The Long, Long Trail 1917

War at Home #4

by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

In 1917 the Great War rages on, and for the Hunters, their friends and their servants the war is where they live now.David has returned from the Front a shadow of his former self; his sister Diana, newly married, copes with pregnancy alone, her husband at the Front. Aunt Laura, eager for challenge, goes to France with an ambulance; while Beattie struggles to manage war work and household, while racked with her secret guilt and a new threat of exposure.U-boat attacks face Britain with starvation, and with the worsening privation comes a new horror as Germany begins a lethal bombing campaign. But even in the darkest hours of war, new life and new hope can burgeon, with the promise that the future might still hold happiness for them all.The Long, Long Trail is the fourth book in the War at Home series by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, author of the much-loved Morland Dynasty novels. Set against the real events of 1917, at home and on the front, this is a vivid and rich family drama featuring the Hunter family and their servants.

Genres: Historical Fiction, World War I, Historical, Fiction, Romance, British Literature

400 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 15, 2017

About the author

Cynthia Harrod-Eagles (aka Emma Woodhouse, Elizabeth Bennett)

Cynthia Harrod-Eagles was born on 13 August 1948 in Shepherd's Bush, London, England, where was educated at Burlington School, a girls' charity school founded in 1699, and at the University of Edinburgh and University College London, where she studied English, history and philosophy.

She had a variety of jobs in the commercial world, starting as a junior cashier at Woolworth's and working her way down to Pensions Officer at the BBC.

She wrote her first novel while at university and in 1972 won the Young Writers' Award with The Waiting Game. The birth of the MORLAND DYNASTY series enabled Cynthia Harrod-Eagles to become a full-time writer in 1979. The series was originally intended to comprise twelve volumes, but it has proved so popular that it has now been extended to thirty-four.

In 1993 she won the Romantic Novelists' Association Romantic Novel of the Year Award with Emily, the third volume of her Kirov Saga, a trilogy set in nineteenth century Russia.

Reviews

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm loving this series. I always find it takes time to get into the next in a series when it's been some time since I read the last. Not with this one, after a couple of pages it was like I'd read the previous one last week.
It was great to meet the Hunter family again to travel along with them in their latest ups and downs. We get some descriptions of battles but this is a book about the Home Front and how people coped, the Family upstairs and the servants below. Looking forward to the next one.

19/4/2025
Just as enjoyable as last time! Sadie is still my favourite character. Beattie has a massive secret and it's causing her a lot of heartache. I didn't have much sympathy with her. She has an almost unhealthy love for her eldest son. There is a reason but she lets it overshadow her feelings for her other children.
Diana is still sailing along in her own little world and it's almost as if the war hasn't touched her. On to the next one.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

As my friend Lisa said, it’s hard to resist getting completely caught up into the story of the Hunter family, their servants, and all those connected with them. I really enjoyed this entry in the series. The relationships continue to be complex, sometimes in a perilous way, but there are lots of sweet and caring moments between characters too. I particularly loved a moment between father Edward Hunter and his son William. Lots more that could be said! Can’t wait to buddy read the last two in the series with Lisa!

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm loving this series. I always find it takes time to get into the next in a series when it's been some time since I read the last. Not with this one, after a couple of pages it was like I'd read the previous one last week.
It was great to meet the Hunter family again to travel along with them in their latest ups and downs. We get some descriptions of battles but this is a book about the Home Front and how people coped, the Family upstairs and the servants below. Looking forward to the next one.

[KOMET · Rating 5 out of 5]

The novel begins on Christmas Day, 1916 and then quickly progresses into 1917. The war for the Hunter Family and its servants, as well as for Britain, has become all-consuming. No-one, not a corner of the country has been left untouched by the war's effects, both direct and indirect. Starvation looms as a distinct possibility in Britain as Germany's campaign of unrestricted submarine warfare (resumed in February) threatens to put a firm stranglehold on it, and cut the country off from its vital sea lanes that keep the nation supplied with the essential foodstuffs and materials with which to continue the fight.

As for the Hunters, Diana the eldest daughter married to the sly, witty and irrepressible dandy Rupert (Lord Dene) is now with child. David, the eldest, is home permanently from France, where he sustained a serious wound to his leg (which he came close to losing) and is in a deep funk. He has been invalided from the Army and is at a loss as to what the future might hold for him. Sadie, the other daughter, continues to work at Highclere, helping to break-in and train horses for the Army in France. The other 2 children in the family (William, 17, and Peter, 11) are also, in their respective ways, changing because of the war.

There is so much more I would love to say. But that would be giving away much too much of what is a gripping, emotional roller-coaster ride of a novel. I became fully invested in the lives of many of its characters, several of whom suffer tragedy and heartache -- as well as love.

I've been a fan of Cynthia Harrod-Eagles as a writer for close to 15 years. She never disappoints. And now that I've finished reading "THE LONG, LONG TRAIL, 1917", I'm going to take a short break before plunging into the next novel in the series.

Reading this, the fourth novel in the 'War at Home' series, has given me a keen appreciation of how the First World War impacted every strata of British society, not just those who served on active service on the various fighting fronts.

[CLM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the tragedies of World War I that affect the Hunter family, this series is more relaxed than CHE's darker Morland saga and continues to be very enjoyable. Glad in this entry that Cook finds a beau!

[Helen Geng · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read Dec 2021

NYPL book

[Alexa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tore through this one as well! Don't you love it when you find a book you love, and it turns out to be part of a series? Book #4, not meant to be read alone, start with book 1 as the series is essentially one long story.

[Mary Foust · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story was okay. Not much action, kind of just a diary-like read documenting the often mundane month-to-month activities in the lives of the characters. My real criticism is I felt a bit bombarded with characters and had to play who's who. I had to keep going back to the front of the book to see the genealogy line because the characters were introduced by name and not by anything else. For example, halfway through the book, enter for the first time the character, Anaeas, and it caught me off guard because there was no introduction to who this person was. Made me feel like I missed something and I had to flip back through pages to see if I missed the name, and then when I saw that I didn't, I had to flip back to the front to see the family line and find out that he was the brother-in-law of the family patriarch. There was no real main character to follow, the head-bopping was annoying because it made it hard to figure out from whose point of view the part of the story was being told. Also, there was more telling than showing. So and so was worried. So and so was happy. So and so was sad.

All in all, not my favorite historical fiction, but it's not the worst one I read, not by a long shot. And perhaps I just didn't follow it well because I didn't realize it's part of a series. Maybe the earlier books had these people better introduced and would have allowed me to get at least a hint of who these people were, instead of BAM, character name.

[David Pearce · Rating 5 out of 5]

As this series of books draws towards its inevitable close in 1918, the background information remains fascinating and the storytelling remains assured. What has improved, from an already very high level, is the characterisation. None of these characters is a cypher, not even amongst the servants. Every single one of them have developed over the course of the four books, some as a result of growing up but most as a result of their experiences. The changes are totally consistent with what we know about them even if they may seem extreme at first, with perhaps one exception. I can't quite believe the change in Rupert, which seems too good to be true, although there is still one book to go! I have enjoyed getting to know the family and their servants and will miss them when they've finished the war. Perhaps Harrod-Eagles could write a continuation of their story set in the social and political upheavals of the 1920s and 30s. We can but hope.

[Bjipson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 1917 book of this series -- still Downtown Abbey in book form. Fun reading, if not exactly earth-shattering.

[John Hardy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read a number of this author's Slider series, and thought them mostly good. This is the first of her many historical fiction novels I have read. It's a large step away from my usual preferred genres. I was sufficiently impressed to order the earlier books in this series, which luckily are available in the library system. Although certainly there are issues I didn't like, I enjoyed the book all through its nearly 400 pages, and for me, that's really saying something.
This is a family saga woven into a real historical context. Real historical people appear, but remember, the work is fiction. The effects of the Great War are felt by the two central families. There are deaths, terrible injuries, and for the females, jobs which would never before have been considered. We see the various effects of the war on ordinary, and even extraordinary, people through the lives of the family members. There are romances and affairs, not all credible, but hey - there was a war on. I thought it was very well done. Family saga / romance is definitely not my usual choice of reading, for sure - absolutely. Beattie is a real piece of work, someone I love to hate. Her husband, David, seems to be a grey man. There is a cast of thousands, and I often referred back to the family tree in the start of the book until I got the hang of it. Usually that would be a solid mark-down, but not in this case.
I developed a new respect for Cynthia Harrod-Eagles having read this story. It wasn't the best idea to start at #4, but that's what was on the shelf. If possible, I'd recommend others to start at #1 in this series. That's where I'm going next.
Rating 4.1.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diana is now married but Rupert at times still appears to be a mystery. She's pregnant which delights both her and Rupert. He hopes their child will be a boy so he can leave an heir to the family estate. He's not fighting at the front but is involved with a military assignment that keeps him in England.
David, the eldest has returned home but with his leg so badly injured, he has been discharged from the army. He is withdrawn and no one knows how to bring him out of his depression.

Beattie still continues to pine for Louis and her husband Edward feels the gap between them widening. He has no idea of her secret. He is involved with several assignments with the military while still working at the bank.

Sadie starts going out with several men she is in contact with both at the farm where she helps train horses for the front and with acquaintances of her fathers.

Ethel, one of the servants continues with her cranky disposition even though Frank, the gardener at a nearby estate tells her repeatedly he intends to marry her.

I can't help but continually be drawn into this family and this series. I love how the author has included many historical facts in her books. Eagerly awaiting the next in the series.

[gardienne_du_feu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es ist 1917, der Krieg geht ins vierte Jahr und alle sind auch an der Heimatfront der Kämpfe, der Entbehrungen und der schlechten Nachrichten müde, so auch die Hunters, von deren einst so ruhigem und beschaulichem Leben nicht mehr viel übrig ist.

David ist mit einer schweren Beinverletzung nach Hause zurückgekehrt und bleibt nicht nur deshalb permanent in seinem Zimmer, weil ihm das Treppensteigen schwer fällt. Seine Schwester Diana erwartet ihr erstes Kind, die Freude ist aber nicht ungetrübt, weil sie es ihrer adeligen Schwiegermutter einfach nie recht machen kann und diese sich in alles einmischt. Sadie arbeitet nach wie vor mit Militärpferden und versucht damit klarzukommen, dass sie, inzwischen achtzehn, für ein paar ihrer jungen männlichen Kollegen auf einmal nicht mehr bloß der Kumpel ist.

Zwischen den Eltern Edward und Beatrice steht es nach wie vor nicht zum besten. Beide haben so ihre Geheimnisse voreinander, und Mutter Beatrice muss fürchten, dass das ihre unverhofft ans Licht kommt. Edwards Schwester Laura geht als Krankenwagenfahrerin mitten ins Kampfgebiet, eine harte, aufwühlende Aufgabe, die sie nicht nur körperlich und mental an ihre Grenzen bringt, sondern auch ihre Beziehung auf eine Probe stellt.

Doch auch in England lässt sich der Krieg beim besten Willen nicht mehr in den Hintergrund drängen. Es kommt zu Luftangriffen auf Küstenstädte, bei denen Tote und Verletzte unter der Zivilbevölkerung zu beklagen sind, kriegswichtige Industrie hat Vorrang vor allem und aufgrund der großen Nahrungsmittelknappheit werden herrschaftliche Prachtgärten zu Gemüsefeldern umgegraben.

Im 4. Band der Reihe "War at Home" setzt sich das bewährte Strickmuster fort und das nunmehr vierte Jahr des Krieges wird in chronologischer Form am Beispiel der Familie Hunter und ihrer Bediensteten abgearbeitet. Durch die Fülle an Figuren und deren jeweiliger Lebensumstände werden zahlreiche Aspekte des Jahres 1917 angesprochen, gleichzeitig entsteht aber durch die relative Kürze des Buches keine richtig enge Bindung an die Charaktere. Man nimmt zwar Anteil an ihren Schicksalen, sie sind aber weit weniger ausgereift dargestellt als in Harrod-Eagles' Mammut-Serie "Morland Dynasty" und es fehlt ihnen ein bisschen an Tiefe.

Als unterhaltsam-lehrreicher Einstieg in jene Zeit gut zu lesen, aber vieles kratzt dann doch eher an der Oberfläche.

[Cheryle · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1917 the Great War rages on, and for the Hunters, their friends and their servants the war is where they live now.

David has returned from the Front a shadow of his former self; his sister Diana, newly married, copes with pregnancy alone, her husband at the Front. Aunt Laura, eager for challenge, goes to France with an ambulance; while Beattie struggles to manage war work and household, while racked with her secret guilt and a new threat of exposure.

U-boat attacks face Britain with starvation, and with the worsening privation comes a new horror as Germany begins a lethal bombing campaign. But even in the darkest hours of war, new life and new hope can burgeon, with the promise that the future might still hold happiness for them all.

The Long, Long Trail is the fourth book in the War at Home series by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, author of the much-loved Morland Dynasty novels. Set against the real events of 1917, at home and on the front, this is a vivid and rich family drama featuring the Hunter family and their servants.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cynthia Harrod-Eagles has written a zillion books, all of them well-written, absorbing novels,set in the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries. Her characters are convincingly lifelife, her settings beautifully done, her plots well-plotted, with just the right amount of cosy mixed with angst, surprise, and all the things that keep one reading. I don't know when she has time to sleep or pursue her passions of the English countryside, wine, and architecture. Whew! I want to be her friend. This was another great installment in the War at Home series, set during the Great War (WWI for Americans). It's the second to last in this series, and I am both looking forward to the last one and sorry that it will end. Fortunately, there is a long series I have not read, and she continues to write. If you enjoy a really good novel, read these. In order is best.

[Rhona Connor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good book.

This is the continuing story of the Hunter family during WWI. Their friends, expanded family, servants, and not only war, but secrets.
Not spy secrets but secrets that could break families up.
Beattie is continuing her liason with Louis. However Rupert has decided to be "good".
Laura is still in France and driving an ambulance and meeting new people.
Sadie continues her work at Highclere and is romanced by two men but doesn't want them to be anything but friends.
Do I like the book? Yes. Do I recommend the book? Yes. But advise you read the previous 3 beforehand. If you've read Cynthia's previous books you know how well she writes and how well you'll involve yourself in the book. Looking forward to the next book.

[Helenk · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Great War Advances into 1917. The Hunter family and their servants have all been affected. Starvation and hardships loom now that the Germans can use submarine warfare to cut off necessary food supplies and other materials. The family is all involved either in the war effort or suffering with injuries. A very poignant detail of the rains on the front where there is difficulty in getting the soldiers back behind the lines. The horses are stuck chest high in the mud with no way to extricate them. The describe the anguish their masters are enduring with them. I firmly suggest you read these books in order. And if you are a fan of Downton Abbey you will enjoy this series.

[Vivien FitzGerald-Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful saga of wartime England.

Well researched and written with style and understanding. Gives interesting insight into the period of World War 1. The characters are developed in a consistent way through the series and by Book four seem like old friends. The writing gives a genuine sense of the weariness engendered by the long, exhausting war and its effects on the civilian population of England. The food and fuel shortages are endured with stoicism.
Nailer, the dog is an ingenious device which the author uses to good effect.

[Beata Dobrogoszcz · Rating 5 out of 5]

4th part in the series and I am amazed how good it is. The story is consistent, well written, none of the characters forgotten. I finished it and I am already impatient when the next part will be coming. Reading it I am leaving in the time with all the characters. I worry about everyone and I want to see what will happen with them in 1918. I want to see how they manage the changes coming after the war. Really looking forward to the 5th part.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful continuation of the story of the British Hunter family, an upper middle class family who has run full blown into World War I! This is the 4th book of the War at Home Series written by this great author. I encourage all to read it. For me, usually a year or so go by between books and I can remember and connect all the dots! But it's probably better to read them with less of a time line in between. Can hardly wait for the next installment.

[Tkjtwmr · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was so looking forward to reading this book--and I did enjoy it and the history it represented. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a series and I think it would have been more enjoyable, informative and easier to follow if one reads the books in order. I kept having to refer to the family tree in the front and even then could not keep some of the "non-family" characters straight. A few seemed to come out of left field but I am sure they were more developed in early books.

[Violet · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this author a couple of years ago and really liked the subject of England during WWI. However, I am disappointed in this one. I don't remember what went on in the prior books and this one just seems to pick up like we should know all of the many characters. That's also the way it ends ... more to come.

[Beth Everett · Rating 5 out of 5]

War at Home Series

This is an excellent series set in England during World War I . It has accurate historic details about the war and that time period. The characters are interesting and believable. The characters span all of the social levels. I am greatly enjoying this series.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another interesting story about the extended Hunter family during the Great War, reflecting the combat fatigue felt by the population at home. While the novel had several high points, including the first Gotha raids on the South coast, the last chapters seem to run down the tension instead of ramp it up.

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably 3.5 stars. Excellent story about the effect of the First World War on those left at home. It focuses mainly on the Hunter family, their servants, neighbors, friends, and relatives. The war affects different classes differently. But as food shortages loom, production must somehow be ramped up. Although I enjoyed the book, I felt a certain distance from the characters.

[A T Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audible narration and kindle

Great stories. Shame they got more costly with each book. Lats paragraph cuts off without completing on audible narration. Will there be a 1918 edition?

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have really enjoyed this series and I'm looking forward to the next one. I'm interested in the 'below stairs' staff and how they were treated, even by good employers, very patronising and more than a bit of hypocrisy going on!!

[Cathy Biggers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awaiting the next chapter in the story of the Hunter family, their servants, and the others involved in this series from Ms. Harrod-Eagles. Hope the wait will be a short one as my interest is piqued the further along the storyline she takes us.

[Randi Daeger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am hoping for at least one more book in this series. I have enjoyed every minute spent with these people.