Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Great Shadow Annotated Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Rather than Sherlock Holmes as the main character, the story follows Jack Colder, who claims that his only notable childhood experience was when he accidentally avoided a robbery during an attempt to escape from a boarding school. This event caught Jim Horscroft and the two became friends. Jim goes to medical school, Jack reunites with his cousin Edie, who found herself with a lot of money due to the death of her father. Jack likes Edie, but is put off when Edie shows less enthusiasm and great attraction to men in Hearing this, Jack insists that he will become a soldier despite his parents' disapproval. Finally, Jack asks Edie to marry him. It is at this time that Jim returns to West Inch, and quickly likes Edie., who seems much more attracted to Jim. When Jack reveals to Jim that the two are engaged, he quickly becomes discouraged and sinks into depression combined with drunkenness. After a couple of days, Jim recovers and is caught hugging Edie by J The two argue and finally decide to have Edie choose. Edie chooses Jim and the two get engaged. The arrival of Lapp, a mysterious Frenchman who arrives in a small ship, interrupts the peace, as he claimed to have been in a shipwreck and was traveling for three days lost at sea. Jack offers him food and a place to stay, while Jim is a bit more indecisive. Children quickly realize that Lapp is very wealthy and has many battle scores that are only surpassed by his endless war stories that everyone loves including Edie. Lapp becomes a regular in the community, Jack suspects that Lapp is a spy after he catches him loitering around on multiple occasions. When Jim leaves to finish school and get his diploma, Edie reveals to Jack that he had married to Lapp., and the next day Lapp leaves on a boat and reveals in a note that he is actually Bonaventure De Lissac, who is Napolon's assistant. This angers Jim very much when he learns that Napoleon has escaped and is on the move. Jim offers his services to Major Elliot, and Jack and Major Elliot train the boys as they prepare for the Battle of Waterloo. The French are described as having significant weapons and being trained soldiers, unlike the regiment that Jack and Jim belonged to. The rest of the novel details a soldier's account of the Battle of Waterloo, with Jim and Jack walking out of half-a mile as the battle begins, before joining at the very end of the battle. The end of the book describes how the French are defeated by the Duke of Wellington and Gebhard von Blucher.