Set in the 1950s, in rural Australia, Ham’s novel is deeply embedded into a context rife with socio-historical restraints. Having emerged from the Great Depression that filtered its way across from 1930s America, the population of Australia remained unfamiliar with luxury items and as a result, many families became nomadic and moved from state to state looking for work on farms and in small towns. The McSwiney’s are an exemplar to this; but as the economy grew in strength they no longer needed to move and hence, the McSwiney’s are more of a permanent fixture in Dungatar than a roaming caravan. Nevertheless, their poverty echoes many Australian families; Mae and Edward McSwiney have eleven children and live in abject poverty, their ramshackle camp often being mistaken as part of the tip that they lived besides.

As the country moved into the decade of the 50s, rural Australia was a conservative place. Divorce was a shameful thing and as an unwed mother, Molly Dunnage, who refused to give up her baby, had to endure the hardships associated with her decision – being forced to leave her home and family in shame, living in poverty, given no support by the government in her predicament and shunned by society. A woman was subjected to the whims of men; Molly’s admission that ‘he [Evan] came after me and used me’ is said so matter-of-factly and punctuated by her resignation that she ‘had nowhere to go’ and was not told where her daughter had been sent for all those years.

The text anchors itself to popular culture, including the release of Hollywood movies such as Sunset Boulevard and the musical South Pacific with its catchy theme tune ‘Bali Haiiiii, come to meeeee’ (Part 2); even picking up on the Australian culture of enjoying pavlova with one another and feeding canned tomato soup to someone who is ailing. This is aptly juxtaposed with the references to Tilly’s more worldly experiences, and as the exciting packages which begin to arrive from Florence and Milan as she amasses the requirements she needs for her dressmaking business; yet this world is foreign to the women of Dungatar, who despite reading the glossy pages of Vogue and Women’s Illustrated, remain unable to pronounce most of the designer names and are in awe of Tilly’s creations. Following the war, fashion was conservative for two reasons – the absence of any frivolous fabrics brought on by war rationing and the pressure from the other townsfolk to remain moderate and traditional, and whilst the women’s creativity in their outfits was stifled, so too were their dreams for a better existence then the dusty town of Dungatar. Creativity was frowned upon, and the unconventional form in which Sergeant Farrat appreciates the beauty and opportunity that clothes and fabrics could provide is stifled and kept in the shadows of a society that is threatened by change. In fact, in order to hide his interest in fabrics and dressmaking, Farrat conforms to a more domestic excuse for buying bolts of fabric from the local general store.

In such a small community, the perception of what is acceptable evolves often depending on the perpetrator and despite change being seen as threatening, there are some exceptions if that change will protect one’s reputation (such is the case with the hasty marriage of William and Gertrude). The eccentricities and odd behaviours of the residents are accepted and everybody turns a blind eye to the foibles of others – whereby actions such as heinous adultery, domestic abuse, cross-dressing, homosexuality and embezzlement are forgiven. Except in the case of Tilly and her mother, whose transgressions follow them around like a fog that can never be lifted.