LoveReading Says
The beginning of an ambitious series with a book for each of the four years of World War I so we start just before the outbreak and go into the trenches and on into the now famous Christmas Day football game. We all know how tragic this period was. Here it is presented to us through a huge canvas of characters from all walks of life with the political scene running alongside the family stories. No doubt we will follow the same families throughout the series so get to know them now. It is not the most riveting of reads but a fascinating portrait of the period which I am sure will build to be thrilling. If you are reading electronically beware there are a good seventy pages of glossary once the tale is finished.
A 'Piece of Passion' from the author...
Dear Reader,
Shadow of War, the first of my new Great War series, is a long way from my quartet set in the distant past of the Anglo-Norman Middle-Ages but it is a journey I felt compelled to make. There are several reasons, not the least of which is that 2014 is the centenary of the outbreak of the war and the next five years may well be the last occasion when the conflict is at the forefront of national consciousness.
As Kipling wrote in Recessional (written in 1897 for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, not as an epitaph for the Great War),
Lord God of Hosts be with us yet,
Lest we forget – Lest we forget!
But I also had other reasons. I have read a fairly wide range of material about the war, but the almost countless tomes in the enormous library of the conflict, both fiction and non-fiction, contain numerous flaws and have created as many myths as they have offered truths. The Great War is too often sentimentalised, sensationalised, or over-simplified.' Click here to read more.
Sarah Broadhurst
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The Shadow of War The Great War Series Book 1 Synopsis
The Shadow of War is the first novel in Stewart Binns' new series which will see a book release for each year of the First World War.
June 1914. The beginning of another long, prosperous summer for Britain. But beneath the clear skies, all is not as it seem - as the chill wind of social discontent swirls around this sceptred isle. Shots ring out in a distant European land - the assassination of a foreign aristocrat. From that moment the entire world is propelled into a conflict unlike any seen before. This is the story of five British communities, their circumstances very different, but who will all share in the tragedy that is to come. All that they have known will be changed for ever by the catastrophic events of the Great War. This is a story of love and comradeship, of hatred and tragedy - this is the story of the Great War. The Shadow of War, the first novel in The Great War series from Stewart Binns, is a thrilling read and perfect for those who enjoy the writing of Conn Iggulden and Bernard Cornwell. Stewart Binns began his professional life as an academic. He then pursued several adventures, including a stint at the BBC, before settling into a career as a schoolteacher, specializing in history. Later in life a lucky break took him back to the BBC, which was the beginning of a successful career in television. He has won a BAFTA, a Grierson, an RTS and a Peabody for his documentaries. Stewart's passion is English history especially its origins and folklore. His previous Making of England series: Crusade, Conquest, Anarchy and Lionheart, were published to great acclaim.
About This Edition
Stewart Binns Press Reviews
'Anyone with even a vague interest in Britain and the Great War should read Shadow of War.' -- Celia Sandys, granddaughter of Winston Churchill
'Stewart Binns has produced a real page-turner, a truly stunning adventure story.'
- Alastair Campbell
'A fascinating mix of fact, legend and fiction ... this is storytelling at its best.'
-Daily Mail
About Stewart Binns
Stewart Binns began his professional life as an academic. He then pursued several adventures, including a stint at the BBC, before settling into a career as a schoolteacher, specializing in history. Later in life, a lucky break took him back to the BBC, which was the beginning of a successful career in television. He has won a BAFTA, a Grierson, an RTS and a Peabody for his documentaries. Stewart's passion is English history, especially its origins and folklore. His previous novels Conquest, Crusade and Anarchy published to great acclaim.
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