The romantic elements of the story are held in the background and do not take over the narrative. The characters are likeable and convincing. She also figures out a way to improve the lives of the women of the Malayan village that helped her group during the war. For example, Jean, being a woman, is assumed to be incompetent with money, but she proves to be an astute businesswoman. The attitudes of the period are in evidence in racial issues and gender roles however, the author is attempting to show that these views are false. Themes include a woman’s place in society, entrepreneurship, and renewal of life after war.

It provides a vivid picture of what life was like in the Australian Outback at that time. She returns to England, meets with Strachan, and travels back to Malaya and on to Australia, where the bulk of the novel transpires. While there, Jean meets an Australian soldier who tries to help them, to his peril. They suffer tremendous hardships, but eventually find a way to remain in one station until the war ends. She eventually tells him about her time in Malaya (now part of Malaysia) during WWII, when she and a group of women with children were marched hundreds of miles to various villages, each Japanese leader sending them on to the next to avoid having to feed them. He becomes not only her solicitor but her friend. She is the heir to a trust established by an uncle, which is administered by Strachan’s firm.

Published in 1950, this modern classic is a story of a smart and capable woman, Jean Paget, as told by her solicitor and trustee, Noel Strachan, from the 1930’s to 1950’s.

Shute a town like alice