The Great Shadow

The Great Shadow, also known as The Great Shadow and other Napoleonic Tales, is an action and adventure novel written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It was published in 1892 in J. W. Arrowsmith’s Bristol Library. The novel takes place in the Napoleonic Wars on the Anglo-Scottish border city called West Inch. The Great Shadow refers to Napoleon’s influence and his reputation that forms a shadow over West Inch.

The main character Jack Colder falls in love with his cousin Edie, but she is not romantically interested in him. Since Edie thinks that soldiers are attractive, Colder decides to become a soldier against his parents' wishes. Edie is soon engaged to Colder's old friend Jim Horscroft, but she is charmed by a mysterious war veteran and she marries him instead. The new husband turns out to be a French spy and an aide of Napoleon himself. Both of Edie's jilted suitors volunteer for military service against Napoleon. Their first battle happens to be the Battle of Waterloo (1815).