The Long Shadow

by Loretta Proctor

Fourteen-year-old Andrew discovers his motheras hidden diary at his grandmotheras home during a Christmas gathering. His eyes are opened to a family secret when he reads about her time as a nurse in Salonika during the First World War, and the tragic love affair she had with his father, a Greek officer who died in battle. Four years later, Andrew is compelled to visit his fatheras land and trace his roots. Whataand whomahe finds there will change his life forever. The Long Shadow is filled with descriptions of Greece and its people. Dramatic images of battle and the terrible conditions endured by the Allied Armies entrenched around Salonika in the aBirdcagea are authentic and vivid. Greek music and dance play a vital role, reconciling in Andrew the dichotomy of belonging to two very different cultures and helping him to unite them in his heart and soul.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Greece

426 pages, Paperback

Published December 27, 2005

About the author

Writing and book reading are in the blood. My great grandad used to travel around Turkey carrying a trunk full of his beloved books and during WW2, my Dad wrote 40 page letters in French to my Mother from the desert! So he might well have got round to a novel or two if he had lived long enough.

I gave up writing for years but have now resurfaced in my later life and published two books, written six. My daughter who is in publishing helps edit the books so they're not just my vain outpourings. I simply want to share my tales with those few who care about it. It's good to have readers otherwise I would be like an actor with an empty auditorium.

My first novel The Long Shadow was wriiten in 2005 and published in the States long before Victoria Hislop turned her eye on Greece! Strangely I also wrote a story about Spinalonga, the leper island off Crete, in the 1980's but she beat me to it on that one as I never did get round to publishing it. Maybe some day. It's a totally different story to The Island. :-) Interesting how writers can approach a subject from quite different angles.

Reviews

[Katerina · Rating 4 out of 5]

ευκολοδιαβαστο και καθολου ανιαρο ... ελαφρως προβλεπομενο , αλλα ταυτοχρονα ευχαριστο
καλη αναγνωση ...

[Anna Rossi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have just finished reading this for the second time and know I shall return to it again and again because of its strong, involving characters and the wonderful story they have to tell.

Nothing is more intriguing than a hidden diary, and when Andrew finds his mother's and begins to read it, a dramatic picture of her life in Salonka during the first world war enfolds. Dorothy's love story is touching and beautifully told, yet this is far more than a love story. The sights, smells, triumphs and tragediesa of World War One are described so vividly and knowledgably we feel we are experiencing them first hand.

I've now enjoyed several books from the pen of this author, but this is her best yet.

It's a novel to treasure.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised to like this book. It is outside the genre that I usually read so it was a bit rough to get through at first. BUT, if you stick with it you will be rewarded with an engaging tale that is hard to put down and leaves a smile on your face when you're done.

[J.S. Colley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Long Shadow is an historical novel set in England and Greece. The storyline spans two generations, beginning just before the start of the World Wars. It’s about family secrets, about those not-spoken-about things that lie just under the surface in an oft-failed attempt to spare heartache and embarrassment.

Andrew, the son of Dorothy and a mysterious “Greek officer and spy,” makes a decision that will alter his life, and those closest to him. As a child, he glimpses a photo of a man he assumes is his father. His mother keeps the memento in a box in her childhood bedroom. While Andrew is visiting his grandmother over Christmas holiday, he decides to examine the contents more closely in an attempt to learn more about the man. He not only finds the photo, but his mother’s diary as well. Knowing it is wrong, Andrew takes the diary to his room and reads it anyway.

The diary entries comprise the middle section of the novel and explains, in vivid detail, his mother’s life in England just before the beginning of World War I and as a nurse stationed near the Greek village of Salonika. The narrative provides insight into life in a WWI medical camp under harsh conditions, and the horrors of war for soldiers as well as for the civilians living in the places they occupy.

The use of diary entries to advance a story is not a new one, and I wondered at the narrative-like quality of Dorothy’s musings until I came across an explanation by the author. Here is what Proctor tells Lucy Walton during in an interview in Female First:

4. How difficult was it to write in the format of a diary entry?

Not at all difficult. It came naturally, plus I had all those real diaries to base my ideas on. I tried not to let the language appear too stilted but needed to give the feel of the slightly formal way people expressed themselves in the early 1900’s. Naturally, no one would write a diary that was quite as detailed as Dorothy’s! It’s simply a plot device to tell the story in the first person and give the atmosphere of the Greek hospital camp, plus to tell Dorothy’s love story. I felt it was best to write the diary from the start to finish of her account rather than jump back and forth as many books tend to do. Basically I couldn’t bear to tear myself away from Dorothy’s story!

5. A lot of books are using diary entries as a means of telling a story now, so was this something you set out to use in the early stages of writing this book?

Yes, it was a necessary part of the story because Andrew discovers this diary and it opens his eyes to why his past is such a mystery and never spoken of by his mother or relations.

To be honest, I couldn’t think of another way to relay Dorothy’s story, and Proctor used this time-honored device effectively.

The last section of the book deals with the ramification of Andrew’s reading the diary. As any young man would do, he sets off, with all the impetuousness and intensity of youth, to find out everything about the father he never knew. Along the way, he experiences life as he never would have back home and meets people who broaden his perspective of the world. Andrew makes mistakes but, more importantly, he learns how to forgive and be forgiven.

The Long Shadow is rich in detail, history, and insight into human nature. Above all, it is a love story—love of family, country, fellow man, and romantic love. I enjoyed it immensely.

[Marina Maidou · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writer, derived from Victoria Hislop's path, tells us a story of the First World War, set in Greece and specifically in my native city, Thessaloniki. The story is interesting, the characters vivid, somewhat romantic, but also interesting, the title allusive (the Greek title already gives the answer as The Shadow of War) and the end is very satisfactory. In the beginning there is a little confusion until you understand exactly what happens, but when it comes to the heart of the story -which is of course the romance between Dorothea and mysterious Costas- begins the interest. Of course, I must say that I was prejudiced while I was trying to see how an English woman writer was able to represent parties and people of my country. Well, she's doing it perfect. The only incongruity was about a song that Anna sings (a "amanes"), which obviously is a Greek translation of the English translation of the original song, so it is not like the original rhyme (a translation adventure which reminds me of Umberto Eco). The many historical details and descriptions of multicultural Thessaloniki, didn't were tiresome. In fact they were a brilliant highlight of a city that has been lost for good. Towards the end I had the feeling that she had to cut a huge piece of the book to take us from 1932 to 1946, just enough to tell us what happened to everyone. While I would wish that it could be left that piece, I understand that for most of the readers it would make the book more bulky (in Greek translation the book is already 717 pages!) and surely more tiresome. I look forward for her next book.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Long Shadow is destined to become a literary classic.

Characters who grab you and won't let go. Scenes ripped from history. Drama, and the violence of war. Interludes of beauty and joy in the midst of chaos and terror.

The two male characters are so lifelike and compelling, I fell in love with both of them. Andrew and Costas, very different, yet in many ways identical, both bringing to life a magical fantasy of female daydreams.

The Long Shadow not only contains fascinating, unforgettable, mesmerizing characters, it has history: lots of it. It brought forth the horrors of World War I Greece, and also managed to capture those precious moments of fulfillment that occur even in the grimmest circumstances. The end, which I never could have predicted, was perfect and satisfying.

This author is becoming one of my all time favorites.

[Kathe Coleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Long Shadow by Loretta Proctor
The Long Shadow is a novel about WW1 and the allied forces in Greece (Salonika). Dorothy, Andrew’s mother had been a nurse in Greece and although Andrew knows that his father (Greek) and died in the war, he still wanted to know his history. When he gets to Greece he finds that his paternal relatives are all deceased. Now feeling very disconnected he continues to try and find his identity. A few twists and turns and horrendous conditions that the allied forces had to endure was beyond brutal. The reason that I like historical novels is that I learn so much from them and this one did not disappoint.

[Linda George · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am reading this book on an iPad using the Kindle app. Not sure why that is not a choice as the format! I am about 80% through this book and I have to say I am really enjoying it!

Finished this book and have to say that I loved it!

[gj indieBRAG · Rating 5 out of 5]

We are proud to announce that THE LONG SHADOW by Loretta Proctor is a B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree. This tells a reader that this book is well worth their time and money!

[Lily · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very slow read, story did not keep me interested, very rushed at end (WW2 involvement). would not recommend

[Catsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book about Thessaloniki during the first world war. A tad too romantic at times for me but still a 5 star.

[Elizabeth Jasper · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story begins with 14-year-old Andrew Clarke, Dorothy’s son by a Greek officer in Selonika, discovering and reading his mother’s personal diaries, which give a detailed account of her life between 1st January 1916 and October 1917, when she returns home to the UK pregnant with Andrew, who until he reads his mother’s diaries knows nothing at all about his Greek father.


The first part of the book consists of Dorothy’s diary, which she writes during her stay in Greece working as a nurse in Selonika during the First World War.


The second half of the book describes Dorothy’s son, Andrew’s search for his real father. At the age of 19, in 1936, he travels to Greece and retraces his mother’s footsteps, discovering his hidden past and learning more about his mother’s early life.


The Long Shadow is meticulously researched and written. There are beautiful descriptive passages of Greece at the time; of Selonika, of the camp where Dorothy worked as a nurse, of the Greek countryside and the local towns. Descriptions of the hardships experienced by the soldiers, the Greek population native to the area, the doctors and the nurses are beautifully rendered.


The styles of writing between Dorothy’s story, told in the first person present tense through her diary entries and Andrew’s story, told in third person, are distinct, as they should be, given the different periods being described.


I found the first half of the book, Dorothy’s diary, while informative and engaging, to be so detailed as to slow the pace of the story. It seemed to me that such detailed and well-informed descriptions of what was going on, politically and militarily, were not realistic diary entries for even an exceptionally well-informed eighteen-year-old girl abroad for the first time, working very long hours with very little leisure time. Indeed, they seemed instead to be more the views of a much older woman looking back with informed hindsight on her memories of what had happened. The outcome of Dorothy’s meeting with Costas was so well foreshadowed by the opening chapters, where Andrew discovers his mother’s diaries, that such a detailed account of their meeting, their affair, Dorothy’s life as a nurse in Greece, the detailed background of WWI seemed to take far too long.


The second half of the book, Andrew’s Odyssey, although still very detailed, had the advantage of taking the reader into unknown territory, which helped immensely with the pacing of this section of the narrative. However, the outcome of the story soon became obvious though, again, it took an extraordinarily long time to reach its resolution. It did have a lovely, rewarding twist to the end that made me smile with satisfaction.


There is an awful lot of background information and minutiae which, unless the reader is particularly interested in this period of Greek modern history, might prove to be a little too much to digest.

[Philippa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is largely based on a diary of a nurse stationed in Salonika during the First World War, and the effect of illicitly reading that diary on her son, Andrew. His solitary recovery of the events in this diary illuminates both his inheritance, and his current relationships, casting the 'long shadow' produced by its abruptly curtailed whirlwind romance. The personal story is equally reflective of the 'long shadow' cast by the war itself. This is a skillful parallel between the events for the characters and the wider stage in which their play takes shape.

Some of that almost soporific lulling also comes from the recapture of an age of innocence. The nurse Dorothy is young, and although she has decided opinions on most things, from pastries to people, she is conveyed as essentially uncritical, swept along equally by her compelling attraction to a Rhett Butler Greek of glittering dark eyes, as much as to her devotion to her role as nursing aide to the restrained and devoted doctor, Ethan Willoughby. In that sense it has the ingredients of conflicted romance, a very English Home Counties romance where the longing for wild exuberance is tempered by restraint, though not entirely!

There are well drawn characters, the polished Greek mother in her well ordered home of servants, ice cold water wells for cooling wine, of shutters and aromatic gardens; and her counterpart the present day English grandmother in a crumbling gracious Edwardian home, Downlands. The encounters with the Greek peasants, shepherds, runners, dancers and festivals falls like bright light on the impressionable Dorothy, avid for adventure, making the most of her war's interludes (and living with that living for ever after). Through her the reader is given the incandescence of a fresh light at the most dark period of European affairs. The details of Greek habits, food and peppered language make of this an interesting and unfamiliar meal.

The second half of the book covers the consequences of this clandestinely read diary on Andrew and on other characters we have already met in its pages. There is an underpinning philosophy akin to Julian of Norwich's 'All shall be well and all manner of things shall be well' although not necessarily in ways one might expect. Instead of a winding down, the book winds up, rather more satisfyingly, and, on reflection, entirely believable although un-anticipated.
Philippa Rees

[Richard Abbott · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Long Shadow, by Loretta Proctor, is the forerunner to Dying Phoenix. I read them in reverse order, but this didn't affect my enjoyment of either book. They can be read quite separately. The Long Shadow spans a considerable period of time, from the middle of the First World War until the late 1940s. It largely describes the lives of a mother and son, Dorothy and Andrew, caught between lives in England and Greece. The very different environments - of land, culture, community, and family - are excellently captured by Loretta's writing.

For all the social changes in Britain brought about by two world wars, a countryside house in the Cotswolds serves as an emblem - it is a haven of peace and sanctuary. It provides some glimpse of pastoral peace. The Greek landscapes, on the other hand, from urban Athens and Thessaloniki through to the remote rural villages of Macedonia, are in constant flux, repeatedly scarred by external invasion and internal feud. The picture of northern Greece at the end of the book is quite different from that at the start, after it has been touched by war, fire, land clearance, rivalry, and modernisation. It is a harsh time and place to live, but occasionally, and unexpectedly, it provides vistas of grandeur and beauty. It sways between hostility and brotherhood - but always with a profound and unpredictable passion.

The Long Shadow also captures, in bold manner, the highs and lows of having mixed-culture ancestry. Andrew can never decide whether he is British or Greek in his soul, and for much of the book he oscillates between them as he tries to find his own identity. His betrayal, in turn, of each of his parents has a terrible symmetry and inevitability. But it also has an entirely fitting asymmetry, matching the cultural background of each parent. The book pursues multiple overlapping arcs of betrayal and reconciliation, estrangement and forgiveness - some of these arcs can be closed, and others remain forever open and unresolved. Truly, living with a cross-cultural heritage can be fraught with difficulty and confusion.

Occasionally I come across people who say they can judge a book after reading only the first few pages. In the case of this book they would have missed a rare treat, since the book builds steadily from a gradual start towards a series of emotional and relational high points. It's long - nearly 500 pages in paperback - but well worth it.

In summary, I really enjoyed The Long Shadow, and recommend it to others.

[Gordon Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not a book about Greece. It not a book about war but it is a book about people, the situations they find themselves in; and above all about their loves. This skilfully crafted novel is in two parts, the first set in England and the second, mainly in Greece. The protagonist is Andrew who is shocked by the revelations in his mother’s diary which he secretly reads. He discovers that his father is Greek and he vows to meet him. The second part of the novel shows Andrew in his quest and eventual triumph. Loretta Proctor, half Greek herself, has a vast knowledge and understanding of 20th century Greek history, especially as it relates to the two world wars and she uses this with great skill as a backdrop to Andrew’s story. She brings out the horrors of war in Greece. She writes the diary as if using the language of the day and this gives the mother’s account an authenticity and immediacy which is strong and real. I found the book very moving, especially the relationship between Andrew and his father. Being unfamiliar with the history, I found it fascinating, almost a distraction at times! This is a beautiful story and the second of Loretta’s books I have read. It cries out for a sequel!
Well done, Loretta!

[Χ. ΚΟΥΡΟΥΠΑΚΗ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ο ίσκιος του πολέμου της Λορέτα Πρόκτορ, είναι ένα ιστορικό μυθιστόρημα που διαδραματίζεται μεταξύ Αγγλίας και Ελλάδας. Η ιστορία επεκτείνεται μεταξύ δύο γενεών, ξεκινώντας λίγο πριν τον Α΄ Παγκόσμιο Πόλεμο, και η αφήγηση προσφέρει μια εικόνα για τη ζωή σε μια ιατρική κατασκήνωση σε κάποιο χωριό στη Θεσσαλονίκη κάτω από σκληρές συνθήκες, και τη φρίκη του πολέμου για τους στρατιώτες, καθώς και για τους αμάχους που ζουν στους χώρους που καταλαμβάνουν.
Το βιβλίο μας μιλάει για τον Άντριου το γιό της Ντόροθυ και ενός Έλληνα αξιωματικού και κατασκόπου ταυτόχρονα, που παίρνει μια απόφαση που θα αλλάξει τη ζωή του και όσων είναι γύρω του. Σαν παιδί, μεγαλωμένο στην Αγγλία, δεν γνώριζε τίποτα για τον πατέρα του, είχε μόνο κάτι αναλαμπές από μια φωτογραφία ενός άντρα που πιστεύει ότι μπορεί να είναι αυτός. Αποφασίζει να ψάξει και βρίσκει τα ημερολόγια της μητέρας του που κρατούσε την εποχή του πολέμου που ήταν νοσοκόμα στην Θεσσαλονίκη και διαβάζοντας τα αποφασίζει να πάει στην Ελλάδα να ψάξει για τις ρίζες του, πιστεύοντας ότι ο πατέρας του είναι νεκρός.
Ο ίσκιος του πολέμου, είναι ένα βιβλίο με μαγευτικούς χαρακτήρες και μια συναρπαστική ιστορία, που το τέλος της ήταν απρόβλεπτο και τέλειο συνάμα.

[Sandie Zand · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delicious read this was. Spanning two wars and set partly in Britain and mainly in Greece, The Long Shadow tells the story of two profound love stories across two generations - mother and son - and the ripple effect these passions have on others' lives. But there is a third love story behind The Long Shadow and that is the author's love for her motherland - shining through on every page with glorious descriptions of the landscape, the people, the food, the traditions - pain at the devastation rent by war and ongoing spats between neighbouring factions, and an understanding of a people torn between their ancient past and their future that can only come from the author's unconditional love for this country.

The historical detail is clearly well-researched and then sprinkled into the narrative in a natural way - this didn't feel like a history lecture and yet I feel wiser after reading it and grateful to have been enlightened on these lesser-known events of WW1.

I'm really looking forward to now reading the sequel which takes us into a third generation of ill-fated lovers and another period of damaging unrest for Greece.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

A son (illegitimate) finds his mother's diary about meeting his father when she was a nurse in World War I. He secretly reads it and for some reason, becomes rather embittered toward her. He determines to find his birth father and find his real home in Greece and educates himself accordingly.

The first part of the book is devoted to his mother via her diary. She's a much more interesting character than the son.

When the son grows up, his tale of traveling to Greece and looking for his father isn't nearly so compelling.

A lot of rhapsodizing about Greece, its culture and landscape and people.

[Shawn Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book about Andrew, the unlikely product of a British nurse and a Greek spy/soldier during WWI, and his quest to find out who he was and where he belonged. Raised in England, he forgoes college to travel instead to Greece in search of his people. I liked the characters and the history...the only thing that bothered me was the "love at first sight" that happened to all the main characters. For some reason, it just struck me as ridiculous. However, aside from that, this was an engaging and interesting read.

[Sherry Ledet · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of a young British boy of 14 who discovers his mothers secrets and vows to hunt the beginning of her story as well as it's end. This road begins when he is 17 and takes him to pre world war 11 in the mountains of Greece, and backward to the first world war where his mother served as a nurse in these same mountains. This is a love story and a history of the politics and the peoples of Greece as I had never heard it. Andrew's search for himself is worth the read.

[Brenda Lutz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading this tale about an English nurse who travels to Greece during WWI to help take care of the soldiers. Her adventures and romance with a Greek spy are written in a diary hidden away and her son who is fathered by Costas who is presumed dead is revealed in this story. Andrew goes on an odyssey to find his heritage.

[Kati Berman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. This was the first book I read by this author. The book is both a historic story of World War 1 in Greece and also a love story during those years. I loved the descriptions of Greek scenery, customs and people. I would recommend this book.

[Bluejay44 · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent read. Such an interesting background to the story and learning something about life in Greece at the same time.

[Alison]

kindle 480

[Gloria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12730747

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engrossing and emotionally involving historical novel set in England and Greece from WWI to the 1940s. I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it.

[Jo Notary]

what he learns will change him forever, 4 yrs later he goes in search of his roots, who died in the war, learns about his father, 14 yr old finds moms diary

[angelle321 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5