The Go-Between experience. Among other writers commenting on the book's contemporary context, Paul Binding has pointed out that its famous opening phrase, “The past is a foreign country”, had first been used by Hartley’s friend Lord David Cecil in his inaugural lecture as Goldsmith's Professor in 1949. Ali Smith revisited the observed parallel drawn between the treatment of class and sexuality in "The Go-Between" and in "Lady Chatterley's Lover" (1928). D. H. Lawrence’s novel was not allowed unexpurgated circulation in Britain until after "The Go-Between"s appearance, but perhaps, she speculated, Hartley's novel helped prepare the climate for the overturning of the British
The Space Between Us (novel) the class system, but questioned the absence of characters other than "middle-class, insular" Indians. "To read these comparisons is to understand that Umrigar's Bombay is a place where robust foods figure prominently, elements like wind and sea are driving forces, and religious beliefs underscore everything," commented the "San Francisco Chronicle"s Lynn Andriani. In general, the characters of Bhima and Sera have been regarded as realistic and sympathetic by reviewers. Reviewers also discussed the social commentary present in the novel. Kirkus Reviews called it "[a] subtle, elegant analysis of class and power." "Beacon Journal"s Mary Ethridge wrote: ""The Space Between Us"