The Limestone Road by Nicole Alexander is the story of Canning Christie and his father Michael as they try to make a new life for themselves after returning from serving in the Australian armed forces in North Africa during the Second World War. They were both injured during the same battle and repatriated home. The Australian Government had initiated a Soldier Settlement Scheme providing land for returned soldiers to farm. Canning and his father had acquired a property near Mount Gambier in South Australia.
Part of the property had been planted with tobacco plants which were ready to harvest. Michael quickly developed plans to increase the size of the plantation but Canning wanted to focus on the vineyard which was also established on their land. Initially they tried to work on both crops.
For the first five years the land belonged to the government and there were many regulations that had to be observed. However it was also possible to have the assistance of Italian POWs, especially during harvest. This caused additional problems as both Canning and Michael had been fighting against Italian soldiers overseas. Canning also had assistance from Bastian who was avoiding authorities as during the First World War he had been interned because he was German and wanted to avoid that happening again.
The above issues affected the lives of both Canning and Michael as they attempted to adapt to living a life without war. Both the men had incurred severe physical injuries but they were both also suffering from shell shock, now referred to as PTSD. Canning, in particular, suffered from regular nightmares and, often, what could be considered as ordinary incidents could aggravate past memories.
In The Limestone Road Nicole Alexander has written a moving historical fiction novel describing the challenges faced by many soldiers attempting to adapt to a 'normal' life after serving in wars overseas.
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