When Erica Thomas died in 2004 she left behind a collection of family photos, films, documents and objects dating back to the 1910s. This archive revealed experiences her children knew nothing of. Born in Hungary in 1933, Erica came to England in 1938 but, despite her private schooling and studies at Cambridge and Oxford, she struggled to "become English" and to belong. Though always feeling an outsider, her career drew her to the hidden recesses of Cold War science; increasingly her internal psychological struggles reflected the trauma of world events. Spanning 70 years, travelling from Romania to Britain, via America, Antarctica and outer space, Voyageuse is a haunting portrayal of childhood, work, love, loss and grief, revealing one woman's ordinary life, lived through extraordinary times.
