Description

That Untravelled World is a novel about the dreams and disappointment of individuals, and the effects of economic recession in the early 20th century. In 1912, young Harry Hopewell arrives in Perth, Western Australia, to work on the construction of a wireless station commissioned by the new federal government. He is full of excitement about the miraculous new world of possibilities opened up by radio transmission. He is also buoyed by his growing friendship with Nellie Weston, the baker's daughter. Harry's boundless optimism for life and the future is quelled by the sudden unexplained disappearance of Nellie and her family. Unable to track her down, he meanders through life, increasingly disconnected from his youthful aspirations until an accident and the Depression of the 1930s bring him to a halt. However, chance encounters from his past bring some resolution to his life. That Untravelled World is a story that has resonance in today's economic climate, while offering hope in the end. *** "Celebrated author Ian Reid's latest tale is the incredible journey of a young man through the Great War, the Depression, and the years after." - World Literature Today, Nota Bene Column Books, November 2013