PUBLICATION of the Long Journey Home by Wendy Robertson, coincides with the day 60 years ago when a group of female American internees defied their Japanese captors with a July 4 Independence Day picnic.

One of the leading women in this group was Freddy Bloom, a real-life hero of the camps, whom Wendy Robertson includes as a character in the novel.

In Singapore, 1942, the Sambuck family live the epitome of a colonial life in Singapore. Bo and Lesley Sambuck indulge in tiffin at lunchtime and evening parties at Raffles, in a peaceful life that is a far cry from the conflict that is engulfing the rest of the world. A succession of governesses are hired to tame their gregarious daughter Sylvie, but it is only the cultured Eurasian Virginia Chen who can control her.

It's not long before the Sambuck's world is shattered as the Japanese approach Singapore. As they rush to flee the city, somehow in the confusion Sylvie becomes stranded at the harbour. As her brother and mother sail to safety, Virginia Chen offers Sylvie sanctuary with her Chinese family.

But even by masquerading as Virginia's sister, Sylvie cannot escape the Japanese internment camps. As life becomes increasingly difficult in an environment held together by the strength of women, it soon becomes clear that the only way to ensure their survival could be separation.

Wendy Robertson was inspired to write the novel by a story told by a friend whose husband served as a young British Army officer in the force sent to Singapore after the Japanese surrender.

He was assigning rooms to ex-prisoners, as he attempted to place two women in a shared room, one of the women refused. The woman she was expected to share with was Eurasian, and despite all the horrors of the previous years' imprisonment her prejudice remained.

This story is typical of the way Wendy finds inspiration for her novels. Letters, individual histories, maps, all contribute towards the literary. For Long Journey Home Wendy travelled to Singapore to ensure she could recreate the atmosphere of this unique city.

The sentiment that this illustrates reflects one of the themes Wendy explores in the novel, as white girl Sylvie assumes the role of a Eurasian to remain close to Virginia. It is through her eyes we see how the stereotypes of the old world persist even in this terrible setting, and the way her new "Chinese" family are forging a new Singapore.

The Long Journey Home is Wendy Robertson's 16th novel, but she has written for as long as she can remember. Although she now writes full time she worked for several years as a teacher and lecturer and, continues to be involved in community education. She has completed three years as a writer in residence at a woman's prison, and continues this link with the prison service as a writer-mentor to people behind bars. Wendy has lived in the North East since she was nine and now lives in the County Durham area. (Headline £18.99).