The Darkness and the Thunder: 1915: The Great War Series

Description

The second novel in The Great War series, The Darkness and the Thunder is an epic novel of love, death and courage 1915. The Western Front is a wasteland of barbed wire, shell craters and mud-filled trenches. Winston Churchill, searching for a solution to the stalemate, commits the Allies to a disastrous Gallipoli campaign. As men on both sides die in droves, miners and mill-workers work tirelessly for the war effort while families confront the broken bodies of returning soldiers. Nurses, soldiers, politicians, factory-workers and children - all are torn apart by war, and for husbands and sons, mothers and wives, the old way of life is vanishing.

Stewart Binns began his professional life as an academic. He passed selection for the SAS in 1980 and served for three years before settling into a career as a schoolteacher, specialising in English and history. Later in life he began a successful career in television. He has won a BAFTA, a Grierson, an RTS and a Peabody for his documentaries. Stewart has written two highly acclaimed historical series. Betrayal, a standalone, is his seventh novel.

Anyone with even a vague interest in Britain and the Great War should read Shadow of War -- Celia Sandys, granddaughter of Winston Churchill An epic ... the book on the conflict remembered this year 100 years on -- Jon Wise Sunday Sport 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 Stewart's books always leave me with a sense of pride for my country, and this book is no exception, but this is tempered by the individual courage and the individual loss. The personal tales that inspire and horrify in equal measure. By the time I finished the book I felt entertained and educated, which for me form the key pillars of a great Historical Fiction novel. Once again Stewart Binns has managed to create something unique, entertaining and eye-opening, I'm very much looking forward to book 2. -- Robin Carter, Parmenion Books The whole thing is a tour de force of writing brilliance, and it's great to know that in five years' time, Stewart will have delivered a book for each of the first world war years. A totally enjoyable experience, a brilliant start to a terrific project. Books Monthly Unarguably heart-warming... will leave any reader with a sense of British pride Goodreads Truly a book that educates while entertaining, a talent of this best-selling author Historical Novel Review