Light After Darkness: Exiles - Charles and James Juchau

This book gives an account of the backgrounds and encounters of two men, Charles Juchau, a Huguenot refugee from 18th century France, and his great grandson, James Juchau, a transported convict from 19th century England. Both had to leave their countries and managed to build new lives and establish families in new homelands, Charles in England and James in the colony of NSW. Author Roger Juchau examines their transition. Both left difficult and testing conditions and entered new countries overcoming social and economic hurdles. Their encounters indicate they had a positive and independent character. They were not overwhelmed by the conditions faced during their forced migration countering both the psychological and physical barriers of departing and arriving. They surmounted the challenges of building lives in alien conditions. Both had persistence and drive. These portrayals give an unusual opportunity to observe how fate, in just over a century, meant that these two Huguenots descendants suffered exclusion but were able to find their feet and succeed in new countries. Importantly new insights are gained into French Huguenot and Australian colonial histories through a focus on individual experiences. The book also responds to a call by professional historians for greater coverage of how individuals encountered and reacted to events shaping histories. The book adds to the histories of migration focussing on individual displacement. Roger Juchau is a direct descendant of Charles Juchau and is the great, great grandson of James Juchau and lives in Balmain and Wallaga Lake NSW.