The Long Shadow

About the Book

Sarah, nine years old, endures yet another air-raid in the street shelter in Blitz-torn England. At the same time nine-year old Claude is practising an escape should their house in occupied France be raided by the Gestapo. Sarah and Claude, Jews, and their families experience the devastating effects of Nazi Germany. The children are deeply traumatised, Sarah by the fate of her mother during an air-raid and Claude by the ‘disappearance’ of his family. The effects of their tragic experiences are played out very differently. The early lives of the children, though in different cultures and different circumstances, manifest very similar parallel experiences. It is only when the two central characters meet as adults that the effects of the trauma show themselves clearly and very dramatically. The novel traces four generations of the two families through to the final powerful and moving outcome. “It becomes hard to put the book down……the narrative becomes truly wrenching. One hopes that Gabriel will keep writing; a remarkable beginning,” - Kirkus Reviews “This is a well-charted tale of how great sorrow can colour lives long after the event.” - BlueInk Review “Introspective and profoundly moving, Gabriel’s realistic portrayal of war’s aftermath will leave an enduring impression.” - Foreword Reviews

About the Author

Gaynor Gabriel is a psychologist, now retired. After a long spell in the French Pyrenees writing and teaching she lives on the edge of the Peak district in the north of England near her family where she writes. She has two children and two grandchildren.