, a searing historical novel that tells a story of colonization, survival, and resistance in a way never done before—a beautiful, brilliant, and brutal reimagining of the first contact between Indigenous people and white British settlers and the far-reaching consequences for one Aboriginal girl coming of age in an unsteady and dangerous world.“How good it is to hear a Darug voice speaking of Darug history.”—Kate Grenville, author of The Secret River, winner of the Commonwealth Prize“Based on the life of her own great-great-grandmother, Janson’s fictional interpretation of this dark period in Australia’s history . . . exposes how horrific and harrowing Aboriginal lives were during this time of brutal conquest, attempted cultural obliteration, resistance, and survival.”—Booklist

The Darug Aboriginal Nation has lived in Australia since time immemorial. But at the turn of the nineteenth century, white settlers begin to arrive from the British empire, laying claim to lands that belong to Indigenous communities through cataclysmic violence.At an early age, Muraging, a member of the Darug Nation, is given over to the Parramatta Native Institution by her father. Fleeing the school in pursuit of a better future, she embarks on a journey of discovery and a search for a safe place to make her home—a task more winding and treacherous than she could have dreamed.Julie Janson’s American debut is a searing historical novel that tells a story of colonization, survival, and resistance in a way never done before— shattering stereotypes to give voice to an Aboriginal experience of early settlement in Australia.