Mrs. M

by Luke Slattery

From one of Australia's foremost journalists, Luke Slattery, comes a bravura literary achievement, a rich and intense novel of an imagined history of desire, ambition and dashed dreams, and a portrait of one passionate, unforgettable woman - Elizabeth Macquarie.

Elizabeth Macquarie, widow of the disgraced former Governor of New South Wales, Lachlan Macquarie, is in mourning - not only for her husband, but the loss of their shared dream to transform the penal colony into a bright new world. Over the course of one long sleepless night on the windswept isle of Mull, she remembers her life in that wild and strange country; a revolution of ideas as dramatic as any in history; and her dangerous alliance with the brilliant, mercurial Francis Greenway, the colony's maverick architect.

A stirring, provocative and thrilling novel of passion, ideas, reforming zeal and desire.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Book Club, Audiobook, Australia

320 pages, Hardcover

Published October 23, 2017

About the author

Luke Slattery is a Sydney-based journalist, editor and columnist whose work appears in The Australian, The Age, the Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian Financial Review. Internationally he has been published at The New Yorker online, the LA Times, the International Herald Tribune, the UK Spectator, and the US Chronicle of Higher Education. Mrs M is his fifth book, and his first novel.

Reviews

[PattyMacDotComma · Rating 4 out of 5]

4★
The author explains: “I have focused on a socially narrow stratum of early colonial Australia, and neglected the blood and the gore, the pain and the suffering, that became the dominant metaphor for colonial Australia.
. . .
I have attempted to say something true about Australian history, or at least to challenge an abiding falsehood — the vision of the first gulag — with that of a social revolution.”

The author says he woke one morning hearing a woman’s voice saying she'd paid the boatman with a bag of cherries, but he had no idea where the voice or thought came from. He’s built an entire novel around that inspiration, and it’s a pretty good read.

Another intriguing inspiration he mentions in the note at the end was his own personal love triangle as a model for the one between Macquarie, Mrs M and the Architect.

I have to say, for a man, he gets into the mind of Mrs M very well. To me, she thinks and sounds like a woman of her time. She’s headstrong and smart but also a bit of a charmer and a flirt. The tension between the three of them is very well done. [I suspect HE may have been the Mrs M in his own life story, but don’t mind me – just a guess. And I don’t think that had anything to do with his expressing her personality so well, either.]

This is not historical fiction, in the usual sense of the term. Slattery has taken real people and completely fabricated a yearning infatuation between them. The author says there is much truth in the historical setting, but the relationships are made up. So you can enjoy it as a romance, which is really what it is, and pick up a bit of Australian history while you’re at it. Lots of good characters and side stories.

This takes place in the early 1800s during Governor Lachlan Macquarie’s time presiding over the convicts, soldiers and emancipated members of the young Sydney colony. His much younger wife, Elizabeth, was with him, and Francis Greenway was, indeed, the convict architect (the Architect) who designed so many of Sydney’s well-known buildings. The three of them oversaw the changes from a penal colony to a thriving community.

But the author takes pains to explain in his note and in an interview I heard that he has invented the sighs and long glances and covert meetings between the wife and the Architect. That’s the fun of the story, of course. His descriptions of the birds and bush and of the windswept Scottish islands are lovely. [ I’m just not moved by unruly curls escaping bonnets or eucalyptus eyes smiling , old fogey that I am.]

Most Sydneysiders are aware of and may have visited Mrs. Macquarie’s Chair, a large stone seat carved from rock in The Domain on the south side of Sydney Harbour. The novel has it that the Architect fashioned it and that she felt a strong connection to him when she was there reading and gazing out to sea, which was often. That last part seems to be true, but probably not thinking about him. Still, makes for a good story, eh?

“He has been as good as his word. My promised chair is now complete. Rather more bench than chair, it requires a few cushions for perfect comfort, though nothing more than that. Commanding a fine view of the harbour, my retreat is shaded by a fig tree twisting into a parasol of dense dark leaves, some of which turn persimmon yellow in dry weather.

Governor Macquarie was many years her senior and was often busy fighting off political foes who thought he was far too easy on the convicts and Aborigines and hard on the soldiers. They wanted all the power and glory for themselves

His view was that the convicts who were later freed were the powerhouse that was building the country. They were so anxious to better themselves and improve their lot that they worked harder than the soldiers. He acknowledged that the Aborigines had been dispossessed and that the newcomers needed the indigenous skills and experience to survive in this very different land. The soldiers were not always thrilled with their Antipodean posting and I wonder how much it cost to keep them in rum.

The political argybargy, to use the technical term, sounds a lot like today’s. Disagreement on how best to manage ‘jobs and growth” and whom to trust. Not much changes.

An interesting aside about Greenway, courtesy of Wikipedia:

“Greenway's face was shown on the first Australian decimal-currency $10 note (1966–93), making him probably the only convicted forger in the world to be honoured on a banknote.”

If I have a reservation about this, it’s that I worry that people will eventually believe the love story along with the historical facts. The affair often portrayed between Elizabeth the First and Essex, for example, had a lot of evidence to support the rumours, whereas Mrs M and the Architect is more of a “what if?” imagining. But it's an entertaining one.

I think this will find a lot of fans, and I thank NetGalley and HarperCollins for the preview copy from which I’ve quoted.

[Jennifer (JC-S) · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘I paid the boatman with a bag of fresh cherries this morning .’

Mrs M is Elizabeth Macquarie, widow of Lachlan Macquarie, the former governor of New South Wales (between 1810 and 1821). Lachlan Macquarie has died, a year after the release of Commissioner John Thomas Bigge’s damning reports of his administration. At the time of his death, Macquarie was defending himself against Bigge’s accusations. Mrs M has accompanied his body to Mull.

‘So the priest requires the words on Macquarie’s tomb; would that he had loaned me a church candle two feet high for this solemn vigil .’

Over one sleepless night on the island of Mull, as she struggles to write her husband’s epigraph, Mrs M remembers her life in New South Wales. She is remembering and mourning, both the loss of her husband as well as their shared dream to transform the penal colony of New South Wales into a thriving community, not just a prison camp.

Mr Slattery has imagined an infatuation between the Architect (Francis Greenway) and Elizabeth Macquarie. I’m not comfortable with imagined relationships for historical figures, but I was fascinated by the setting. Elizabeth Macquarie was Lachlan Macquarie’s second (and much younger) wife. It’s easy to imagine the three of them (Macquarie, Mrs Macquarie and Francis Greenway) discussing the public works planned and undertaken. And, in the novel, it’s a nice touch to think of the Architect having a hand in the creation of Mrs Macquarie’s Chair.

I enjoyed seeing the challenges Macquarie was facing through Mrs M’s eyes. I know the history, but facts can be dry and distant. I also enjoyed Mr Slattery’s descriptions of people and place. But I finished the novel dissatisfied with the intersection between fact and fiction. The infatuation between Mrs M and the Architect doesn’t work for me because I am unable to forget that are Mrs Macquarie and Francis Greenway are real people.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fabulous historical fiction set in the early days of the NSW Colony and a fictionalisation from the point of view of Elizabeth Macquarie, the wife of one of the most prominent early Governor's of Australia, Lachlan Macquarie.
The audiobook is beautiful narrated with a soft lilting Scottish accent.
I enjoyed it far more than the more recent Elizabeth & Elizabeth which really fell short for me.

[Heather Boundy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A factionalized account of the life of Elizabeth Macquarie the story has insights into the life of the early settlement of Sydney Cove, and the devastating effects of the Big report on the reputation of Lachlan Macquarie. The relationship between Mrs M and The Architect ( Francis Greenway) I found a little unbelievable. It was well-written, but for some reason didn't ring true for me - especially the fairytale ending.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started reading this book thinking that it was going to be true to history and that it would give some insights to Elizabeth Macquarie’s character. Instead, the book turned into a historical romance, an ‘imagined history’, as explained in the author’s note. This approach had me questioning what was fact and what was fiction as I read the book, though the author does explain some of this in his note. Disappointing.

[Tricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know others liked it but this book didn’t hold my attention. It wasn’t for me.

[Robin Parry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. Governor Macquarie influence on the development of the colony in the early nineteenth was very interesting and made more so with the author’s fictional account of Mrs Macquarie’s relationship with the architect.

[Amanda Tovell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was quite disappointed with this book; as a lover of Australian historical fiction I was super excited when I brought it. Some character interactions drew me in such as between Brodie and Mrs M, and Mrs M and the french visitors, as well as the dinner party, and her perceptions of Aboriginal people and culture. These promised great things, but then I would find myself getting bored again and struggled to keep going. I persisted and was rewarded at the end with the twist...but it's not a book I'd recommend unfortunately.

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

One dimensional characters and poorly written. The author appears to have swallowed a dictionary of archaic words

[Toni · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author states that these are “lies told in service of the truth”. So lies, then.

This “imagined history” Slattery prefers to call it over “historical fiction” did not work for me at all.

And the insistence on using the name “The Architect” instead of the name Francis Greenway a deeply irritating affectation. If Greenway had been some sort of arch manipulator, the moniker would have worked - instead the Macquaries and the Architect were unconvincing and a book I had anticipated, quite disappointing.

[Jess Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book enough to want to finish it but I found that it needed a lot more depth, and more story, I found there was little emotion in this book.

[Griflet · Rating 1 out of 5]

#Australian PhD novel

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Luke Slattery has lofty ambitions for this novel – his first, though he’s written other books.   In the Author’s Note at the back of the book, he writes that he wants Australians to be proud of their convict beginnings rather than embarrassed, and he wants to subvert the notion of colonial Australia as a ‘gulag’, a perception, he says, that arose from the popularity of Robert Hughes The Fatal Shore (1986). 
Slattery says that Hughes’ vision of early colonial Australia is flawed:

It is certainly at odds with the reality of the earliest years, when convicts were told after the first muster at Sydney Cove that they could find their own lodgings and fare for themselves as long as they turned up for work at the appointed hour.  Afterwards they were permitted to work for piece rates, or goods in kind.  Only the worst – and particularly repeat offenders – manned the iron gangs.  The sites of secondary punishment, such as Port Arthur and Moreton Island, might have been a truer reflection of the book’s title.  But Sydney Cove, for the vast majority of convicts who landed there – 160,000 in all – offered a path out of poverty, pollution, oppression and the bleakness of a European winter.  It wasn’t so much a benighted as a blessed shore.  (p.311)

But, he says,

Australians have largely failed to appreciate the moral force of their society’s creation, so blinkered are they by the shame of it, by the convict stain.[…] France knew Liberty as a slogan.  Early Australia experienced it as a lived and felt reality, as a release, en masse, into freedom from penal servitude.  (p.306)

Slattery’s intention in writing this book is to draw attention to the idealism of the Macquarie years and the reaction these ideals of criminal redemption and sub-proletarian betterment provoked from a quite vicious Tory Government.   To achieve this, he has chosen not to write non-fiction, but created instead an imagined portrait of Elizabeth Macquarie, wife of Governor Lachlan Macquarie, and her affectionate partnership with the architect who designs many of the government buildings in early Sydney and Parramatta.  Mrs M is written entirely from Elizabeth’s partisan point-of-view, showing the Macquaries as a benign partnership based on shared ideals of rehabilitation and social justice as a deterrent to crime.
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2017/11/28/m...

[Narissaphelps · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book compromised me greatly. The Author’s Note section at book’s end both acknowledged and discussed the issues I had with this novel, unsuccessfully attempting to justify them. I cannot help but wonder what the real Elizabeth Macquarie would feel about being portrayed as an ‘unfaithful’ wife. Luke Slattery admits that her flirtations with Francis Greenway were fictitious and herein lies my concerns. Can we portray real-life people in real-life contexts and manipulate their lives, in an almost slanderous way, to suit our purposes? Slattery concludes that ‘The rather elaborate lies that unfold within the covers of this book are, at the end of the day, told in the service of … truth.’ The fact that he admits the lies does not excuse them. Elizabeth Macquarie is greatly maligned as a result of Slattery’s ‘lies’ and she does not deserve that. To me, there was so much in historical reality that could have graced this novel to render it comfortable to read. ‘The mutability of historical fact’ discussed by Slattery in his Note is the book’s weakness, NOT its strength. The author negatively portrays Robert Hughes for his historical misinterpretation yet ventures into this territory purposely himself. In reality there was no great advantage to the ‘lies’. If Mrs M was both ‘cultivated and idealistic’ as Slattery acknowledges, why reduce her to a woman who furtively and unflatteringly flirts with Greenway? It does nothing to enhance his purpose of challenging the falsehood of the first gulag stereotype. Nor does it assist in portraying Lachlan & Elizabeth Macquarie as the enhancers of social equality and maximizers of colonial convict and emancipist talent that they were. This couple’s achievements were gained through their strong partnership yet Slattery negates this through his insinuation of intimacy between Elizabeth and Greenway. This novel contributes to the debasement of colonial women, tainting Elizabeth with a genteel version of the ‘colonial whore’ stereotype so prevalent in colonial historiography. This ‘imagined history’ does, sadly, demean Elizabeth, and it was this that made me uncomfortable in its reading. When the truth could have been used to far greater advantage, why distort it so purposefully? Slattery has the potential to write excellent historical fiction, but not when the grafting of his personal story compromises the reality of another’s.

[John Constable · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the first place I must say I really enjoyed this book.  I will not reprise a synopsis, which has been done in this venue already, but I became totally immersed in the story and just past halfway found I had a page turner.

I was especially impressed by Mrs M’s voice.  Of course we have no idea how an educated Georgian Scotswoman spoke and thought - although we might get a clue from Jane Austen - but it seems to me that the author has struck just the right balance of formality and familiarity and indeed there were passages where I felt she had me alone in a quiet corner and was talking to no one else.

There is a tendency with any fiction which has its genesis, however loosely, in real history to believe it a version of what actually happened.  This is a novel pure and simple, not historical fiction, not even ‘faction’.  It is no more the reality of the fifth Governorship than is I Claudius the true story of an unlikely Roman emperor or The Other Boleyn Girl that of Anne’s unremembered sister.  The ‘real’ Mrs M bore two children and her supposed paramour came on a different ship at a different time, never returned to Britain and in all probability they never met.  All these 'facts' the author knows and  around them has imagined a fiction to suit his purpose.  Which is, I believe, to tell a good story as vehicle; to highlight his contention that the fifth Governor brought an unprecedented and underappreciated humanity to his work in this colony and saw it as his duty, perhaps even raison d'etre, to disseminate the spirit of the Enlightenment - which had been particularly strong through the previous century in his native Scotland - to the tabula rasa of an outpost on the far side of the World. And was railroaded by imperious Powers for his trouble.

I have read criticism that this book ignores reprehensible acts committed during the watch of the fifth Governor, murders of indigenous inhabitants.  Again, it is a novel, not a history, apologia or hagiography.  But the whole story of humanity is a lamentable, two steps forward, one step back climb out of barbarity to an imagined high plain of benevolent perfection and we are not there yet. Not by a long shot.  We are a violent tribal species with a unique - so we think - and perplexing ability to both comprehend and deplore our condition. Rationalised slaughter is the undoubtable reason for our evolutionary success and any real historical figure with the titular The Great appended was almost certainly, at the same time, a wholesale butcher.

[Angus Mcfarlane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historical fiction is an enjoyable way to read history and this is no exception. Macquarie was one the most important figures in the development and not just because of the many places named after him and his family! His tenure as governor came at a critical time and Mrs M pays tribute to that.

A risk and opportunity in any fiction is the interweaving of the authors voice. There were many occasions where I felt this was interrupting the narrative, particularly where modern sensibilities were expressed through the words of Elizabeth M. I also felt that some of the relational drama was unlikely or soured up for a modern audience, and while I read the book at face value I was keen to read a more objective source once I finished. However, the epilogue written by slattery mollified most of my concerns even as my suspicions were confirmed.

While much of the scenes are set in Sydney, the occasional reprises to Ulva, Mull, rounded out a broader narrative. With ancestors who later came to Sydney from there, and having visited the mausoleum to Macquarie sited there, the combination of places provided a strong resonance with me. But what impressed me most was the conviction Slattery sought to convey regarding Macquarie's legacy of supporting convict emancipation. I suspect both sides of modern Australian politics would like to claim his liberalism, and this is perhaps the greatest tribute to national leaders - not their current polling but the benefit they leave for the future.

Not a compelling read but nicely done.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well constructed historical fiction where facts lead the narrative. It was good to see the acknowledgement of the role played by women who are often overlooked in history.

From one of Australia's foremost journalists, Luke Slattery, comes a bravura literary achievement, a rich and intense novel of an imagined history of desire, ambition and dashed dreams, and a portrait of one passionate, unforgettable woman - Elizabeth Macquarie.
Elizabeth Macquarie, widow of the disgraced former Governor of New South Wales, Lachlan Macquarie, is in mourning - not only for her husband, but the loss of their shared dream to transform the penal colony into a bright new world. Over the course of one long sleepless night on the windswept isle of Mull, she remembers her life in that wild and strange country; a revolution of ideas as dramatic as any in history; and her dangerous alliance with the brilliant, mercurial Francis Greenway, the colony's maverick architect. A stirring, provocative and thrilling novel of passion, ideas, reforming zeal and desire.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three and a half stars. It was really good to read a book that gives such a good feel for the early colony. It is well-written and really illustrates that Macquarie as ‘the father of Australia’ really is responsible in a large part for our more egalitarian society. It was interesting to read of Macarthur and his opposing ideas as well.

Elizabeth was a sympathetic character. It is hard to believe that the book is written by a man as it feels like he is inside her head. Not sure about the invented relationship with Francis Greenway known as ‘the architect’ but it did allow the author to reveal his importance to the colony at the time and to the buildings that survive that time. Not sure about the ending either.

I thought that the Postscript which explains some of the writing decisions and historical truths and constructions was a useful addition.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rather than historical fiction, this is fiction based on history. It is a romanticised telling of a progressive period of colonial Sydney under Governor Macquarie in the perspective of Mrs Macquarie, of Mrs Macquarie's Chair fame. As the author mentions in his epilogue and notes, facts have been altered to give the ending to their story a more dignified and happier note. The story suggests an intimacy between the titular character and The Architect, Francis Greenway, visionary and designer of Sydney's many historical structures. An enjoyable read and still informative of a time when Sydney was a burgeoning town under progressive and visionary leadership. Some themes touch on indigenous rights, prisoner rehabilitation and women's participation.

[Jedda · Rating 1 out of 5]

I bought this book for my son who couldn't get past chapter 3 so I gave it a go. Unfortunately the writing is pretentious and is written from the main character's pov - a female - yet the author doesn't write or think as a female would at all so the book doesn't read convincingly. For example the author has the main character saying, 'The men offer a dark, direct look - testing and bold. Women don't think like this - I am sure not even in the time this book is set. This is how men think women think. The characters are one dimensional and never developed and the story which is somewhat thin is hampered by the writing. I got to chapter 8 and then I couldn't take the boring self conscious writing any longer and wonder why the publishers thought this was a book to be printed in hard cover.

[Sharon Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Drawing up to my stone seat, I unpack a nest of cushions from the trap - deep blue fringed with crimson and gold lace. I arrange them about me. I sit, inhale, take in the view.” I loved this book. Anyone who has been to Mrs Macquarie’s chair would find this rich imagining a delight. Slattery has written fiction with much fact and I found it thoroughly enjoyable to read. I don’t care if the romance was true or not, the descriptions of our city of Sydney and it’s characters in its early history are interesting. I am now keen to take a train ride for a days outing to the domain and of course to look out over farm cove as Mrs M did when it was in all its natural glory.

[Zoe W · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating fictional read that made me really think about how little we learn about Macquarie and his wife and their contributions to New South Wales. The story being told from Elizabeth's perspective was so interesting and Slattery did a great job writing from a female perspective. He painted a wonderful scenic picture of the beginnings of New South Wales and it was easy to imagine the colony hard at work. Including the famous Mrs Macquarie's chair into the story was wonderful and whether true or not it added a nice touch to the overall narrative. Nice quick read that was enjoyable for a historical fiction fan.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Mrs M. Beautifully written and full of interesting detail. So, for that matter is the afterword, which I found equally illuminating. Luke Slattery makes some valid points on the way Australia was, and still is by some, perceived. There is a danger that the facts of the novel will become 'the truth' but he explains all in the afterword. A lovely book which casts a softer light on Australia's beginnings.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is based in the historical facts of the Macquarie’s sojourn in Sydney and when the author sticks to the reformist activity of Macquarie and the development of the colony seen through the eyes of his young wife it is successful. When it veers into an imagined love affair between The Architect (obviously Francis Greenway, then why not name him?) and Mrs Macquarie it loses its authenticity and also my enthusiasm.

[Joanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this on audio and while the narrator was pleasant the story didn't always hold my attention. It was an interesting insight into the very early days of the Australian colony and told from an interesting perspective - the governor's wife. I think I would have been more into it if I knew Sydney better.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this whilst on holidays relaxing on the beach. I really liked the novel about the Macquarie’s leadership in building the city of Sydney. Had I not have lived In Sydney for numerous years myself, I probably would not liked the book as much as I did.

It is slow moving and a highly descriptive writing style, but in my view that is befitting of the period.

[Lynda]

Skilfully written historical novel, building an 'imagined history' on some facts from the lives of Lachlan and Elizabeth Macquarie. Slattery brings key characters from early Australian settlement history to life, in what must have been no easy task. The hard copy is a splendid tome - beautifully presented dustjacket, endpapers, etc.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting 'imagined history' of Elizabeth Macquarie's time in Australia as wife of Governor Lachlan Macquarie. The prose was poetic, which was sometimes enchanting and at other times cloying. Slattery's imagining of Elizabeth was the heart of the book.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Think Mrs Macquarie is a really interesting subject for a novel but can't help feeling this is more a hybrid text - a strange mix of historical research and imagination. Not sure it is truly successful.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Described as An imagined history, it covers Governor Macquarie's enlightened management of Sydney and its surrounds. Told from his wife's point of view. An enjoyable read and a reminder of Sydney's early growing pains.