Honour's Mimic

by Charmian Clift, Nadia Wheatley (Afterword)

We are alike, Kathy thought. You are a desperate one, too. She was incredulous that she could be so happy when it was so perfectly clear that the situation was impossible, could not possibly last, and that in any case this man was doomed already.
In this novel, Charmian Clift broke the rules of the romance genre by her representation of a relationship between a middle class Australian woman and a Greek sponge diver who is an outcast even within his own society. Both are 'desperate’ – trapped in loveless marriages and overcome by a sense of nameless dread. But when these twin souls fall in love in the ruins of an ancient citadel above the port-town of a remote and poverty-stricken Greek island, ‘honour’ becomes 'mimic' – a false imitation of itself – and is cast aside, together with unhappiness and fear.
Honour’s Mimic combines the authentic Greek setting of Charmian Clift’s travel memoirs with the fine writing that has caused her to be described as Australia’s greatest essayist.

272 pages, Paperback

Published June 1, 2025

About the author

Charmian Clift was an Australian writer and essayist during the mid 20th century. She was the second wife and literary collaborator of George Johnston.

Reviews

[Jan Mawdesley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewed by Trish Palmer for Bluewolf Reviews and New South Publishing
To read Honour’s Mimic is such a pleasure. The author is gifted in her writing and the reader cannot help but linger over phrases and descriptions. Charmian Clift is less well known than her husband author, George Johnston, but her writing, as does his, stands the test of time. The novel was written using the deep knowledge she gained while living on the Greek island of Kalymnos. The story describes a romance but breaks the rules of the time.
Kathy has moved to a Greek Island to support her friend who has married a wealthy Greek boat owner. While friend Milly is pregnant and disinterested in local affairs and needs lots of rest, Kathy is free to move about the island and get to know the people and customs.
She has her own issues as she is recuperating from a car accident and a dull marriage. Kathy meets a sponge diver named Fotis. It is his face which captivates her. Here the author broke the rules of conventional love stories by pairing a well-bred lady with a diver who could barely read. It works so beautifully.
From the beginning the reader has a sense that there will be no happy ending. Fotis’s greatest wish is to migrate to Australia, and while Kathy writes to many agencies to help him there is no way he can go. The Greek men who are divers on the sponge boats live a very precarious life with death or injury a fact of life.
Set amid the beautifully described Island the author brings this story to a conclusion, encompassing the characters met and a beginning understanding of their lives.
Nadia Wheatley has been responsible for bringing Charmian’s writings to our attention. She has written an afterword which explains how the author used her own experiences while living on the Island. Charmian was supporting her husband in his writings but absorbed every aspect of the culture to create her own story. Her writing will touch your soul.

[Peter Hodge · Rating 5 out of 5]

How is it that great books like this one can go out of print? Seems almost criminal. The writing in Honour's Mimic is as good as all Clift's work that I have encountered so far - and I am eager to read more. Set on Kalymnos, this novel is a darker version of her memoir Mermaid Singing. There is an emotional charge to reading this book sixty years after it was first published. In part, because we know so much about Clift's life with George Johnston, and the tragic nature of how it ended. Read this book!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally published in the early 1960s by an author whose contribution to Australian literature has, until recently, been underrated, I enjoyed this look back to an earlier time. Based loosely on Clift's experiences living on the Greek Island of Kalymnos she captures the island beautifully. A novel that, through the actions of the main character Kathy, challenged the norms of the day and remains relevant.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gorgeous novel to read when you are on a gorgeous Greek island

[Ann Koenig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is set in a Greek island - beautifully described with story of the divers for sponges.