The Lieutenant

Kate Grenville’s historical novel, The Lieutenant (2008), is loosely 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.

From the time he is five years old, Daniel Rooke realizes that he is different. Instead of following the typical curriculum in math class, he spends his time recording prime numbers in his notebook, which is eventually confiscated by his teacher. Several weeks later, Daniel is visited by Dr. Adair, who sees great potential in the young boy and offers him a place at the Naval Academy. Daniel accepts but quickly learns that the other boys do not respect his intelligence and that he must hide his abilities.

During his time at the Naval Academy, Daniel realizes his passion for astronomy. After graduating, he is assigned to the ship Resolution. On his first day aboard the ship, he meets Talbot Silk, who immediately declares that they will be friends. Silk is a gifted storyteller and very outgoing; with his guidance, Daniel learns to make small talk and forge connections with others. Aside from this friendship, Daniel experiences the brutality of living aboard a naval vessel, and eventually returns to Portsmouth, feeling drained by the experience.



A couple of years later, Daniel finds himself volunteering to be the astronomer aboard the First Fleet to New South Wales. Daniel is thrilled to find out that Silk will be aboard the ship as well. Daniel has a growing affection for Silk, thinking that they are both equally unsuited to military life. When they make it to shore, Daniel begins construction on an observatory, a place where he feels he can truly be himself.

Daniel soon learns that the governor, Gilbert, has commanded one of Daniel’s colleagues to violently capture two native men against their will so that the settlers can learn their language. The next morning, Daniel goes to the settlement to see the captured natives. He finds Gilbert and Silk talking with the native men, both of whom are in shackles. Several weeks later, Silk visits Daniel and informs him that the natives escaped. He then asks Daniel to tell him how they were captured, as Gilbert had refused to tell Silk. Daniel deflects, as he knows the truth is extremely dangerous.

One morning, Daniel sees two native men standing outside his hut. He sits and waits; eventually, Warungin comes over and sits next to him and teaches him the name of his tribe. Soon, women and children arrive and look through Daniel's hut. Daniel organizes a system for recording the Cadigal language.



As time passes, Daniel forms close friendships with the natives. Warungin gives him vocabulary lessons, but a young girl, Tagaran, and Daniel have real conversations. Daniel and everyone else in the settlement are summoned to witness the flogging of a prisoner who stole potatoes. Warungin attends as well, and when the flogger hits the prisoner, Warungin lunges forward to try to stop it. This reaction makes Daniel realize that the English system of justice is not noble and impartial; it is just cruel.

A week later, Tagaran runs into Daniel's hut crying and tells him that a soldier beat a native child. Daniel tries to bring himself to confront the soldier, but he cannot muster the courage. A week after that, Tagaran asks Daniel to show her how his gun works. Hesitating, he meets her partway, firing the gun without actually shooting a bullet. When she asks him to show her more, he forcibly stops her from grabbing the gun and she runs away.

Not long after, Silk stops in and insists that Daniel join him on a mission to capture Carangary, the native man who speared a soldier, along with six other natives. He assures Daniel that they won't succeed in capturing any natives, who are too clever to be caught, and then departs.
The next morning, Daniel joins the punitive expedition. He is uneasy when he sees how eager Silk seems to trap the natives, and realizes that Silk’s plan is a good one. Fortunately, Silk's plan doesn't work: when they reach the village, the natives are already gone. Warungin joins the settlers at their camp that night and shares fish with them.



After becoming so close to the natives, Daniel decides that he cannot take part in any violence against them. He leaves for Sydney that night, and when he arrives, he informs the governor of his decision. Outraged, the governor sends him back to England on the first ship. Even after his return home, Daniel continues to think of Tagaran and the fond memories he created with the natives of New South Wales.