The Other Side of the World by Stephanie Bishop

Henry misses the warmth of the weather in India and applies to emigrate from England to Australia with his young family. Henry goes to work, and Charlotte stays at home with the children. It is the early 1960s - they have one child, Lucie, and soon another, May. They are very much in love, they have dreams. He is a citizen of the British Empire, and chooses to stay in England and marry Charlotte. Sent to England, to school, at the age of 11 in 1945 there was later nothing to return to in India. For someone who has been moved from the place they feel most at home the feeling of nostalgia and the sense of loss is more profound, and that is certainly the case for both Charlotte and Henry – the protagonists in this novel. But, the cold light of reality does not completely erase the feeling of yearning for that time or place. I think we can all understand this – that the childhood we might remember as being idyllic was probably not really so perfect – that first love affair is only wonderful in retrospect – if it had really been so wonderful it would not have ended.

Nostalgia is a sentiment of loss and displacement, but it is also a romance with one’s own fantasy……”. The Other Side of the World by Stephanie Bishop is prefaced with a quote – “Nostalgia is a longing for a home that no longer exists or has never existed.