The past is another country

I believe that the phrase "the past is another country" is the opening line of a book. Is this correct?

Not quite. L. P. Hartley's 'The Go-Between' begins with "The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there."

Christoper Marlowe's 'The Jew of Malta' contains these lines:

Barnadine: "Thou hast committed - "
Barabas: "Fornication but that was in another country and, besides, the wench is dead"