The Long Shadow

"Anna Gilbert has combined a style that is effortless and graceful with a chilling and gripping plot. This is escapism at its best". - Cosmopolitan

Hannah Medlar was brought up by her strictly pious brother Joseph and his wife Zilla whom she idolised.

One April day in 1852, having taken a wrong turning in their pony trap, she and her sister-in-law arrived by chance at a village wedding where Zilla recognised the bride as an old friend.

Hannah was to remember this childhood incident as the first in a sequence of events which ultimately destroyed the quiet happiness of her home.

These included the terrifying visits of the rag woman; the inexplicable arrival of Jessie Willow, a strange, unattractive girl whom Hannah pitied and resented; and the tragic fate of Zilla.

Hannah's own dreams of happiness centred on her friendship with Caroline Rudyard and her brother Adrian.

Their home, Withy Grange, secluded in its deep meadows, symbolised for her a more gracious way of life which she hoped to share as Adrian's wife; until a ruthless hand unexpectedly intervened ...

As her hopes are dashed, she forges a new life for herself, until finally - through luck and old connections turned new - the missing pieces of this intriguing puzzle fall into place...

Anna Gilbert is well-known for her accurate portrayal of people's lives and attitudes in Victorian England - this gripping account in The Long Shadow is engaging and mesmerising to the end.

Praise for Anna Gilbert:

"Anna Gilbert writes with fastidious care. Every word counts. The manipulation of people by each other is her favourite theme and the helplessness of the good and innocent in the face of ruthless egotism. But there is always light at the end of the tunnel". -The Times

"Anna Gilbert has combined a style that is effortless and graceful with a chilling and gripping plot. This is escapism at its best". - Cosmopolitan

Anna Gilbert was born and brought up in the county of Durham. Her father was a schoolmaster and she herself was educated at the University of Durham before becoming a teacher. She now lives in Yorkshire. The Long Shadow is her eighth novel.


Genre: Romance