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The Tin Nose Shop
A BBC RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB RECOMMENDED READ
INSPIRED BY ONE OF THE LAST GREAT UNTOLD STORIES OF WW1
1916. Young artist Sam Burke is spared death by firing squad on the battlefields of France and brought to a remote castle by the Irish Sea. At the 'Tin Nose Shop' he is tasked with creating intricate masks to hide the mutilated faces of his fellow soldiers from the Front. While he tries to come to terms with the death of his best friend and the promise he failed to keep, Sam and the disfigured soldiers struggle to return to their former lives and their loved ones.
A stirring and emotional tale based on the real-life story of the Tin Nose Shop.
INSPIRED BY ONE OF THE LAST GREAT UNTOLD STORIES OF WW1
1916. Young artist Sam Burke is spared death by firing squad on the battlefields of France and brought to a remote castle by the Irish Sea. At the 'Tin Nose Shop' he is tasked with creating intricate masks to hide the mutilated faces of his fellow soldiers from the Front. While he tries to come to terms with the death of his best friend and the promise he failed to keep, Sam and the disfigured soldiers struggle to return to their former lives and their loved ones.
A stirring and emotional tale based on the real-life story of the Tin Nose Shop.
313 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 13, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
August 23, 2022
Ten or more years ago we used to watch Boardwalk Empire which was set in Atlantic City in the 1920s. There was a character in it who had been terribly disfigured during WWI and wore a face mask which covered the disfigured side of his face but which was painted to look like his real face. I had no idea at the time that this was a thing and that there was a whole government department (in the U.K. anyway) devoted to the creation of these masks, the "Masks for Facial Disfigurement Department", which became known as the "Tin Nose Shop".
The Tin Nose Shop is a fictionalized account of Sam, an artist who was plucked from certain death by firing squad and deployed to a castle in Northern Ireland to create masks for men who suffered facial disfigurement in the war and for whom surgeons had done as much as possible. Using photographs of the men from "before", the masks were created using paper-thin copper and painted to capture the men's features. Sam has issues of his own hence the reason he was in front of the firing squad and the interesting thing is that the firing squad consisted of men from the same side on which he had been fighting. I didn't realize that the British army sometimes executed its own men. In scattered chapters we also follow Katie, widow of Sam's best friend Ned, and Lily, a survivor of the sinking of the Lusitania who has taken up residence on a farm near the castle where Sam is stationed. They all have their own intriguing back stories.
A truly extraordinary story! I really dislike being one of the first to review a new book but to me this was an excellent story that I found easy to read as well as extremely fascinating. Every time I took a break I could hardly wait to get back to the story. I have to admit there were places where the narrative droned on a bit but I stuck with it and feel like I learned a lot. I felt empathy for the characters and enjoyed the descriptions of the different settings. A "stirring and emotional tale" indeed.
My appreciation to Legend Press via Netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this novel. All opinions expressed are my own.
Publication Date: July 1, 2022
NOTE: I also feel like I should mention that there are some before and after pictures if you search for Tin Nose Shop on the internet. Some of them are difficult to look at but it's truly amazing what the artists have accomplished.
The Tin Nose Shop is a fictionalized account of Sam, an artist who was plucked from certain death by firing squad and deployed to a castle in Northern Ireland to create masks for men who suffered facial disfigurement in the war and for whom surgeons had done as much as possible. Using photographs of the men from "before", the masks were created using paper-thin copper and painted to capture the men's features. Sam has issues of his own hence the reason he was in front of the firing squad and the interesting thing is that the firing squad consisted of men from the same side on which he had been fighting. I didn't realize that the British army sometimes executed its own men. In scattered chapters we also follow Katie, widow of Sam's best friend Ned, and Lily, a survivor of the sinking of the Lusitania who has taken up residence on a farm near the castle where Sam is stationed. They all have their own intriguing back stories.
A truly extraordinary story! I really dislike being one of the first to review a new book but to me this was an excellent story that I found easy to read as well as extremely fascinating. Every time I took a break I could hardly wait to get back to the story. I have to admit there were places where the narrative droned on a bit but I stuck with it and feel like I learned a lot. I felt empathy for the characters and enjoyed the descriptions of the different settings. A "stirring and emotional tale" indeed.
My appreciation to Legend Press via Netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this novel. All opinions expressed are my own.
Publication Date: July 1, 2022
NOTE: I also feel like I should mention that there are some before and after pictures if you search for Tin Nose Shop on the internet. Some of them are difficult to look at but it's truly amazing what the artists have accomplished.
August 31, 2022
5 stars for concept and nightmarish descriptions of WWI bloody scenes. Disturbing but well-done. I thought the dialogue was stilted.
The book was well-researched and introduced me to a fascinating and little-known story of the making of masks, impeccably duplicating the features of soldiers who suffered horrific facial injuries during the First World War. British estimates suggest there were 60,000 men who were facially disfigured in battle. I remember there was a character in Boardwalk Empire who wore such a mask over the damaged half of his face. I thought this was a fictional invention by TV writers for the series, but now know it was a real historical endeavour established by the British government. In 1917 the Masks for Facial Disfigurement Department was actually established in London and nicknamed The Tin Nose Shop. At the time of the First World War, plastic surgery was in a rudimentary stage, and it was the hope that these masks would allow the soldiers to return to their loved ones and society with some dignity, rather than people recoiling in disgust when they were seen.
In 1999, the author was in an Irish Pub when the bartender pointed out to him three people wearing government-issued masks to conceal their badly mutilated faces that occurred during a recent bombing. They preferred the masks rather than undergoing plastic surgery. This gave the author the inspiration for the story when the bartender mentioned that the British government had initially had masks made for soldiers whose faces were damaged during the First World War. This led to the question of whether the government was acting out on compassionate grounds or if the aim was to hide the horrors of the war from the public. The hope was to hide the injuries and ease the soldiers back into their former lives.
I wanted to learn more about the toll on the men with facial injuries, the techniques used in mask making and fitting them to the patient, and the precise painting of the masks to match earlier photographs of the soldier's features. The artwork needed to paint the thin lightweight metal masks had to be precise in order to restore a sense of dignity to the soldiers' lives. This work was first done in London.
Sam was a young soldier who enlisted in the army with his best friend.The friend was killed by mortar fire, and Sam was charged with failure to perform his duty and cowardice. He was to face a firing squad, but two years attending an art college interrupted before completing the courses due to the war gave him the option to go to an old castle in Northern Ireland to begin the designing and production of masks and fitting them to soldiers with facial injuries.
I wanted to know more about the construction of the masks, and the careful science and art involved. I hoped for stories based on men who successfully returned to their families and communities , as well as those who failed to integrate. Most of the story focused on Sam's PTSD and his guilt for breaking his promise to his friend who was killed, and his love for two women. There were philosophic conversations about how powerful men send the young and healthy men off to war, the horrors they endure, comradre among soldiers, the morality of following orders, courage and cowardace, and the worries of women who wait. I wanted more of the experiences at the Tin Nose Shop and how the men dealt emotionally when it was time to return home.
Through the stories of two women, the widow of Sam's dead friend, and a young woman who survived the sinking of the Lusitania, we learn something about how the war affected those left behind when their men went off to war.
The book was well-researched and introduced me to a fascinating and little-known story of the making of masks, impeccably duplicating the features of soldiers who suffered horrific facial injuries during the First World War. British estimates suggest there were 60,000 men who were facially disfigured in battle. I remember there was a character in Boardwalk Empire who wore such a mask over the damaged half of his face. I thought this was a fictional invention by TV writers for the series, but now know it was a real historical endeavour established by the British government. In 1917 the Masks for Facial Disfigurement Department was actually established in London and nicknamed The Tin Nose Shop. At the time of the First World War, plastic surgery was in a rudimentary stage, and it was the hope that these masks would allow the soldiers to return to their loved ones and society with some dignity, rather than people recoiling in disgust when they were seen.
In 1999, the author was in an Irish Pub when the bartender pointed out to him three people wearing government-issued masks to conceal their badly mutilated faces that occurred during a recent bombing. They preferred the masks rather than undergoing plastic surgery. This gave the author the inspiration for the story when the bartender mentioned that the British government had initially had masks made for soldiers whose faces were damaged during the First World War. This led to the question of whether the government was acting out on compassionate grounds or if the aim was to hide the horrors of the war from the public. The hope was to hide the injuries and ease the soldiers back into their former lives.
I wanted to learn more about the toll on the men with facial injuries, the techniques used in mask making and fitting them to the patient, and the precise painting of the masks to match earlier photographs of the soldier's features. The artwork needed to paint the thin lightweight metal masks had to be precise in order to restore a sense of dignity to the soldiers' lives. This work was first done in London.
Sam was a young soldier who enlisted in the army with his best friend.The friend was killed by mortar fire, and Sam was charged with failure to perform his duty and cowardice. He was to face a firing squad, but two years attending an art college interrupted before completing the courses due to the war gave him the option to go to an old castle in Northern Ireland to begin the designing and production of masks and fitting them to soldiers with facial injuries.
I wanted to know more about the construction of the masks, and the careful science and art involved. I hoped for stories based on men who successfully returned to their families and communities , as well as those who failed to integrate. Most of the story focused on Sam's PTSD and his guilt for breaking his promise to his friend who was killed, and his love for two women. There were philosophic conversations about how powerful men send the young and healthy men off to war, the horrors they endure, comradre among soldiers, the morality of following orders, courage and cowardace, and the worries of women who wait. I wanted more of the experiences at the Tin Nose Shop and how the men dealt emotionally when it was time to return home.
Through the stories of two women, the widow of Sam's dead friend, and a young woman who survived the sinking of the Lusitania, we learn something about how the war affected those left behind when their men went off to war.
August 24, 2023
My mistake. I thought this was a non-fiction book. It is not but I read it anyway. It does not provide even a fraction of what it promises.
Fictional characters Katie, Sam and Ned are childhood friends. Katie marries Ned and have a daughter. Sam heads off to The Royal Academy of Arts in London intending to become an artist.
WWI comes, Ned and Sam go off to war. Ned is killed and Sam is about to face a firing squad for cowardice. Instead he is sent to a place newly established by the war department to make masks in an effort to “Rebuilding a man’s face so that children will not laugh at him……”
The damages to these men are quite graphic, as they should be, but there is also more than expected sexual content that, for me, had no place in this particular book.
I wanted to know more about The Tin Nose Shop and the men who were helped or not helped, but the book was about the relationship of the three characters. In the end I didn’t like any of them.
Fictional characters Katie, Sam and Ned are childhood friends. Katie marries Ned and have a daughter. Sam heads off to The Royal Academy of Arts in London intending to become an artist.
WWI comes, Ned and Sam go off to war. Ned is killed and Sam is about to face a firing squad for cowardice. Instead he is sent to a place newly established by the war department to make masks in an effort to “Rebuilding a man’s face so that children will not laugh at him……”
The damages to these men are quite graphic, as they should be, but there is also more than expected sexual content that, for me, had no place in this particular book.
I wanted to know more about The Tin Nose Shop and the men who were helped or not helped, but the book was about the relationship of the three characters. In the end I didn’t like any of them.
June 29, 2022
The story behind the Tin Nose Shop
What a remarkable story. I looked into this more and the author too and wrote a short piece about the amazing work the sculptor , Frances Derwent Wood, did to give men in war back some of their dignity.
November 10, 2022
Wow! Who knew! The things the war has taught us…
“Necessity is the mother of invention” (not sure who said that but it certainly is the case!)
Fascinating account of WW1.
This is not the stuff of history books and yet this type of story is every bit as important as the facts of the battle. The battle. That is the point of war. But this story is of the battle not between two nations but the personal battles that are fought during the war and thereafter are fought every day of not only the soldier’s life but the lives of those who never saw the bloody battlefield. Rather they saw and lived the emotional battlefield.
There are many historical fiction novels that bring to life accounts of the war.
Based on a true story or a compilation of a number of stories they tell us of the battles fought by everyone touched by war, not just those who donned uniforms and carried guns. It is from these stories that we learn the fine details of war not just the where and who and when of the history books. This is so very educational and is so much more “relatable” to those of us that otherwise have no experience with “war” as we have come to understand it.
The young soldier, Sam, is about to die by firing squad of his own military but is “saved” by the fact that he was schooled as an artist, a sculptor. He is sent to “serve” in a hospital where soldiers who have suffered facial injuries by explosion or gunshot are trying to mend physically and come to terms emotionally with their disfigurement before being returned home. This is not a job that Sam is prepared to accept until his alternative options are pointed out.
These masks not only allow the soldiers to hide behind them but as the author notes the masks also work “to prevent the rest of society from witnessing the horrors of war”. So the mask hides guilt for those responsible for the war and also helps those who live through it once on the battlefield to then live through it again at home, all whilst convincing the disfigured soldiers “never to believe that mask he will hide behind is meant to hide him as well.” It’s a tall order but Sam is then quick to understand that his work means these soldiers can return to some semblance of normalcy and yet never grow old. They will forever retain their youthful face from before the war. They will remain forever young!
This story is about relationships, love, friendship, forgiveness, survival, embracing the present, moving forward. It covers plenty of ground with lots of raw emotions.
The characters include Sam, who is fairly emotionally damaged in many ways, his best friends from youth, new friends, colleagues, other soldiers, mentors, love interests, and they all have a role in sorting out Sam (which is really the crux of the story).
Both the characters and the plot are well developed thereby holding and keeping the reader’s attention. Although the focus is on Sam, the work he is doing is remarkable.
I can’t remember when I so enjoyed everything about a book.
“Necessity is the mother of invention” (not sure who said that but it certainly is the case!)
Fascinating account of WW1.
This is not the stuff of history books and yet this type of story is every bit as important as the facts of the battle. The battle. That is the point of war. But this story is of the battle not between two nations but the personal battles that are fought during the war and thereafter are fought every day of not only the soldier’s life but the lives of those who never saw the bloody battlefield. Rather they saw and lived the emotional battlefield.
There are many historical fiction novels that bring to life accounts of the war.
Based on a true story or a compilation of a number of stories they tell us of the battles fought by everyone touched by war, not just those who donned uniforms and carried guns. It is from these stories that we learn the fine details of war not just the where and who and when of the history books. This is so very educational and is so much more “relatable” to those of us that otherwise have no experience with “war” as we have come to understand it.
The young soldier, Sam, is about to die by firing squad of his own military but is “saved” by the fact that he was schooled as an artist, a sculptor. He is sent to “serve” in a hospital where soldiers who have suffered facial injuries by explosion or gunshot are trying to mend physically and come to terms emotionally with their disfigurement before being returned home. This is not a job that Sam is prepared to accept until his alternative options are pointed out.
These masks not only allow the soldiers to hide behind them but as the author notes the masks also work “to prevent the rest of society from witnessing the horrors of war”. So the mask hides guilt for those responsible for the war and also helps those who live through it once on the battlefield to then live through it again at home, all whilst convincing the disfigured soldiers “never to believe that mask he will hide behind is meant to hide him as well.” It’s a tall order but Sam is then quick to understand that his work means these soldiers can return to some semblance of normalcy and yet never grow old. They will forever retain their youthful face from before the war. They will remain forever young!
This story is about relationships, love, friendship, forgiveness, survival, embracing the present, moving forward. It covers plenty of ground with lots of raw emotions.
The characters include Sam, who is fairly emotionally damaged in many ways, his best friends from youth, new friends, colleagues, other soldiers, mentors, love interests, and they all have a role in sorting out Sam (which is really the crux of the story).
Both the characters and the plot are well developed thereby holding and keeping the reader’s attention. Although the focus is on Sam, the work he is doing is remarkable.
I can’t remember when I so enjoyed everything about a book.
June 30, 2022
4.75 stars. This is such a unique book based upon an extraordinary little-known historical event of masks being made for solders with facial disfigurements sustained as a result of WWI battles. Sam, the main character, fought in France during WWI and ends up being stationed at a remote castle in Northern Ireland. He's an artist, and his duty is to create masks for soldiers whose faces have been mutilated. It is emotional, deeply moving and beautifully written. A story is told beyond the words on the page, and I entirely appreciate the well-placed breadcrumbs that are carefully left throughout the book. The story is intriguing from the first page and never lets up! It would be a great read for book club with so many things to discuss! This is totally a 5 star book but I was just a bit bummed at the end.
Thanks to Legend Press and NetGalley for this e-ARC!
Thanks to Legend Press and NetGalley for this e-ARC!
April 18, 2023
Sam Burke is an artist who went to war with his best friend. The friend died and in consequences Sam was to be shot for cowardice (like so many soldiers who were shot for what was mostly PTSD). The army though sees a use in Sam artistry and sends him to create mask for disfigured soldiers.
Very moving story about the consequences of war and how to integrate your past and live in your present. The characters were well defined. I liked how the story evolved and how some things do not have a resolution.
The Tin Nose Shops were a real thing (though the one in the story is fictional), I had heard of the masks, but not how they were done. I think giving the men back their dignity was a noble goal, but this was subsidized by the same government that destroyed their life in the first place… a little ambivalent about that, but the men deserved to be as normal as they could be. War is horrible, any war, any time even if no other solutions existed.
Very moving story about the consequences of war and how to integrate your past and live in your present. The characters were well defined. I liked how the story evolved and how some things do not have a resolution.
The Tin Nose Shops were a real thing (though the one in the story is fictional), I had heard of the masks, but not how they were done. I think giving the men back their dignity was a noble goal, but this was subsidized by the same government that destroyed their life in the first place… a little ambivalent about that, but the men deserved to be as normal as they could be. War is horrible, any war, any time even if no other solutions existed.
January 21, 2023
I am not unaware of the history behind this story as I have read a few of the nonfiction books that are available. The facts themselves are fascinating . So while the actual events are worth knowing and reading about, The Tin Nose Shop is not the best way to access the tale. The writing in Snyder's novel seemed stilted and forced to this reader. I was never able to get past the flow of the writing to engage fully with any of the characters. So for me, this was a painful read. And not because of the subject matter.
Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book for an honest review.
#thetinnoseshop #netgalley
Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book for an honest review.
#thetinnoseshop #netgalley
June 2, 2025
I loved this book, so poignant, so heartfelt. There’s a lump in my throat as I write this.
Sam, Katie, and Ned have been friends since childhood, all so different but so close. Katie loves them both, but she ends up marrying Ned. The two young men March off to war (WWI) and leave Katie behind. After a terrible incident and a huge injustice, Sam is sent to Newcastle in Northern Ireland to help men with catastrophic injuries to their faces incurred during the fighting. He is pursued by his demons his whole life, a gifted artist who sees things so deeply that he is willing to go to the firing squad for his friends.
Beautifully written, you really have to read this book.
Sam, Katie, and Ned have been friends since childhood, all so different but so close. Katie loves them both, but she ends up marrying Ned. The two young men March off to war (WWI) and leave Katie behind. After a terrible incident and a huge injustice, Sam is sent to Newcastle in Northern Ireland to help men with catastrophic injuries to their faces incurred during the fighting. He is pursued by his demons his whole life, a gifted artist who sees things so deeply that he is willing to go to the firing squad for his friends.
Beautifully written, you really have to read this book.
December 26, 2022
The book was disappointing and contained several glaring anachronisms, historical errors and Americanisms that didn’t fit the setting.
January 6, 2023
What a great book. It’s fiction (based on a true story thought) but made me want read non fiction on this subject. So many thoughts. I really should write a proper review soon.
July 17, 2023
This is a remarkable story. I do wish I had more time with some of the side characters.
May 10, 2022
This book captivated my senses. The writer really made me feel as though I were there in the castle with Sam and the soldiers. I'll admit it wasn't quite the ending I saw coming. But I admired how all lose ends were tied.
June 28, 2022
The Tin Nose Shop, by Don J Snyder, is a book about Sam Burke, an artist who went off to fight in WWI and was saved from the firing squad in order to make masks for those soldiers who were so disfigured in the shelling. But it is more than that--it is a study of the people who go off to war to prove to themselves and to others that they aren't cowards. It's about the ones who survived and were made to do awful things and watched as their friends were blown to bits in front of them, leaving them to quite literally--and gruesomely--pick up the pieces. It's about the women, who were pushed around and made to do things as though they have no agency or meaning other than the way they can serve and prove of use to men. The women who waited and wondered if their men would come home, and then had to live with it when they didn't--and sometimes worse, when they did and were but shells of their former selves.
The only downside really of the book for me was that the characters tended toward a sort of purple prose when they talked, and that they all, at times, said some philosophical, really poetical comments, which seemed not so realistic. Once the book got going, I didn't want to put it down until I finished, even if the ending came as a bit of a surprise.
Random thoughts: the bit near the end with Lansdale? Absolute GUTPUNCH. It just happened so quickly, without any preamble. Tying it into the TRUE story of what happened in the trench, where it was timid Sam who went ahead instead, while Ned remained behind, frightened, was a fantastic move.
Also the whole trajectory with Sam making a mask of Ned, like he's trying to pick up his role, to maybe just step into his shoes and take over his life, assume Ned's wife, take Ned's child--and then he dropped it into the ocean at the end. Moving on and making his own way in the world, even though he loved Ned and kept the secret of the true circumstances of his death just that--a secret.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The only downside really of the book for me was that the characters tended toward a sort of purple prose when they talked, and that they all, at times, said some philosophical, really poetical comments, which seemed not so realistic. Once the book got going, I didn't want to put it down until I finished, even if the ending came as a bit of a surprise.
Random thoughts: the bit near the end with Lansdale? Absolute GUTPUNCH. It just happened so quickly, without any preamble. Tying it into the TRUE story of what happened in the trench, where it was timid Sam who went ahead instead, while Ned remained behind, frightened, was a fantastic move.
Also the whole trajectory with Sam making a mask of Ned, like he's trying to pick up his role, to maybe just step into his shoes and take over his life, assume Ned's wife, take Ned's child--and then he dropped it into the ocean at the end. Moving on and making his own way in the world, even though he loved Ned and kept the secret of the true circumstances of his death just that--a secret.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 26, 2022
3.5 stars
I was a tad emotional by the end of this book.
I'd warmed to some of the characters so much.
For me, it felt like separate stories that I always knew where connected, until they did connect.
The story of the survivor, the one that went to war, the one left behind.
At times, the tin nose shop became very much secondary to the characters themselves, though it was interesting to see how this started.
A very enjoyable read.
I was a tad emotional by the end of this book.
I'd warmed to some of the characters so much.
For me, it felt like separate stories that I always knew where connected, until they did connect.
The story of the survivor, the one that went to war, the one left behind.
At times, the tin nose shop became very much secondary to the characters themselves, though it was interesting to see how this started.
A very enjoyable read.
May 9, 2022
Having previously learned about early attempts to help disfigured soldiers reenter “normal” society, I was greatly intrigued by this novel. There are a lot of dynamics packed into this quick, compelling read…and it packs a punch. War, trauma, friendship, honor, hope, love…you’ll find it all here.
July 26, 2022
To say that this book is about the way that soldiers in the First World War were offered reconstituted faces after suffering severe injuries would be far too simple. This is a book about the masks that people wear to disguise and put on a brave front when they are dealing with extreme emotions as well as the masks that were lovingly created for the facially injured. Apparently inspired by a true story, this recounts the experiences of Sam, an artist who was given a chance to make the first mask for a man who, it would seem, was confronted with another battle, to reintegrate with his life after a traumatic injury. Sam has fought his own battles - with a pre war love that could never be realised, a promise to care for a woman and child, and so much more.
The injuries caused by battle were not only the visible, physical ones; Sam’s experience has left him as damaged as any soldier who survived. This is a book of extremes covered gently but with persistence, of a man shaken to his core by battle, of a woman who will always wonder about her relationship, of those who suffered actual injuries,of a remarkable man who feels that his life has been a preparation for a trial of rebuilding men. There are many others who have not actually seen a trench, but have experienced the effects of war second hand, and that has profoundly affected them.
This is a novel which is overwhelmingly honest in how it deals with people’s most secret feelings. Sam finds himself in an Irish castle in 1916, wondering if he wants to stay there, or indeed stay alive. An artist, he has strong visual memories of his life before the War, of his best friend Ned, of Katie, who fell in love with each other before his eyes. Of a promise made to look after the headstrong, brave, vibrant Ned when they both joined up. Of a promise that of course he could never keep, especially in the nightmare of senseless, overwhelming battle. His memory of the injuries and extraordinary deaths he witnessed can bring him to his knees mentally. Worse of all, he was found guilty of cowardice by a military tribunal, sentenced to a death he would almost have welcomed. At the last minute he was taken from confinement, sent to an obscure place to perform miracles. He can immediately see the possibilities, feel and sense the materials he would use to conceal and grant a permanent “thoughtful” expression for a man unbearably altered. The hardest miracle may be to choose to survive himself.
This is a book that holds nothing back in describing the pain, guilt and search for a way through by Sam and others. Katie knows the real feeling of knowing her great love was threatened by war, but also by herself , her emotions that she cannot understand,cannot begin to explain. That there are times when she longed for Ned, but knew that things would change, whatever the outcome of War.
This is a book that is an experience to read, a profound novel of War and the damage it can do, from the front line soldier to those who wait at home, from an artist to a boy who delivers the letters that bring life transforming news. It goes without saying that it is incredibly well researched, but that it is taken to a further level, where people’s innermost feelings are exposed. It is not a huge read in terms of length, but in terms of what it conveyed to me as a reader it is enormous. I was so pleased to have the opportunity to read and review this book, and recommend it as an overwhelmingly vivid novel of the damage of war.
The injuries caused by battle were not only the visible, physical ones; Sam’s experience has left him as damaged as any soldier who survived. This is a book of extremes covered gently but with persistence, of a man shaken to his core by battle, of a woman who will always wonder about her relationship, of those who suffered actual injuries,of a remarkable man who feels that his life has been a preparation for a trial of rebuilding men. There are many others who have not actually seen a trench, but have experienced the effects of war second hand, and that has profoundly affected them.
This is a novel which is overwhelmingly honest in how it deals with people’s most secret feelings. Sam finds himself in an Irish castle in 1916, wondering if he wants to stay there, or indeed stay alive. An artist, he has strong visual memories of his life before the War, of his best friend Ned, of Katie, who fell in love with each other before his eyes. Of a promise made to look after the headstrong, brave, vibrant Ned when they both joined up. Of a promise that of course he could never keep, especially in the nightmare of senseless, overwhelming battle. His memory of the injuries and extraordinary deaths he witnessed can bring him to his knees mentally. Worse of all, he was found guilty of cowardice by a military tribunal, sentenced to a death he would almost have welcomed. At the last minute he was taken from confinement, sent to an obscure place to perform miracles. He can immediately see the possibilities, feel and sense the materials he would use to conceal and grant a permanent “thoughtful” expression for a man unbearably altered. The hardest miracle may be to choose to survive himself.
This is a book that holds nothing back in describing the pain, guilt and search for a way through by Sam and others. Katie knows the real feeling of knowing her great love was threatened by war, but also by herself , her emotions that she cannot understand,cannot begin to explain. That there are times when she longed for Ned, but knew that things would change, whatever the outcome of War.
This is a book that is an experience to read, a profound novel of War and the damage it can do, from the front line soldier to those who wait at home, from an artist to a boy who delivers the letters that bring life transforming news. It goes without saying that it is incredibly well researched, but that it is taken to a further level, where people’s innermost feelings are exposed. It is not a huge read in terms of length, but in terms of what it conveyed to me as a reader it is enormous. I was so pleased to have the opportunity to read and review this book, and recommend it as an overwhelmingly vivid novel of the damage of war.
September 10, 2022
Inspired by true events, but staged in Northen Ireland, Sam Burke has lived...only just...his first world war experience but is utterly broken by it. Narrowly avoiding the firing squad for cowardess, he is given the chance to use his artist skills in a new initiative to re-build physically disfigured soldiers.
At "The Tin Nose Shop" he would construct masks from tin, meticulously painting each one to match "before" photos, of his fellow soldiers, who have returned from the front horrifically disfigured. Basic surgery had done what it could for functionality, but there was no plastic surgery back then that made the asthetics any less grusome.
The idea was to give the men dignity, hiding their horrific injuries and making them look "normal" to the eyes of civilians. This in turn would give them confidence to integrate back into life after service. This did work for some......
Sadly some soldiers were unable to reach this place and I found the desire to kill themselves very upsetting but totally understandable given the horrors endured.
The belief that you must sacrifice yourself for your country and that there is no room for cowards, played the ultimate head game with soldiers, who then (if the survived) were expected to return to a world of self preservation....pick up where they left off, be confident, make a life. It must've been incredibly hard finding yourself again sufficiently to be able to make this work.
Sam takes a long time to even function at the most basic level upon his arrival at the castle where the Tin Nose Shop is under trial as a new imitiative. He carries demons and post traumatic stresses, particularly in regard to his best friend Ned who died beside him in the trenches.
Katie is the 3rd wheel in this childhood trio.....she loved both Sam and Ned as a youngster. But Sam and Ned were like chalk and cheese really in nature. Katie had married Ned; so the flip side of Sam's story is that of Katie awaiting the return of her loved one from war. After a sudden farewell, the grief of possibly never seeing a person again. How long can you, or, are you expected to wait...a life in limbo. And what/who will return to you? A physically or mentally broken shell of a person who you loved....still love?
Emotionally charged, I did skip over some long tracts of self reflection and inner thought.
And near the end started to suspect the truth of what happened in the trench between Ned and Sam. I loved this slow clarity, as it went hand in hand with Sam's painfully slow transformation out of the fog or self loathing and doubt.
A story of love...self love. The ability to love one's self again....from the inside, not the outside. To except the fate you were dealt and believe that all things will pass - or at least lessen. And realise life again can be happy.
Thought provoking, compassionate and telling a little know story of the post war experience.
Thanks to NetGalley, Don J Snyder and Legend Press for my free copy.
At "The Tin Nose Shop" he would construct masks from tin, meticulously painting each one to match "before" photos, of his fellow soldiers, who have returned from the front horrifically disfigured. Basic surgery had done what it could for functionality, but there was no plastic surgery back then that made the asthetics any less grusome.
The idea was to give the men dignity, hiding their horrific injuries and making them look "normal" to the eyes of civilians. This in turn would give them confidence to integrate back into life after service. This did work for some......
Sadly some soldiers were unable to reach this place and I found the desire to kill themselves very upsetting but totally understandable given the horrors endured.
The belief that you must sacrifice yourself for your country and that there is no room for cowards, played the ultimate head game with soldiers, who then (if the survived) were expected to return to a world of self preservation....pick up where they left off, be confident, make a life. It must've been incredibly hard finding yourself again sufficiently to be able to make this work.
Sam takes a long time to even function at the most basic level upon his arrival at the castle where the Tin Nose Shop is under trial as a new imitiative. He carries demons and post traumatic stresses, particularly in regard to his best friend Ned who died beside him in the trenches.
Katie is the 3rd wheel in this childhood trio.....she loved both Sam and Ned as a youngster. But Sam and Ned were like chalk and cheese really in nature. Katie had married Ned; so the flip side of Sam's story is that of Katie awaiting the return of her loved one from war. After a sudden farewell, the grief of possibly never seeing a person again. How long can you, or, are you expected to wait...a life in limbo. And what/who will return to you? A physically or mentally broken shell of a person who you loved....still love?
Emotionally charged, I did skip over some long tracts of self reflection and inner thought.
And near the end started to suspect the truth of what happened in the trench between Ned and Sam. I loved this slow clarity, as it went hand in hand with Sam's painfully slow transformation out of the fog or self loathing and doubt.
A story of love...self love. The ability to love one's self again....from the inside, not the outside. To except the fate you were dealt and believe that all things will pass - or at least lessen. And realise life again can be happy.
Thought provoking, compassionate and telling a little know story of the post war experience.
Thanks to NetGalley, Don J Snyder and Legend Press for my free copy.
July 18, 2022
I am drawn to books set in the First World War and in particular books which look at what life was like for those left waiting at home or what happened to the military personnel when they came home. This book includes both these aspects. I was very vaguely aware that some men had masks made for them to cover facial injuries but didn’t really know much about that, so I was interested in finding out more about the work of the so-called ‘tin nose shop’.
The Tin Nose Shop is a hugely compelling novel looking at a little known aspect of the First World War. That war was maybe the first time that men were so terribly wounded because of the type of weapons used. Most people know about life in the trenches and the huge loss of life in WW1 which feature quite often in fiction. There’s perhaps not so much known about those who were physically or mentally damaged as a result of the fighting. As one of the characters comments, “… there are far worse things than being killed in war.”
Artist Sam Burke expected to be shot for cowardice but instead finds himself creating detailed metal masks for soldiers whose faces had been horribly disfigured in battle. He has his own demons to face, clearly has ‘shell shock’ or what we would call PTSD nowadays and when we read about his experiences, it’s hardly a surprise.
As well as following Sam in his work, we also read about his friend Ned’s wife Katie, struggling to cope with a new baby and a husband away fighting, not knowing if he is alive or dead. Then there’s Lily, who survived the sinking of the Lusitania and who has a connection to the Easter Rising in 1916. We also get to know some of the soldiers living in the castle, waiting for the masks that might enable them to go back to their loved ones. Were the masks to help the soldiers hide behind them or to hide the truth about war from others? We all, to a certain extent, have masks we hide behind. The author writes so well about grief, guilt and depression. That perhaps makes this sound like a rather dark book and while it’s true that many of the characters experience dark moments, it’s not a bleak book. Instead there are moments of light and hope.
Sam’s work involved using a photo of the injured soldier to create as realistic a mask as possible for the soldiers. This was inspired by the work of Francis Derwent Wood among others. The photo on the front cover, rather poignantly, is the great uncle of the book’s editor Cari Rosen.
The Tin Nose Shop is a powerful and moving testament to the horrors of war, the lies we tell other people out of love and the resilience of the human spirit. It’s beautifully written, impeccably researched historical fiction, one of my books of the year.
The Tin Nose Shop is a hugely compelling novel looking at a little known aspect of the First World War. That war was maybe the first time that men were so terribly wounded because of the type of weapons used. Most people know about life in the trenches and the huge loss of life in WW1 which feature quite often in fiction. There’s perhaps not so much known about those who were physically or mentally damaged as a result of the fighting. As one of the characters comments, “… there are far worse things than being killed in war.”
Artist Sam Burke expected to be shot for cowardice but instead finds himself creating detailed metal masks for soldiers whose faces had been horribly disfigured in battle. He has his own demons to face, clearly has ‘shell shock’ or what we would call PTSD nowadays and when we read about his experiences, it’s hardly a surprise.
As well as following Sam in his work, we also read about his friend Ned’s wife Katie, struggling to cope with a new baby and a husband away fighting, not knowing if he is alive or dead. Then there’s Lily, who survived the sinking of the Lusitania and who has a connection to the Easter Rising in 1916. We also get to know some of the soldiers living in the castle, waiting for the masks that might enable them to go back to their loved ones. Were the masks to help the soldiers hide behind them or to hide the truth about war from others? We all, to a certain extent, have masks we hide behind. The author writes so well about grief, guilt and depression. That perhaps makes this sound like a rather dark book and while it’s true that many of the characters experience dark moments, it’s not a bleak book. Instead there are moments of light and hope.
Sam’s work involved using a photo of the injured soldier to create as realistic a mask as possible for the soldiers. This was inspired by the work of Francis Derwent Wood among others. The photo on the front cover, rather poignantly, is the great uncle of the book’s editor Cari Rosen.
The Tin Nose Shop is a powerful and moving testament to the horrors of war, the lies we tell other people out of love and the resilience of the human spirit. It’s beautifully written, impeccably researched historical fiction, one of my books of the year.
March 21, 2025
This book was a gift from some friends, and like all good gifts, it’s something I’d never have chosen for myself: with occasional exceptions, I tend not to read books about wars. This novel is set in Newcastle in County Down, during the First World War. It is a fictionalised portrayal of an army unit set up to manufacture lifelike masks for soldiers who had suffered facial injuries during the war. It became known as ‘the tin nose shop’.
A novel about a British army unit stationed in Northern Ireland is not an obvious choice of subject for an American author, and it felt a little tonally off, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. It’s really a book about post-traumatic stress disorder and the horror of war, and Snyder leans in heavily to the obvious allegory of a mask of normality hiding life-changing wounds.
Before reading this book, I had no idea about the historical existence of the ‘tin nose shop’. The venue on which the one in the book is based was actually located in London; Snyder’s introduction talks about relocating it to Northern Ireland after he holidayed there. I’m not sure if this was the right decision: the inevitable inclusion of the Easter Rising felt like an unnecessary additional complication to the plot. It worked for me, though: the imagery was lent a poignant vivacity by my previous visits to the town.
Without wanting to spoil anything, I was also surprised and pleased by the ending. I wasn’t surprised by the revelations at the end of the book, but I was surprised and moved by how they played out.
This isn’t the sort of thing that I’d normally read, but I enjoyed it nevertheless.
A novel about a British army unit stationed in Northern Ireland is not an obvious choice of subject for an American author, and it felt a little tonally off, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. It’s really a book about post-traumatic stress disorder and the horror of war, and Snyder leans in heavily to the obvious allegory of a mask of normality hiding life-changing wounds.
Before reading this book, I had no idea about the historical existence of the ‘tin nose shop’. The venue on which the one in the book is based was actually located in London; Snyder’s introduction talks about relocating it to Northern Ireland after he holidayed there. I’m not sure if this was the right decision: the inevitable inclusion of the Easter Rising felt like an unnecessary additional complication to the plot. It worked for me, though: the imagery was lent a poignant vivacity by my previous visits to the town.
Without wanting to spoil anything, I was also surprised and pleased by the ending. I wasn’t surprised by the revelations at the end of the book, but I was surprised and moved by how they played out.
This isn’t the sort of thing that I’d normally read, but I enjoyed it nevertheless.
April 17, 2023
This is a subject that I find fascinating - I first heard about this when I read #Regeneration by Pat Barker.
This is the practice where soldiers who suffered severe facial injuries in the First World War were provided with masks, made especially for each individual soldier, so that they could re-integrate into society without frightening people.
This is a fictionalised version of how this service was created and provided. Three childhood friends, Katie, Ned and Sam. Sam is a talented artist. Ned is fun of bravado. Ned and Sam sign up in 1914, and leave behind Katie and her two week old daughter, Charlotte. Ned and Katie had married.
Sam survives. Ned does not. And Sam has to live with the guilt of the survivor and struggles with psychological and physical impact of his experiences. He is moved to the North of Ireland, under the care of Oliver, a pastor who fought in the Boer war. The ambition - to help those with severe facial disfigurements.
Science is amazing, and this story, albeit fictionalised, is extraordinary.
Not the best written book, the story is grand, but the nuances and observations are intriguing and humbling.
This is the practice where soldiers who suffered severe facial injuries in the First World War were provided with masks, made especially for each individual soldier, so that they could re-integrate into society without frightening people.
This is a fictionalised version of how this service was created and provided. Three childhood friends, Katie, Ned and Sam. Sam is a talented artist. Ned is fun of bravado. Ned and Sam sign up in 1914, and leave behind Katie and her two week old daughter, Charlotte. Ned and Katie had married.
Sam survives. Ned does not. And Sam has to live with the guilt of the survivor and struggles with psychological and physical impact of his experiences. He is moved to the North of Ireland, under the care of Oliver, a pastor who fought in the Boer war. The ambition - to help those with severe facial disfigurements.
Science is amazing, and this story, albeit fictionalised, is extraordinary.
Not the best written book, the story is grand, but the nuances and observations are intriguing and humbling.
July 18, 2022
This heartbreaking tale of the horrors of the Great War and its lasting impact on families is a must-read for anyone interested in seldom-told historical tales and ordinary heroes.
In observant prose, we are introduced to Sam Burke, an artist-turned-soldier who returns from war to help create masks for facially-disfigured veterans. The key historical events of the era and their impact on a range of communities are explored in the background of Sam's life, and in the lives of the other central characters. However, what really comes to the fore in this tale is how people's opinions were forever shifted when it came to relationships, friendships and patriotism.
At its heart, this is a story about learning from the past so as not to repeat it, and about finding little pockets of dignity and hope, even in a world torn apart by brutality. Some of the descriptions are quite graphic, to better show how traumatic the experience of war was for so many people, so I would brace yourself if scenes like that shock you, but don't be dissuaded - this is a very important read with a powerful message about the endurance of humanity.
Thank you to Legends Press and Don J Snyder for my copy in exchange for an honest review.
In observant prose, we are introduced to Sam Burke, an artist-turned-soldier who returns from war to help create masks for facially-disfigured veterans. The key historical events of the era and their impact on a range of communities are explored in the background of Sam's life, and in the lives of the other central characters. However, what really comes to the fore in this tale is how people's opinions were forever shifted when it came to relationships, friendships and patriotism.
At its heart, this is a story about learning from the past so as not to repeat it, and about finding little pockets of dignity and hope, even in a world torn apart by brutality. Some of the descriptions are quite graphic, to better show how traumatic the experience of war was for so many people, so I would brace yourself if scenes like that shock you, but don't be dissuaded - this is a very important read with a powerful message about the endurance of humanity.
Thank you to Legends Press and Don J Snyder for my copy in exchange for an honest review.
March 20, 2024
Snyder is an American journalist, whose debut established a wrongly convicted soldier's innocence. The germ of this novel came to him in Ireland after the Troubles. A bartender pointed out 3 men who wore masks for terrorist injuries rather than have plastic surgery. Snyder found that Francis Wood, a British sculptor, had set up the first Tin Nose Shop during the Great War. Subsumed into St Mary’s Sidcup, this was where the father of plastic surgery, Harold Gillies, performed over 11,000 operations.
This is an absorbing historical novel about three childhood friends, Katie, Sam and Ned. While Katie felt closest to Sam, she married Ned and they had a daughter. Sam trained as a sculptor at the Royal Academy but he and Ned joined the same battalion. After Ned is killed in the trenches, Sam is wrongly convicted of cowardice and only saved from the firing squad to make tin masks. The novel was let down by poor editing: the style was occasionally amateurish, the sex sentimentalised and the narrative dragged in places, but its theme carried it: the inspiration of lives reconstructed.
This is an absorbing historical novel about three childhood friends, Katie, Sam and Ned. While Katie felt closest to Sam, she married Ned and they had a daughter. Sam trained as a sculptor at the Royal Academy but he and Ned joined the same battalion. After Ned is killed in the trenches, Sam is wrongly convicted of cowardice and only saved from the firing squad to make tin masks. The novel was let down by poor editing: the style was occasionally amateurish, the sex sentimentalised and the narrative dragged in places, but its theme carried it: the inspiration of lives reconstructed.
September 12, 2022
How I loved this book! The writing was magnificent ; at times the prose almost read as pure poetry. The subject of the book was something that I knew a bit about. A TV series in the US, Boardwalk Empire, had a character that wore a mask after he became disfigured in WW!.
Sam was such a noble character and I truly felt his heartache. The PTSD that he and his comrades suffered from was only understood by few. His boss, the chaplain named Oliver, truly helped him work through this as the chaplain had after the Boar War in Africa.
I loved the different perspectives in this novel as well. Katie and her anger at men and their compulsion to sign up to serve their country struck a nerve that many can identify with; especially her reasoning that the dead soldiers should be returned to their mothers as opposed to their wives.
Thank you for letting me be a part of Sam's journey to redemption!
Sam was such a noble character and I truly felt his heartache. The PTSD that he and his comrades suffered from was only understood by few. His boss, the chaplain named Oliver, truly helped him work through this as the chaplain had after the Boar War in Africa.
I loved the different perspectives in this novel as well. Katie and her anger at men and their compulsion to sign up to serve their country struck a nerve that many can identify with; especially her reasoning that the dead soldiers should be returned to their mothers as opposed to their wives.
Thank you for letting me be a part of Sam's journey to redemption!
May 1, 2023
Haunting and evocative descriptions of a man navigating grief, loss, regret, love, and the after effects of PTSD, during WWI.
Ned and Sam, boyhood friends, enlist and head to France together leaving Katie (Ned's wife, even though perhaps she should have married Sam), and her two-week-old daughter, to wait interminably for news.
Sam's secrets torment him, even as he is saved from the firing squad to put his artistic talents to use in Ireland, where he begins to make masks ('we all wear masks') for men disfigured by the slaughter of warfare. Everyone has a story; everyone has secrets; everyone is contending with their personal demons.
A heart-breaking exposé of the futility of war (as if we didn't already know it from a thousand accounts), and an insight into the multitudinous paths that might mark a journey back to life encompassing anger, acceptance, forgiveness and the ordinary things that give broken people hope.
Ned and Sam, boyhood friends, enlist and head to France together leaving Katie (Ned's wife, even though perhaps she should have married Sam), and her two-week-old daughter, to wait interminably for news.
Sam's secrets torment him, even as he is saved from the firing squad to put his artistic talents to use in Ireland, where he begins to make masks ('we all wear masks') for men disfigured by the slaughter of warfare. Everyone has a story; everyone has secrets; everyone is contending with their personal demons.
A heart-breaking exposé of the futility of war (as if we didn't already know it from a thousand accounts), and an insight into the multitudinous paths that might mark a journey back to life encompassing anger, acceptance, forgiveness and the ordinary things that give broken people hope.
June 27, 2022
Review of The Tin Nose Shop by Don J. Snyder
The narrative based on an extraordinary true story of the masks made by artists for soldiers whose faces were destroyed in war, is amazing in itself. But the writing makes you live this time, this place, the horror of war, the moments of joy between, these people who play their part in the scramble to survive, to attempt to return to the life they had.
The author peels the skin back of character so you not only feel you are them but you ache, laugh, love and cry as them. The characters, Sam, Oliver, Katie, Lily are mesmorising, the plot and pace sweeps you into this world and leaves you breathless. Absolutely loved this book and will search out other books but this author.
Sue Reynolds, suereynoldswriter@gmail.com
Australia
The narrative based on an extraordinary true story of the masks made by artists for soldiers whose faces were destroyed in war, is amazing in itself. But the writing makes you live this time, this place, the horror of war, the moments of joy between, these people who play their part in the scramble to survive, to attempt to return to the life they had.
The author peels the skin back of character so you not only feel you are them but you ache, laugh, love and cry as them. The characters, Sam, Oliver, Katie, Lily are mesmorising, the plot and pace sweeps you into this world and leaves you breathless. Absolutely loved this book and will search out other books but this author.
Sue Reynolds, suereynoldswriter@gmail.com
Australia
July 12, 2022
What a well researched and emotional story inspired by real life events. I found the book beautiful, even though there are quite graphic descriptions and the nature of the story is harrowing.
I thought it was written with real sensitivity and it’s an area of the impact of the war which is much less known about, we all know of the loss of limbs thousands of soldiers experienced and I am so glad I was included in the blog tour for this one, it was wonderful to read.
A beautifully written book which is both thoughtful and inspiring. I would undoubtedly recommend to anyone who loves historical fiction.
I thought it was written with real sensitivity and it’s an area of the impact of the war which is much less known about, we all know of the loss of limbs thousands of soldiers experienced and I am so glad I was included in the blog tour for this one, it was wonderful to read.
A beautifully written book which is both thoughtful and inspiring. I would undoubtedly recommend to anyone who loves historical fiction.
May 6, 2023
I can highly highly recommend it!!! It’s pretty harrowing but also beautifully sensitively written… Set in WW1, ostensibly set in a place where disfigured soldiers are sent to recover and to get their ‘masks’ that they wear to hide their facial injuries - in the years before plastic surgery and facial reconstruction was available this was what they did to help the soldiers re-intergrate into their post war lives. But there’s more here - friendship, bravery, sorrow. It’s not shy of describing the absolute harrows of the trenches and also what ‘cowardice’ was considered to be - which of course we now know was extreme terror, trauma, etc…
March 23, 2024
I got this book through my local library's 'Blind Date with a Book' for Valentine's Day. It is a genre that I wouldn't normally read. And I also don't normally read books by male authors. This book was a really interesting story, but I found it hard to wade through, as I found it overly verbose. The characters and the storyline were fascinating, but the author just weighed down the story with unnecessary verbiage!! I am glad I read the book, as I'd have never known about the Tin Nose Shop otherwise. I definitely won't be reading any more of Mr Snyder's books, and this book hasn't exactly changed my habit of not reading male authors.
July 25, 2022
I have read previous books on the making of masks for disfigured soldiers in WWI so I was anxious to read this book. This story involves a young artist who has gone to war with his best friend. After his friend is killed , he attempts suicide. But instead of being shot to death for being a coward, he is sent to Northern Ireland to design and make masks for injured soldiers. The book focuses more on the people in his past and those he meets at the hospital. I would have liked more stories on the injured soldiers. However I did enjoy it and will recommend.
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