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When I Come Home Again
How can you know who you are, when you choose to forget who you’ve been?
November 1918. On the cusp of the end of the First World War, a uniformed soldier is arrested in Durham Cathedral. It quickly becomes clear that he has no memory of who he is or how he came to be there.
The soldier is given the name Adam and transferred to a rehabilitation home where his doctor James tries everything he can to help Adam remember who he once was. There’s just one problem. Adam doesn’t want to remember.
Unwilling to relive the trauma of war, Adam has locked his mind away, seemingly for good. But when a newspaper publishes Adam’s photograph, three women come forward, each just as certain that Adam is their relative and that he should go home with them.
But does Adam really belong with any of these women? Or is there another family waiting for him to come home?
Based on true events, When I Come Home Again is a deeply moving and powerful story of a nation’s outpouring of grief, and the search for hope in the aftermath of the First World War.
Praise for The Photographer of the Lost:
493 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 29, 2020
81 people are currently reading
3174 people want to read
About the author
Caroline Scott
8 books235 followersAfter completing a PhD in History, at the University of Durham, Caroline Scott worked as a researcher in Belgium and France. She has a particular interest in the experience of women during the First World War, in the challenges faced by the returning soldier, and in the development of tourism and pilgrimage in the former conflict zones. Caroline lives in southwest France and is now writing historical fiction for Simon & Schuster UK and William Morrow.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 139 reviews
December 10, 2020
Oblivion
Just as the world was coming to the end of World War I and with the destruction it caused to so many lives, no one anticipated the psychological devastation it caused to the soldiers who fought and survived. Those physically scarred and maimed, and those thrown into a fugue mental state with personalities hijacked by horror and fear.
As a psychologist gradually and carefully investigates the conscious and subconscious mind of a patient, never pushing too hard and allowing awareness to settle in, so does Caroline Scott in the same tone as she gradually builds her story and the personalities of her characters. When I Come Home Again is a beautifully written novel with a pace that enables the atmosphere and period to coalesce with our appreciation of the fully drawn characters and their nightmares. Memories are placed in solitude and hopefully will never see the light of day, lest terror and insanity grab hold. In the night, the screams tell of memories that have escaped from the subconscious mind. Loved ones and doctors try to help soldiers remember their past, unaware of the mental turmoil and horror they are trying to forget. The mothers, wives, sisters that remember these men but now they only look like someone they once knew. Women who hold onto hope that their loved ones will eventually, fully return home again.
The tones and moods flow naturally like waves throughout the story and the landscape is observed as a new-found pleasure as if appreciating for the first time peering through an amnesic fog. The joy, beauty and wonderment of rolling countryside, a wood or a small village remind us of what we miss because we see it so often. The way Caroline kept the landscape an ever-present companion throughout the story was brilliantly delivered and embraced the constant revelations and discovery that sit right at the core of this novel.
A soldier in uniform is arrested for drawing chalk images in a Durham Cathedral and discovering he has total amnesia and doesn’t know his name they call him Adam Galilee and he is released into the care of Doctor James Haworth.
Caroline Scott’s book is masterfully told in this compelling and moving war-time story with such emotional impact that keeps you transfixed to its pages. It evokes such emotions that are a real insight into the loss and devasting impact war has on mental illness and psychological damage. The story comes to an emotional ending as connections are reunited and surprises add additional drama as the past is revealed.
I would like to thank Caroline Scott, Simon & Schuster UK and NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC in return for an honest review.
Just as the world was coming to the end of World War I and with the destruction it caused to so many lives, no one anticipated the psychological devastation it caused to the soldiers who fought and survived. Those physically scarred and maimed, and those thrown into a fugue mental state with personalities hijacked by horror and fear.
As a psychologist gradually and carefully investigates the conscious and subconscious mind of a patient, never pushing too hard and allowing awareness to settle in, so does Caroline Scott in the same tone as she gradually builds her story and the personalities of her characters. When I Come Home Again is a beautifully written novel with a pace that enables the atmosphere and period to coalesce with our appreciation of the fully drawn characters and their nightmares. Memories are placed in solitude and hopefully will never see the light of day, lest terror and insanity grab hold. In the night, the screams tell of memories that have escaped from the subconscious mind. Loved ones and doctors try to help soldiers remember their past, unaware of the mental turmoil and horror they are trying to forget. The mothers, wives, sisters that remember these men but now they only look like someone they once knew. Women who hold onto hope that their loved ones will eventually, fully return home again.
The tones and moods flow naturally like waves throughout the story and the landscape is observed as a new-found pleasure as if appreciating for the first time peering through an amnesic fog. The joy, beauty and wonderment of rolling countryside, a wood or a small village remind us of what we miss because we see it so often. The way Caroline kept the landscape an ever-present companion throughout the story was brilliantly delivered and embraced the constant revelations and discovery that sit right at the core of this novel.
A soldier in uniform is arrested for drawing chalk images in a Durham Cathedral and discovering he has total amnesia and doesn’t know his name they call him Adam Galilee and he is released into the care of Doctor James Haworth.
“Redemption sounds like a journey, and if that means travelling back through the scenes that sometimes flash at him in the night, Adam is not presently sure that he wants to go there.”As it transpires Adam isn’t the only one suffering from the consequences of war as James himself was a military doctor during the Great War.
Caroline Scott’s book is masterfully told in this compelling and moving war-time story with such emotional impact that keeps you transfixed to its pages. It evokes such emotions that are a real insight into the loss and devasting impact war has on mental illness and psychological damage. The story comes to an emotional ending as connections are reunited and surprises add additional drama as the past is revealed.
I would like to thank Caroline Scott, Simon & Schuster UK and NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC in return for an honest review.
October 26, 2020
WW1 is over. Those who served on the Continent, want to forget what they went through. Some want to wipe out memories, some remember nothing following the shellshock. Some relive horrific moments in dreams, and some crave for regaining those who are believed to have been killed.
This is a beautifully written story of the men who fought and the legacy the war left them with, and of women who refuse the truth and hold on to the hope that their husbands, brothers and sons will return one day.
Ms Scott does not hurry her readers, she gives them time to spend with all characters, to learn more of their tragedies and hidden faith. The narration is slow-paced and each character is given space and time to reveal their thoughts and desires.
It was definitely a read that resonated with me ....
*A big thank-you to Caroline Scott, Simon and Schuster UK, and NetGalley for arc in exchange for my honest review.*
This is a beautifully written story of the men who fought and the legacy the war left them with, and of women who refuse the truth and hold on to the hope that their husbands, brothers and sons will return one day.
Ms Scott does not hurry her readers, she gives them time to spend with all characters, to learn more of their tragedies and hidden faith. The narration is slow-paced and each character is given space and time to reveal their thoughts and desires.
It was definitely a read that resonated with me ....
*A big thank-you to Caroline Scott, Simon and Schuster UK, and NetGalley for arc in exchange for my honest review.*
October 12, 2020
November 1918: On the cusp of the First World War, a uniformed soldier is arrested in Durham Cathedral. It quickly becomes clear that he has no memory of who he is or now they came 4o be there. He's given the name Adam and transferred to a rehabilitation home where his doctor, James, tries everything he can to help Adam remember. But Adam doesn't want to remember.
The story is basee on true events. The characters are all flawed, ven the doctor is left traumatised after witnessing events during the First World War. The characters were likable and believable. The story is told from multiple perspectives. This is a heartbreaking read. It reveals the tragedies of war. Will they ever find out who Adam really is? You'll need to read the book to find out.
I would like to thank #NetGalley, #SimonAndSchuster for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The story is basee on true events. The characters are all flawed, ven the doctor is left traumatised after witnessing events during the First World War. The characters were likable and believable. The story is told from multiple perspectives. This is a heartbreaking read. It reveals the tragedies of war. Will they ever find out who Adam really is? You'll need to read the book to find out.
I would like to thank #NetGalley, #SimonAndSchuster for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.
August 9, 2020
Really disappointed. I was expecting much more especially as I’ve previously read another book from the author. This novel just dragged on and I found I was forcing myself to read it. The characters didn’t grip me, and the first few chapters didn’t hold onto my attention. Which is unfortunate because this is the time in history that I adore the most in fiction.
Would I recommend this to a friend? No, definitely not.
Would I recommend this to a friend? No, definitely not.
June 10, 2020
This is a slow burner, the pace is beautifully set and compliments a very difficult time and subject in the history of the world. Young men sent to fight, sent to be slaughtered in the killing fields of France. Returning home (the lucky?) to be confronted by a society totally unable to deal with the effects of close combat not able to understand ptsd, a word only recognized in the latter days of the 20th century. Adam emotionally damaged by his experiences in the trenches is sent to Fellside House in Durham where he is a patient to James Hawarth, himself also a casualty of the great war. These are men so traumatised and with such severe memory loss that they do not know who they are. Most of Caroline Scott’s novel concerns the many visitors who attend the hospital hoping to find their loved ones last scene on the road to France.
This book wonderfully shows the effect of war not only on the victims but also their immediate family; wives, mothers, lovers girlfriends…who individually visit Fellside in the hope that their visit will give them the answers they yearn for. A most enjoyable read. Many thanks to the good people at netgalley for a gratis copy in exchange for and honest review and that is what I have written.
This book wonderfully shows the effect of war not only on the victims but also their immediate family; wives, mothers, lovers girlfriends…who individually visit Fellside in the hope that their visit will give them the answers they yearn for. A most enjoyable read. Many thanks to the good people at netgalley for a gratis copy in exchange for and honest review and that is what I have written.
October 11, 2025
Jag hoppades verkligen att den här boken skulle ge mig samma wow-känsla som den förra, men tyvärr blev det inte så den här gången 😩 Jag gillade verkligen valen av perspektiv och språket är otroligt, men jag kände ingenting för karaktärerna och den var aaaaldeles för utdragen.
November 7, 2020
Caroline Scott’s second novel is a compelling and sensitively nuanced story that looks at the after-effects of WWI on both the soldiers and the families they leave behind with a specific focus on their mental health. Spanning 1918 to 1925 this is an humane and emotive story of damaged people seeking what comfort they can find in a world that has been devastated and amongst the grief, tragedy and devastation is the continual promise of hope in a beautifully written novel that slowly unfolds over the course of seven years.
When a uniformed young soldier is arrested in the Galilee Chapel at Durham Cathedral in November 1918 just prior to the announcement of an armistice he claims to have no knowledge of his name or how he got there and no identity disc to shed light on just whom he is, leading the police to call him Adam Galilee. Transferred to the care of Doctor James Haworth, only recently back from frontline action in France himself, Adam is taken to recuperate at Fellside House in the Westmorland countryside. Hayworth’s fervent hope is that he will be able to help Adam remember who he is and where he has come from but it quickly becomes clear that Adam doesn’t particularly want to remember. Diagnosed with retrograde amnesia following a trauma that has caused him to shutdown, Adam actively resists all attempts to revisit the events and regain his memory. Not that Haworth himself is any position to take issue with the rationale behind Adam’s logic, himself suffering with hallucinations and nightmares about his time in the trenches and his guilt over the death of his wife’s near identical twin brother, Sebastian. Dealing with his own disintegrating marriage and the pain of being reminded of Sebastian every time he looks at wife, Caitlin, Haworth has never fully explored his own experiences and unresolved emotions.
After two years without a breakthrough in the recovery of Adam’s memory and intended to capitalise on the nations interest in the internment of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey, the hospital allows a photograph of him to be included in a national newspaper. Contrary to all expectations the responses number over a hundred and are eventually whittled down to the three most likely women, each claiming that Adam is their lost family member (husband, son or brother) who has not yet returned from war. All three women are convinced that Adam is their missing loved one and as each of their stories are told Caroline Scott does an impressive job of exploring why these women, so mired in their own grief, might come forward and swear blind Adam is who they believe. Kind-hearted Adam is well aware that each of the despairing women are seeking something missing is their lives and taking comfort from his presence, leading him to feel a degree of responsibility towards all of them, despite knowing he is none of the people they claim. As Dr Haworth and Adam visit each of the three women and their homes, various elements of all the stories they provide appear to fit perfectly, leading the reader on a merry dance of huge intrigue and emotion as to where Adam might belong.
The characterisation and attention to detail given to not just Adam but Haworth and his wife and the three women who try to claim Adam is impressive. Their emotions are so compassionately laid bare and I felt considerable empathy for each of their distinct experiences. That a genuine friendship flourishes from the initial doctor/patient relationship between Dr Haworth and Adam is one of the most striking aspects of the book and a poignant reminder that we heal together. The novel is told from the perspective of multiple characters including Doctor James Hayworth and each of the three women who make a claim to Adam, all of whom notably share the torment of either having lost or missing a loved one in the brutal Great War. A moving and superbly researched look at the human cost of war.
When a uniformed young soldier is arrested in the Galilee Chapel at Durham Cathedral in November 1918 just prior to the announcement of an armistice he claims to have no knowledge of his name or how he got there and no identity disc to shed light on just whom he is, leading the police to call him Adam Galilee. Transferred to the care of Doctor James Haworth, only recently back from frontline action in France himself, Adam is taken to recuperate at Fellside House in the Westmorland countryside. Hayworth’s fervent hope is that he will be able to help Adam remember who he is and where he has come from but it quickly becomes clear that Adam doesn’t particularly want to remember. Diagnosed with retrograde amnesia following a trauma that has caused him to shutdown, Adam actively resists all attempts to revisit the events and regain his memory. Not that Haworth himself is any position to take issue with the rationale behind Adam’s logic, himself suffering with hallucinations and nightmares about his time in the trenches and his guilt over the death of his wife’s near identical twin brother, Sebastian. Dealing with his own disintegrating marriage and the pain of being reminded of Sebastian every time he looks at wife, Caitlin, Haworth has never fully explored his own experiences and unresolved emotions.
After two years without a breakthrough in the recovery of Adam’s memory and intended to capitalise on the nations interest in the internment of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey, the hospital allows a photograph of him to be included in a national newspaper. Contrary to all expectations the responses number over a hundred and are eventually whittled down to the three most likely women, each claiming that Adam is their lost family member (husband, son or brother) who has not yet returned from war. All three women are convinced that Adam is their missing loved one and as each of their stories are told Caroline Scott does an impressive job of exploring why these women, so mired in their own grief, might come forward and swear blind Adam is who they believe. Kind-hearted Adam is well aware that each of the despairing women are seeking something missing is their lives and taking comfort from his presence, leading him to feel a degree of responsibility towards all of them, despite knowing he is none of the people they claim. As Dr Haworth and Adam visit each of the three women and their homes, various elements of all the stories they provide appear to fit perfectly, leading the reader on a merry dance of huge intrigue and emotion as to where Adam might belong.
The characterisation and attention to detail given to not just Adam but Haworth and his wife and the three women who try to claim Adam is impressive. Their emotions are so compassionately laid bare and I felt considerable empathy for each of their distinct experiences. That a genuine friendship flourishes from the initial doctor/patient relationship between Dr Haworth and Adam is one of the most striking aspects of the book and a poignant reminder that we heal together. The novel is told from the perspective of multiple characters including Doctor James Hayworth and each of the three women who make a claim to Adam, all of whom notably share the torment of either having lost or missing a loved one in the brutal Great War. A moving and superbly researched look at the human cost of war.
June 7, 2020
A haunting read. Written in an achingly beautiful style.
November 6, 2020
I loved Caroline Scott’s book, The Photographer of the Lost, so I was prepared for an emotional story and beautiful writing in this, her second book; I wasn’t disappointed. Once again the focus is the period after the First World War and the long-lasting effect of the conflict on the lives of so many.
Appropriately, as we approach Remembrance Sunday, the opening scenes of the book depict the journey of the coffin containing the body of the Unknown Warrior prior to its interment in Westminster Abbey. For some, the possibility the body may be that of a lost loved one brings solace, pride even. But for others, including the three women featured in the book, it does nothing but add to their fierce conviction that their missing brother, son or husband is not the body in the coffin, is not dead and will return some day. Often this in the face of advice from others to accept their loved one is gone and move on with their lives.
I loved how photographs play a part in the story, providing a link to the author’s first book. There’s the photograph published in the newspaper of the man given the name Adam Galilee that raises such fervent hope in those who have lost loved ones. And there are the photographs cherished by those families – of brothers, sons, husband who went to war and never came back – produced as evidence that Adam belongs with them. Or the photographs of parents, places or children placed in Adam’s hands in the hope of provoking a response, a flicker of recognition or a glimpse of his life before.
The scenes in which the three women who believe that Adam is their husband, son or brother come face to face with him for the first time are full of emotion and anguish. Their certainty, even though they cannot all be right, is heart-breaking to witness. But the author also conveys the emotional impact these encounters have on Adam himself, knowing the disappointment it will bring if they evoke no memories for him. Equally, the reader witnesses the effect on James Haworth, the doctor in charge of Fellside House, whose dogged determination to uncover Adam’s true identity threatens his own peace of mind.
The theme of memory runs through the book. Whether that’s the memories – good and bad – evoked by a particular place, the “muscle memory” of throwing a pot on a wheel or playing a piece by Chopin on the piano, the memory of a face but without the ability to put a name to it, or the act of remembrance in general. As long as someone is remembered, are they ever really lost? The book also poses the question whether memory can always be relied upon or, in wanting something so much to be true, it can become distorted. “Grief and hope are powerful emotions. What we see is sometimes what we want to see.”
When I Come Home Again is a beautifully crafted, emotional story that is also a timely reminder of the damaged minds and bodies that are the legacy of war.
Appropriately, as we approach Remembrance Sunday, the opening scenes of the book depict the journey of the coffin containing the body of the Unknown Warrior prior to its interment in Westminster Abbey. For some, the possibility the body may be that of a lost loved one brings solace, pride even. But for others, including the three women featured in the book, it does nothing but add to their fierce conviction that their missing brother, son or husband is not the body in the coffin, is not dead and will return some day. Often this in the face of advice from others to accept their loved one is gone and move on with their lives.
I loved how photographs play a part in the story, providing a link to the author’s first book. There’s the photograph published in the newspaper of the man given the name Adam Galilee that raises such fervent hope in those who have lost loved ones. And there are the photographs cherished by those families – of brothers, sons, husband who went to war and never came back – produced as evidence that Adam belongs with them. Or the photographs of parents, places or children placed in Adam’s hands in the hope of provoking a response, a flicker of recognition or a glimpse of his life before.
The scenes in which the three women who believe that Adam is their husband, son or brother come face to face with him for the first time are full of emotion and anguish. Their certainty, even though they cannot all be right, is heart-breaking to witness. But the author also conveys the emotional impact these encounters have on Adam himself, knowing the disappointment it will bring if they evoke no memories for him. Equally, the reader witnesses the effect on James Haworth, the doctor in charge of Fellside House, whose dogged determination to uncover Adam’s true identity threatens his own peace of mind.
The theme of memory runs through the book. Whether that’s the memories – good and bad – evoked by a particular place, the “muscle memory” of throwing a pot on a wheel or playing a piece by Chopin on the piano, the memory of a face but without the ability to put a name to it, or the act of remembrance in general. As long as someone is remembered, are they ever really lost? The book also poses the question whether memory can always be relied upon or, in wanting something so much to be true, it can become distorted. “Grief and hope are powerful emotions. What we see is sometimes what we want to see.”
When I Come Home Again is a beautifully crafted, emotional story that is also a timely reminder of the damaged minds and bodies that are the legacy of war.
December 26, 2020
Тъжна и трогателна история за пресичащите се животи на мъж, изгубил миналото си и лекар, който не може да избяга от него. В търсенето на истината за Адам, изплуват мъките и на много други герои, които всеки по свой си начин е изгубил някого и копнее да намери в лицето на безименния Адам. Както се обобщава в края на книгата: "There are so many holes in the people's lives." Струва си да се прочете. Аз имах удоволствието да я слушам в Storytel и озвучителят Е Адам, Джеймс и всички други персонажи в историята - с емоциите, вълненията, бойните им песни, въздишките им и характерите им. Невероятен Chris Harper. Браво, браво.
August 1, 2025
One of the most beautiful books I have ever read.
June 6, 2020
When I come home again begins in Britain at the end of WW1. It is the tale of a soldier who survived with his life but not his memory. Given the name Adam, he is found and brought to a rehabilitation home by his doctor James, who then attempts to aid Adam in the recovery of his memories. However, it soon becomes clear that Adam does not want to remember, having successfully locked away the trauma of war.
Adam settles into his life of oblivion, relearning and rediscovering his love of nature. But when a newspaper article publishes his photograph and story in an attempt to find his family the peace Adam has become familiar with is upturned. Three women come forward to claim Adam as their family, each with a compelling case of their own, who will swear Adam is their Mark or Ellis or Robert.
Written from the point of view of numerous characters, each of whom have lost a loved one to the war, this book explores trauma, hope and death and the complex coping mechanisms of humans in response to these emotions. The nature of the tale is such that it intrigues its reader and prompts them to guess the outcome which is deeply ingrained in fundamental human sensibility.
It is a very compelling retelling of what I’m sure is hundreds of similar tales. It is thought provoking in very emotional ways, leaving the reader with many what ifs, however, the realness of the story resonated throughout in unexpected heart-wrenching ways.
Adam settles into his life of oblivion, relearning and rediscovering his love of nature. But when a newspaper article publishes his photograph and story in an attempt to find his family the peace Adam has become familiar with is upturned. Three women come forward to claim Adam as their family, each with a compelling case of their own, who will swear Adam is their Mark or Ellis or Robert.
Written from the point of view of numerous characters, each of whom have lost a loved one to the war, this book explores trauma, hope and death and the complex coping mechanisms of humans in response to these emotions. The nature of the tale is such that it intrigues its reader and prompts them to guess the outcome which is deeply ingrained in fundamental human sensibility.
It is a very compelling retelling of what I’m sure is hundreds of similar tales. It is thought provoking in very emotional ways, leaving the reader with many what ifs, however, the realness of the story resonated throughout in unexpected heart-wrenching ways.
August 13, 2020
Thank you to Simon and Schuster UK and Netgalley for the arc of this book.
A 4 star read for me, brilliant story line, great character development i love it! This follows in which is the aftermath of the first world war. its an emotional, heartwarming story definitely recommend though!
Thank you to Caroline Scott for writing this! Definitely be checking out your other books"
A 4 star read for me, brilliant story line, great character development i love it! This follows in which is the aftermath of the first world war. its an emotional, heartwarming story definitely recommend though!
Thank you to Caroline Scott for writing this! Definitely be checking out your other books"
March 17, 2021
This might be a "me" thing, but I had a really hard time getting into this. The narration was too passive for such an emotionally charged story. I never connected with the characters and their plight was not meaningful to me. In part, I wish that the story had focused on one or two families, rather than so many.
March 3, 2022
I found this book difficult too read and slow going but the story was interesting and held my interest. I don’t think I’d read it again but it held me because I wanted to know who Adam was but was a bit disappointed with the ending.
November 6, 2020
Thank you so much to the author, Kaleidoscopictours and publishers for giving me this amazing book in return for an honest and unbiased review.
I will be honest with you, it took me a good few chapters to get into the story and to figure out what is happening and who is who but once I got it all sorted in my head only work and some random adulting made me put this beautifully told story down.
Adam Galilee, that's what they called him, an amnesiac soldier that got arrested and brought by a doctor James Haworth to a "lunatics asylum" for treatment. The treatment that should help Adam to remember what happened to him and where he came from. The question is whether James is trying to help Adam to remember or to find a way to forget what happened to himself during the Great War?
After two years of no change in Adam's condition, the hospital decides to put his picture in a newspaper with a hope to find his family or friends. No one was prepared for the outcome - hundreds of women came along to claim that Adam is her husband, brother, son... While it looks like he really fits into some of those stories told by the women, Adam refuses to be who they want him to be and stays living in a hospital and dreaming of a woman in the woods.
The story is told in multiple POVs, in a 3rd person narrative which is my least favourite in a book, but I completely forgot that personal irritation thanks to the author’s poetical and alluring writing style. I could smell, I could see, I could hear and I could feel all that was happening in the story. I got to know the characters to the extent I know my own family and their sorrow was my sorrow and their joy was my joy.
I cannot recommend this book enough, be prepared to shed some tears at the end but please don't get discouraged from picking this beautifully written story. This is a story of desperation, the belief and hope, the grief and loss, the self discovery and self acceptance. It's definitely going to the top of my favourite list of 2020.
I will be honest with you, it took me a good few chapters to get into the story and to figure out what is happening and who is who but once I got it all sorted in my head only work and some random adulting made me put this beautifully told story down.
Adam Galilee, that's what they called him, an amnesiac soldier that got arrested and brought by a doctor James Haworth to a "lunatics asylum" for treatment. The treatment that should help Adam to remember what happened to him and where he came from. The question is whether James is trying to help Adam to remember or to find a way to forget what happened to himself during the Great War?
After two years of no change in Adam's condition, the hospital decides to put his picture in a newspaper with a hope to find his family or friends. No one was prepared for the outcome - hundreds of women came along to claim that Adam is her husband, brother, son... While it looks like he really fits into some of those stories told by the women, Adam refuses to be who they want him to be and stays living in a hospital and dreaming of a woman in the woods.
The story is told in multiple POVs, in a 3rd person narrative which is my least favourite in a book, but I completely forgot that personal irritation thanks to the author’s poetical and alluring writing style. I could smell, I could see, I could hear and I could feel all that was happening in the story. I got to know the characters to the extent I know my own family and their sorrow was my sorrow and their joy was my joy.
I cannot recommend this book enough, be prepared to shed some tears at the end but please don't get discouraged from picking this beautifully written story. This is a story of desperation, the belief and hope, the grief and loss, the self discovery and self acceptance. It's definitely going to the top of my favourite list of 2020.
November 9, 2020
Thank you so much to kaleidoscopic Tours and the Publisher (Simon and Schuster UK) for inviting me to be a part of this book tour and for the gifted copy, and of course, thank you to Carolie Scott for writing such a beautiful story.
Anybody who loves WW1 fiction is going to love this book. It is emotional, it is powerful, it is raw... all the things a story about War should be. Caroline Scott has written such a beautiful story that tugs at the heart-strings and really transports you in time and place.
This is a story of a soldier returned from war but with no memory of who he is or where he came from, and of three women, each of whom believes him to be their loved one come home to them.
This tale takes place in the immediate aftermath of the first world war and the pain of so many people, so many families broken apart, so many lives lost and so many left behind, this really paints a picture of a heartbreaking period of history, the lasting impact of such terrible trauma, and ultimately the power of hope.
This is definitely a slow placed emotional read, and as such, I was completely immersed in this beautiful book. The multiple perspectives give you such a range of experiences of the impact of war, and the way they weave together is wonderful. This is a finely crafted novel and I can't wait to read more from this talented author.
4.5 deeply moving stars.
Anybody who loves WW1 fiction is going to love this book. It is emotional, it is powerful, it is raw... all the things a story about War should be. Caroline Scott has written such a beautiful story that tugs at the heart-strings and really transports you in time and place.
This is a story of a soldier returned from war but with no memory of who he is or where he came from, and of three women, each of whom believes him to be their loved one come home to them.
This tale takes place in the immediate aftermath of the first world war and the pain of so many people, so many families broken apart, so many lives lost and so many left behind, this really paints a picture of a heartbreaking period of history, the lasting impact of such terrible trauma, and ultimately the power of hope.
This is definitely a slow placed emotional read, and as such, I was completely immersed in this beautiful book. The multiple perspectives give you such a range of experiences of the impact of war, and the way they weave together is wonderful. This is a finely crafted novel and I can't wait to read more from this talented author.
4.5 deeply moving stars.
August 10, 2020
The ARC of this book was kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. #WhenIComeHomeAgain #NetGalley.
This was beautifully written, poignant and poetic. I felt immediately connected to the story and characters, desperate to find out more information as the story slowly unfolded. Although it's a slow burner, it's absolutely breathtaking. The way Scott writes this is beautifully poetic, the writing almost leaps off the page as you're pulled into this story of grief and loss. It presents itself as not just a war novel, but one that explores the aftermath and the inconceivable damage war does to an individual. Scott does a wonderful job of balancing the multitude of characters we come across in this novel, not one feels underdeveloped or overwritten. There's a real, human feel to every person we encounter. It was haunting and moving, one that will leave me thinking.
This was beautifully written, poignant and poetic. I felt immediately connected to the story and characters, desperate to find out more information as the story slowly unfolded. Although it's a slow burner, it's absolutely breathtaking. The way Scott writes this is beautifully poetic, the writing almost leaps off the page as you're pulled into this story of grief and loss. It presents itself as not just a war novel, but one that explores the aftermath and the inconceivable damage war does to an individual. Scott does a wonderful job of balancing the multitude of characters we come across in this novel, not one feels underdeveloped or overwritten. There's a real, human feel to every person we encounter. It was haunting and moving, one that will leave me thinking.
November 11, 2020
4.5*
1918. When a man in a soldier’s uniform is arrested at Durham Cathedral, for causing damage (he was drawing a bird using chalk), he claims to have no knowledge of his name or where he has come from. Given the name of Adam Galilee by the police, he is sent to a rehabilitation home in Cumbria, under the care of two doctors, who will attempt to reclaim his memory and, his identity.
One of the doctors tasked with treating Adam is James Haworth. James is a former officer who has his own wartime demons to battle. His nightmares and the feelings of horror and guilt of seeing his men dying and wounded and having to leave them behind, especially someone close to him, haunt him on a nightly basis, all of which has an effect on his own mental state, and on his marriage. Although he has other patients at the home, he takes a particular interest in Adam and feels compelled to want to help him.
There are so many elements to this story – guilt, grief, loss, hope and all are interwoven sensitively and with compassion. It’s not just about the men who went to war and returned, changed forever – it’s about those who didn’t return at all, and the loved ones that were left behind. Left wondering what had happened to their son or husband or family member who had been reported as “missing in action” but had never been heard of since.
Following the interment of the Unknown Warrior at Westminster Abbey in 1920, and in an attempt to find out Adam’s identity, his doctors decide to enlist the help of a newspaper by posting a photograph and a brief description to see if any relatives come forward. To their surprise, hundreds of women queue at their gates – all wanting to believe that Adam belongs to them. They eventually decide that three claims should be investigated further; so who is Adam. Is he,
Celia’s son Robert
Anna’s husband Mark
Or Lucy’s brother Ellis?
The way the story unfolds, there are clues that indicate that Adam could be any one of these men, although one in particular seemed more credible. Surely these women would know their own son or husband, wouldn’t they? They would know their physical features. With each further disclosure that fitted with Adam’s mannerisms and personality, I did hope that Adam had found a family to return to but frustratingly he didn’t seem to want to feel any connection. Was it that he genuinely couldn’t remember – or that he just didn’t want to go back to his old life – whatever that was. However with James so keen to find a ‘fit’ for Adam, I ended up feeling quite sorry for him, he was being paraded like an exhibit and I was hoping that he wouldn’t be made to leave with someone who quite clearly meant nothing to him.
The book is as much about these women, their families and the many thousands like them, as it is about Adam. The women are so desperate for answers and in their grief and distress, they cling to any hope, even when evidence is against them.
With a timeline beginning in 1918 going through to 1925, this is such a beautifully written and powerful story. Adam’s love of nature and gardening was his salvation and the narrative is rich with detail and vivid descriptions of the surrounding landscape and flora. He was also a talented artist – this formed another strand of the story which was heartbreaking and almost broke me.
Adam’s story, and of those like him suffering from trauma and memory loss, what we now know as PTSD, is heartbreaking on so many counts. When I Come Home Again is an emotive and engrossing read. The characters are authentic – their individual personalties being so well defined and I was so completely engrossed in all their stories.
I didn’t find this a quick read – its not the sort of book you can quickly skim through. You really do need to take your time and carefully read each page. The prose is heavy with description however the story and dialogue flowed easily. It is excellent and I have no hesitation in recommending.
1918. When a man in a soldier’s uniform is arrested at Durham Cathedral, for causing damage (he was drawing a bird using chalk), he claims to have no knowledge of his name or where he has come from. Given the name of Adam Galilee by the police, he is sent to a rehabilitation home in Cumbria, under the care of two doctors, who will attempt to reclaim his memory and, his identity.
One of the doctors tasked with treating Adam is James Haworth. James is a former officer who has his own wartime demons to battle. His nightmares and the feelings of horror and guilt of seeing his men dying and wounded and having to leave them behind, especially someone close to him, haunt him on a nightly basis, all of which has an effect on his own mental state, and on his marriage. Although he has other patients at the home, he takes a particular interest in Adam and feels compelled to want to help him.
There are so many elements to this story – guilt, grief, loss, hope and all are interwoven sensitively and with compassion. It’s not just about the men who went to war and returned, changed forever – it’s about those who didn’t return at all, and the loved ones that were left behind. Left wondering what had happened to their son or husband or family member who had been reported as “missing in action” but had never been heard of since.
Following the interment of the Unknown Warrior at Westminster Abbey in 1920, and in an attempt to find out Adam’s identity, his doctors decide to enlist the help of a newspaper by posting a photograph and a brief description to see if any relatives come forward. To their surprise, hundreds of women queue at their gates – all wanting to believe that Adam belongs to them. They eventually decide that three claims should be investigated further; so who is Adam. Is he,
Celia’s son Robert
Anna’s husband Mark
Or Lucy’s brother Ellis?
The way the story unfolds, there are clues that indicate that Adam could be any one of these men, although one in particular seemed more credible. Surely these women would know their own son or husband, wouldn’t they? They would know their physical features. With each further disclosure that fitted with Adam’s mannerisms and personality, I did hope that Adam had found a family to return to but frustratingly he didn’t seem to want to feel any connection. Was it that he genuinely couldn’t remember – or that he just didn’t want to go back to his old life – whatever that was. However with James so keen to find a ‘fit’ for Adam, I ended up feeling quite sorry for him, he was being paraded like an exhibit and I was hoping that he wouldn’t be made to leave with someone who quite clearly meant nothing to him.
The book is as much about these women, their families and the many thousands like them, as it is about Adam. The women are so desperate for answers and in their grief and distress, they cling to any hope, even when evidence is against them.
With a timeline beginning in 1918 going through to 1925, this is such a beautifully written and powerful story. Adam’s love of nature and gardening was his salvation and the narrative is rich with detail and vivid descriptions of the surrounding landscape and flora. He was also a talented artist – this formed another strand of the story which was heartbreaking and almost broke me.
Adam’s story, and of those like him suffering from trauma and memory loss, what we now know as PTSD, is heartbreaking on so many counts. When I Come Home Again is an emotive and engrossing read. The characters are authentic – their individual personalties being so well defined and I was so completely engrossed in all their stories.
I didn’t find this a quick read – its not the sort of book you can quickly skim through. You really do need to take your time and carefully read each page. The prose is heavy with description however the story and dialogue flowed easily. It is excellent and I have no hesitation in recommending.
June 9, 2020
When I Come Home Again begins with an interesting starting point – Everyone has heard of the unknown warrior, but who actually knows anything about the story behind him? Did you know that 6 bodies were first recovered from various places in France? One was then chosen at random and plonked in Westminster Abbey to much pomp and circumstance. Amongst Kings. Designed to represent, not just the men who never came home, but those who were never found after World War One. The warrior’s funeral was recorded and shown in cinemas across the country. His tomb visited by an estimated 1,250,000 in the week following his funeral.
Caroline Scott takes such a point and develops it, pokes at it and prods it. A soldier comes home and doesn’t remember who he is. Like the warrior, he too becomes a focal point for the relatives left behind. In a way Scott carries on from The Photographer of the Lost. France in the aftermath of the war is totally different to a soldier with amnesia, yet it is that desire, that NEED to know that is repeated. The women who come forward to claim Adam, so certain that he is theirs are just as determined as the women in The Photographer picking through spectacles and belt buckles in derelict French towns.
There is then the way Caroline (I’m assuming familiarity here, apologies) spins a yarn. I don’t want to give anything away but I was convinced about two story twists. I actually turned the corner of the page over thinking ‘Ha, that’s it, that’s what it’s about.’ I was wrong on both points. The plot develops without the need for shocks at every chapter ending or Hollywood type reveals. It is genuinely suspenseful whilst being a really well written book. It has just such stunningly gorgeous prose, the colours, the agonies, the heartbreak, the grief. Yes, you may at times need a tissue.
You can’t read When I Come Home Again without being drawn to the nature writing amongst its pages. I am not a reader of nature books, I barely know an oak tree from a sycamore, however the great outdoors positively shone in this book. To the point I have (hesitantly) recommended it to my nature reader extraordinaire friend. Its beautiful descriptions made me wish I could draw curlews and grow courgettes.
My one slight complaint is the title. Having been sent an advance copy (thank you) with the title not actually on the front page I found it just didn’t stick in my mind. I kept thinking of the book as ‘the unknown warrior/soldier’, ‘Caroline Scott’s new one’ or ‘The new Photographer of the Lost book’. None of which are suitable alternatives I know! Having seen the proposed cover by Simon and Schuster however I am sure you will have no such problems.
I was scared I wasn’t going to love When I Come Home Again as much as I did The Photographer of the Lost. But I did, I do, I really do. Buy it in October folks (it’s not out until then sorry). Then come back and tell me how much you love it too.
Caroline Scott takes such a point and develops it, pokes at it and prods it. A soldier comes home and doesn’t remember who he is. Like the warrior, he too becomes a focal point for the relatives left behind. In a way Scott carries on from The Photographer of the Lost. France in the aftermath of the war is totally different to a soldier with amnesia, yet it is that desire, that NEED to know that is repeated. The women who come forward to claim Adam, so certain that he is theirs are just as determined as the women in The Photographer picking through spectacles and belt buckles in derelict French towns.
There is then the way Caroline (I’m assuming familiarity here, apologies) spins a yarn. I don’t want to give anything away but I was convinced about two story twists. I actually turned the corner of the page over thinking ‘Ha, that’s it, that’s what it’s about.’ I was wrong on both points. The plot develops without the need for shocks at every chapter ending or Hollywood type reveals. It is genuinely suspenseful whilst being a really well written book. It has just such stunningly gorgeous prose, the colours, the agonies, the heartbreak, the grief. Yes, you may at times need a tissue.
You can’t read When I Come Home Again without being drawn to the nature writing amongst its pages. I am not a reader of nature books, I barely know an oak tree from a sycamore, however the great outdoors positively shone in this book. To the point I have (hesitantly) recommended it to my nature reader extraordinaire friend. Its beautiful descriptions made me wish I could draw curlews and grow courgettes.
My one slight complaint is the title. Having been sent an advance copy (thank you) with the title not actually on the front page I found it just didn’t stick in my mind. I kept thinking of the book as ‘the unknown warrior/soldier’, ‘Caroline Scott’s new one’ or ‘The new Photographer of the Lost book’. None of which are suitable alternatives I know! Having seen the proposed cover by Simon and Schuster however I am sure you will have no such problems.
I was scared I wasn’t going to love When I Come Home Again as much as I did The Photographer of the Lost. But I did, I do, I really do. Buy it in October folks (it’s not out until then sorry). Then come back and tell me how much you love it too.
November 21, 2020
It has taken me a couple of days to compose myself enough to write this review. This was such a breathtakingly powerful novel, I feel like it has left a profound impact on me. I have always been drawn to historical fiction and in particular, wartime novels covering the two World Wars. This book is set in the aftermath following the end of the First World War. I found it was a fresh viewpoint on what happened, and my reading of the book actually coincided with me watching a documentary that looked at the psychological impact on the soldiers who returned from the war.
The timeline of the book, going from 1918 into the 1920s occurred at a time when the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior was created in Westminster Abbey in London, on 11th November 1920. Four unknown soldiers from different wartime battles were brought to a chapel in Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise in northern France, and one of the bodies was selected at random to be brought back to England. At the same time an unknown French soldier was taken to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris to be interred there.
Many men returned from the war with what would now be called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and some had such severe memory loss because of their experiences that they were unable to even remember who they were.
This story follows one of those soldiers, Adam, who was sent to a convalescent home in Westmorland, Cumbria with no recollection of who he was or where he was from. Following the interment of the Unknown Warrior, newspapers ran stories about soldiers who did not know who they were, and Adam agreed for his story to run. What followed next involved hundreds of people who were clinging to the hope that Adam may be their loved one who was missing in action. The many hopeful families arrived at the convalescent home to find out for certain whether Adam was their missing loved one. His doctor James sets out to find out who Adam is, and narrows the search down to three possible families. The families all have almost blind hope that Adam belongs to them, and even when the odds are insurmountable, still feel a connection with Adam. Adam himself has an other-worldly quality, and such empathy for the families, that I couldn’t help but wish for him to find himself and his place in the world.
There was so much tension within the individual storylines, and I spent much of my time trying to guess who Adam was. The climax of the story moved me so much, and I’m not ashamed to admit I was so invested in the story that more than a few tears were shed by me!
The location of the story had such an ethereal quality, that there were moments I questioned what was real and what was not. I felt such an affinity with this book. As much as I love historical war-related fiction, there are only a handful which have stayed with me for the longest times. When I Come Home Again is one of those books, I could not love it more, and I know it is going to stay with me. It was definitely worthy of five stars.
The timeline of the book, going from 1918 into the 1920s occurred at a time when the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior was created in Westminster Abbey in London, on 11th November 1920. Four unknown soldiers from different wartime battles were brought to a chapel in Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise in northern France, and one of the bodies was selected at random to be brought back to England. At the same time an unknown French soldier was taken to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris to be interred there.
Many men returned from the war with what would now be called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and some had such severe memory loss because of their experiences that they were unable to even remember who they were.
This story follows one of those soldiers, Adam, who was sent to a convalescent home in Westmorland, Cumbria with no recollection of who he was or where he was from. Following the interment of the Unknown Warrior, newspapers ran stories about soldiers who did not know who they were, and Adam agreed for his story to run. What followed next involved hundreds of people who were clinging to the hope that Adam may be their loved one who was missing in action. The many hopeful families arrived at the convalescent home to find out for certain whether Adam was their missing loved one. His doctor James sets out to find out who Adam is, and narrows the search down to three possible families. The families all have almost blind hope that Adam belongs to them, and even when the odds are insurmountable, still feel a connection with Adam. Adam himself has an other-worldly quality, and such empathy for the families, that I couldn’t help but wish for him to find himself and his place in the world.
There was so much tension within the individual storylines, and I spent much of my time trying to guess who Adam was. The climax of the story moved me so much, and I’m not ashamed to admit I was so invested in the story that more than a few tears were shed by me!
The location of the story had such an ethereal quality, that there were moments I questioned what was real and what was not. I felt such an affinity with this book. As much as I love historical war-related fiction, there are only a handful which have stayed with me for the longest times. When I Come Home Again is one of those books, I could not love it more, and I know it is going to stay with me. It was definitely worthy of five stars.
April 19, 2022
A nice story but a bit too long. A bit repetitive in places. I'm not sure I'm entirely satisfied by the ending.
November 7, 2020
A beautifully nuanced story of the power of memory, both positively and negatively, this book deals with the fictional story of a mystery man. Beginning in Durham Cathedral in November 1918, a man enters the ancient building with no memories, no identification and crucially no idea of his own identity. In the days immediately following the First World War, he was apparently a soldier who had survived physically unscathed, but mentally he is a blank slate. This is a time of anguish for those whose loved ones have not returned from the battlefields. Many have received notification of missing men rather than definitely killed; the pain of uncertainty, of no evidence of death or place to mourn have left their scars. A man given the name of Adam becomes the focus of people’s hope that their loved one has survived, and his difficult situation is carefully explored in this beautifully written book. Not that Adam is alone in his mental trauma; one of those seeking to help him, James, is a complicated relationship which fuels his nightmares. Set mainly in a large family house with an extensively described garden, this is a lyrical novel of emotion and the therapeutic benefits of nature. It is a delicately balanced novel of the importance and the danger of remembering.I was very pleased to have the opportunity to read and review this wonderful book.
Adam’s complete inability to identify himself or produce any clues as to his past lead to his rescue from Durham by a young therapist, James. His employer, Alan Shepherd, has set up a sort of sanctuary in his huge family home to help those soldiers mentally damaged by what has happened to them. Adam’s life there is an opportunity to rest, to be thoughtfully questioned by James and Alan, even hypnotised. He draws almost compulsively, explores the extensive gardens and apparently remembers nothing. This is the time of the burial of the Unknown Soldier, an unidentified body chosen at random to be placed in Westminster Abbey, a focus of those desperate to focus their grief. Some women are encouraged to think of the remains as their own son, or husband. James meanwhile is struggling to cope with his own memories, of leading a small group of men during the war, entering a wood and witnessing the death of most of those, including his wife Caitlin’s twin brother. She lives with James at Fellside, but their rooms echo to the sound of his nightmares. Caitlin is a potter, an artist with as much sensitivity as Adam shows in his drawings of a mysterious woman.
Everything becomes more sharply focused when a photograph of Adam appears in newspapers as part of an appeal to reunite soldiers with their families. Something about Adam’s appearance attracts enormous interest, with many people claiming that he is their son, brother or husband. As three women emerge with determined belief that he is their missing man, James becomes heavily invested in trying to fit Adam back with a family. While Adam is bewildered by the women’s apparent fixation, they all share desperate conviction that he should finally come home to them. An impossible situation leads to situations that could not be foreseen, and memories wound as well as emerge.
This novel contains some incredible characterisations and exquisite descriptions of the gardens that Adam seeks sanctuary within. It delicately reveals the essence of memory, and the tiny indications of recognition that may indicate a resolution. This is a book which builds on extensive research which never distracts from the story and the carefully expressed flow of the narrative. The descriptions of the gardens, of Adam, of the other characters who swirl around him are all beautifully modulated. This is a book which celebrates the human spirit, devotion and memory, the appalling losses of War, and the vivid stories of those who lived through those years. I thoroughly recommend it to anyone with an interest in the effects of the First World War.
Adam’s complete inability to identify himself or produce any clues as to his past lead to his rescue from Durham by a young therapist, James. His employer, Alan Shepherd, has set up a sort of sanctuary in his huge family home to help those soldiers mentally damaged by what has happened to them. Adam’s life there is an opportunity to rest, to be thoughtfully questioned by James and Alan, even hypnotised. He draws almost compulsively, explores the extensive gardens and apparently remembers nothing. This is the time of the burial of the Unknown Soldier, an unidentified body chosen at random to be placed in Westminster Abbey, a focus of those desperate to focus their grief. Some women are encouraged to think of the remains as their own son, or husband. James meanwhile is struggling to cope with his own memories, of leading a small group of men during the war, entering a wood and witnessing the death of most of those, including his wife Caitlin’s twin brother. She lives with James at Fellside, but their rooms echo to the sound of his nightmares. Caitlin is a potter, an artist with as much sensitivity as Adam shows in his drawings of a mysterious woman.
Everything becomes more sharply focused when a photograph of Adam appears in newspapers as part of an appeal to reunite soldiers with their families. Something about Adam’s appearance attracts enormous interest, with many people claiming that he is their son, brother or husband. As three women emerge with determined belief that he is their missing man, James becomes heavily invested in trying to fit Adam back with a family. While Adam is bewildered by the women’s apparent fixation, they all share desperate conviction that he should finally come home to them. An impossible situation leads to situations that could not be foreseen, and memories wound as well as emerge.
This novel contains some incredible characterisations and exquisite descriptions of the gardens that Adam seeks sanctuary within. It delicately reveals the essence of memory, and the tiny indications of recognition that may indicate a resolution. This is a book which builds on extensive research which never distracts from the story and the carefully expressed flow of the narrative. The descriptions of the gardens, of Adam, of the other characters who swirl around him are all beautifully modulated. This is a book which celebrates the human spirit, devotion and memory, the appalling losses of War, and the vivid stories of those who lived through those years. I thoroughly recommend it to anyone with an interest in the effects of the First World War.
June 6, 2020
For me, the premise of Caroline Scott’s new novel ‘When I Come Home Again’, set in the aftermath of the First World War, is irresistible:
When baffled doctors place a photograph of an amnesiac soldier they have named ‘Adam’ in the newspaper with the hope of discovering his identity, three women come forward - a mother, a sister, a wife – all claiming him as their own. But to whom – if any of them – does Adam truly belong?
But what makes the premise all the more irresistible is that it is based on a true story.
As with her first book, Scott utilises a less explored aspect of the Great War to demonstrate the long shadows cast by the conflict. Each of her characters continues to suffer and endure long after the armistice has been declared, from Adam who has closed his mind to protect himself from the horrors he has experienced, to his doctor, James, burdened by guilt for his inability to save his wife's brother - while his wife feels she has lost, in her twin, an intrinsic part of herself.
But it is the three women’s stories that I found most affecting. Scott draws Adam with various attributes that appear to reinforce each woman’s claim – his knowledge of Latin names, his ability to draw, his love of nature – so as readers, we are unsure who to doubt and who to believe, and as we come to know and understand Celia, Lucy and Anna, we become invested in them. What Scott does brilliantly is to convey not only the women’s desperate hope that Adam is indeed their missing loved one, but also their mounting anguish as they attempt to persuade the doctors – and themselves – of the veracity of their convictions. And through it all, there is Adam – an exhibit, a pawn, a tortured soul - who comes to feel a sense of responsibility for each woman’s emotional needs, while remaining unable to deny – or fulfil - his own.
‘When I Come Home Again’ is a heart-breaking read which reveals the far-reaching tragedies of war. My heart ached for the three women and for Adam, and though I wanted the best for all of them, an undercurrent throughout the novel warns there can be few happy endings in such a situation. Whilst I very much enjoyed ‘The Photographer of the Lost’, for me, ‘When I Come Home Again’ was the more moving read, and the one which will stay with me. I highly recommend it – and I very much look forward to Caroline Scott’s next novel.
When baffled doctors place a photograph of an amnesiac soldier they have named ‘Adam’ in the newspaper with the hope of discovering his identity, three women come forward - a mother, a sister, a wife – all claiming him as their own. But to whom – if any of them – does Adam truly belong?
But what makes the premise all the more irresistible is that it is based on a true story.
As with her first book, Scott utilises a less explored aspect of the Great War to demonstrate the long shadows cast by the conflict. Each of her characters continues to suffer and endure long after the armistice has been declared, from Adam who has closed his mind to protect himself from the horrors he has experienced, to his doctor, James, burdened by guilt for his inability to save his wife's brother - while his wife feels she has lost, in her twin, an intrinsic part of herself.
But it is the three women’s stories that I found most affecting. Scott draws Adam with various attributes that appear to reinforce each woman’s claim – his knowledge of Latin names, his ability to draw, his love of nature – so as readers, we are unsure who to doubt and who to believe, and as we come to know and understand Celia, Lucy and Anna, we become invested in them. What Scott does brilliantly is to convey not only the women’s desperate hope that Adam is indeed their missing loved one, but also their mounting anguish as they attempt to persuade the doctors – and themselves – of the veracity of their convictions. And through it all, there is Adam – an exhibit, a pawn, a tortured soul - who comes to feel a sense of responsibility for each woman’s emotional needs, while remaining unable to deny – or fulfil - his own.
‘When I Come Home Again’ is a heart-breaking read which reveals the far-reaching tragedies of war. My heart ached for the three women and for Adam, and though I wanted the best for all of them, an undercurrent throughout the novel warns there can be few happy endings in such a situation. Whilst I very much enjoyed ‘The Photographer of the Lost’, for me, ‘When I Come Home Again’ was the more moving read, and the one which will stay with me. I highly recommend it – and I very much look forward to Caroline Scott’s next novel.
May 26, 2020
When I Come Home Again by Caroline by Caroline Scott is an excellent debut historical fiction from Ms. Scott that will stay with me for quite some time.
I was initially drawn in by the premise and the time period being WWI. From the first chapter, I was pulled in by the mystery, plot, and wonderfully developed character cast.
This is not just a war-era novel about finding the identity of this particular individual. This is a book that brought, at least to me, to light a face, a person that represented each and every soldier, citizen, and individual that was affected during the active war and battles, but also that was affected by the loss and trauma afterwards. It was as if Adam was able to represent every person that was lost to loved ones (physically and emotionally) from war. It put a face to a name of the many that were lost forever and never to return as they were, or at all. It was heart breaking, heavy, emotional, and a story that is needed to be told so that these sacrifices are never forgotten.
I went through a lot of reflection and different emotions as I devoured this book, and it gave me another perspective of the events and persons affected. The author accomplished her goal of writing an interesting, important, and emotional book. An important story that I hope continues to be told.
5/5 stars
Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster UK for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.
I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon and B&N accounts upon publication.
I was initially drawn in by the premise and the time period being WWI. From the first chapter, I was pulled in by the mystery, plot, and wonderfully developed character cast.
This is not just a war-era novel about finding the identity of this particular individual. This is a book that brought, at least to me, to light a face, a person that represented each and every soldier, citizen, and individual that was affected during the active war and battles, but also that was affected by the loss and trauma afterwards. It was as if Adam was able to represent every person that was lost to loved ones (physically and emotionally) from war. It put a face to a name of the many that were lost forever and never to return as they were, or at all. It was heart breaking, heavy, emotional, and a story that is needed to be told so that these sacrifices are never forgotten.
I went through a lot of reflection and different emotions as I devoured this book, and it gave me another perspective of the events and persons affected. The author accomplished her goal of writing an interesting, important, and emotional book. An important story that I hope continues to be told.
5/5 stars
Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster UK for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.
I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon and B&N accounts upon publication.
November 3, 2020
This was an exquisite, slow-paced, historical novel that moved me so much. It was a window on both individual, and collective, grief. It also explores the psychological rehabilitation process which is my day job, as a counsellor. Regular visitors to my blog will know that I am fascinated with this period of history depicted in novels as varied as Emma Donoghue’s recent novel The Pull of The Stars and in the last few years Sarah Water’s The Paying Guests, Adele Park’s Spare Brides and Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life. All deal with a different aspect of this period of huge social change. The nation is grieving, for lost sons, husbands and brothers but also for a time of innocence now lost to them. Young women struggle to find husbands as the policy of neighbours fighting together meant villages losing whole generations of men. Distinctions between the classes come tumbling down as men from all backgrounds fought together for a common purpose. Many estates were crippled by death duties, often for two generations at once, and men who never expected to shoulder the burden of a family estate were suddenly dukes, but without any means. Institutions like the debs ball seemed trivial and outdated, with many new heirs marrying money from abroad bringing Americans and their new money into the ranks. Others lost their estates altogether and had to consider working for the first time ever. Women who had held the fort, while the men went to Europe to fight, did not want to return to the home and wifely duties. Even men who had jobs held for them, faced a fight to get them back. Women were not the same, they’d been stretched and depended upon in wartime and wanted more equality at home, work and in the political system. The upheaval in our class system, in gender roles and working life is unimaginable. When set against the backdrop of national mourning and a worldwide flu pandemic we can perhaps imagine a little the seismic psychological shifts happening. On the plus side it’s a dynamic time, where the old order is overturned, people born in poverty or the wrong gender could change their lives because of the social mobility created.
We see these issues through the characters in Caroline Scott’s book and understand how some want to recover a lost past however unlikely it is, whereas others want to blank out their experiences and start again without memories or baggage. Scott starts her book with an epigraph from the tomb of the unknown soldier in Westminster Abbey. Also used as a focal point for Anna Hope’s wonderful post WWI novel Wake, the burial of this young man is full of symbolism. One man chosen from the many lost in France, to symbolise both those who died and those who would never be recovered or identified. His burial in the abbey would be broadcasted in cinemas and over 100,000 visited his grave to pay their respects in the next few weeks. In Durham, another anonymous young man is found using chalk to write on the flagstones in the cathedral. He is arrested and taken for treatment with Dr James Haworth who aims to slowly help his patient recall who he is and what has brought him to Durham. Named Adam Galilee by the police who found him, he is subject to many different methods, including covering the walls of his room with mirrors. They spend so much time talking and questioning, gently in case they force him into distressing memories. As Haworth observes ‘something strong within him is resisting recalling the pertinent parts’.
As a counsellor and writer I think a lot about the concept of ‘self’ and how it’s constructed, and I loved how Scott explores this in the chapters marked as belonging to Adam. He talks about how they ask him for a first memory and he knows they’re avoiding more recent times, despite there being a complete void where his time as a soldier is concerned. He knows they’re looking for a beginning to who he is and all he does know is that it doesn’t work like that.
‘It isn’t linear. That’s not the way it works. It doesn’t have momentum, or a narrative arc, and he doesn’t know where it starts. It surprises him, if they are doctors of minds, that they can’t understand that’.
I thought this was so clever, because it questions the very nature of the self. Are we ever one fixed set of characteristics or are we fluid and ever changing? If any of us are asked to describe who we are we tend to come up with a list of things we love to eat, listen to, wear and watch. As if the self can somehow be captured and solidified by these objects. When asked who we are, we refer back. So what happens when we cast our minds back and there is nothing there to hang on to. All Adam can do is ‘be’. To exist, try things and see what sticks. Rebuild from now. Maybe this is preferable to remembering before, the trauma and the hell of the battlefield? It was beautiful to see Adam gain a love of nature, whether rediscovered or a new appreciation it has a healing quality. He also has a talent for sketching and he captures the nature around Fellside, as well as the repeating a young woman’s face, which may be a clue to who he is. Supporting him through this self-discovery is James, himself a lost man due to his war experience and very much a wounded healer in these circumstances. His marriage to Caitlin is struggling under the weight of grief, I wanted him to share his war with his wife, but also understood his need to forget.
Just like the unknown soldier, Adam is a cipher for every young man lost in the war. When James puts his picture in a national newspaper, he hopes that someone will recognise him - what he didn’t expect was that three people claim that Adam is theirs; Mark, Robert or Ellis. Caroline weaves the women’s narratives into this tale so we see what war has done to the women left behind. My heart ached for them all and I wanted Adam to belong to each of them in turn; to be Celia’s son, to smooth away the rough edges of Lucy’s tough existence, to absolve Anna and bring resolution to her life. Of course he can’t be all things to all people. This is an intricate balance of viewpoints and Scott weaves a beautiful tapestry from them. Through these people we see a snapshot of post-WWI Britain that is truthful. Art is able to move beyond the patriotism and glory, to see the real cost of war. This is an incredible piece of work. Haunting and complex, a society laid bare emotionally through the tale of a warrior, unknown by name and rank.
We see these issues through the characters in Caroline Scott’s book and understand how some want to recover a lost past however unlikely it is, whereas others want to blank out their experiences and start again without memories or baggage. Scott starts her book with an epigraph from the tomb of the unknown soldier in Westminster Abbey. Also used as a focal point for Anna Hope’s wonderful post WWI novel Wake, the burial of this young man is full of symbolism. One man chosen from the many lost in France, to symbolise both those who died and those who would never be recovered or identified. His burial in the abbey would be broadcasted in cinemas and over 100,000 visited his grave to pay their respects in the next few weeks. In Durham, another anonymous young man is found using chalk to write on the flagstones in the cathedral. He is arrested and taken for treatment with Dr James Haworth who aims to slowly help his patient recall who he is and what has brought him to Durham. Named Adam Galilee by the police who found him, he is subject to many different methods, including covering the walls of his room with mirrors. They spend so much time talking and questioning, gently in case they force him into distressing memories. As Haworth observes ‘something strong within him is resisting recalling the pertinent parts’.
As a counsellor and writer I think a lot about the concept of ‘self’ and how it’s constructed, and I loved how Scott explores this in the chapters marked as belonging to Adam. He talks about how they ask him for a first memory and he knows they’re avoiding more recent times, despite there being a complete void where his time as a soldier is concerned. He knows they’re looking for a beginning to who he is and all he does know is that it doesn’t work like that.
‘It isn’t linear. That’s not the way it works. It doesn’t have momentum, or a narrative arc, and he doesn’t know where it starts. It surprises him, if they are doctors of minds, that they can’t understand that’.
I thought this was so clever, because it questions the very nature of the self. Are we ever one fixed set of characteristics or are we fluid and ever changing? If any of us are asked to describe who we are we tend to come up with a list of things we love to eat, listen to, wear and watch. As if the self can somehow be captured and solidified by these objects. When asked who we are, we refer back. So what happens when we cast our minds back and there is nothing there to hang on to. All Adam can do is ‘be’. To exist, try things and see what sticks. Rebuild from now. Maybe this is preferable to remembering before, the trauma and the hell of the battlefield? It was beautiful to see Adam gain a love of nature, whether rediscovered or a new appreciation it has a healing quality. He also has a talent for sketching and he captures the nature around Fellside, as well as the repeating a young woman’s face, which may be a clue to who he is. Supporting him through this self-discovery is James, himself a lost man due to his war experience and very much a wounded healer in these circumstances. His marriage to Caitlin is struggling under the weight of grief, I wanted him to share his war with his wife, but also understood his need to forget.
Just like the unknown soldier, Adam is a cipher for every young man lost in the war. When James puts his picture in a national newspaper, he hopes that someone will recognise him - what he didn’t expect was that three people claim that Adam is theirs; Mark, Robert or Ellis. Caroline weaves the women’s narratives into this tale so we see what war has done to the women left behind. My heart ached for them all and I wanted Adam to belong to each of them in turn; to be Celia’s son, to smooth away the rough edges of Lucy’s tough existence, to absolve Anna and bring resolution to her life. Of course he can’t be all things to all people. This is an intricate balance of viewpoints and Scott weaves a beautiful tapestry from them. Through these people we see a snapshot of post-WWI Britain that is truthful. Art is able to move beyond the patriotism and glory, to see the real cost of war. This is an incredible piece of work. Haunting and complex, a society laid bare emotionally through the tale of a warrior, unknown by name and rank.
July 17, 2020
Caroline Scott's second novel is one of the best books I've read this year. Beautifully written and superbly plotted, the novel also balances the perspective of multiple characters, shifting between them seamlessly and allowing each to develop as nuanced, complex personalities.
The story revolves around the story of Adam Galilee, the name given to the amnesic soldier who is arrested by the police for sketching in chalk on a tomb in Durham Cathedral. Adam is released into the care of psychiatrist James Haworth, another veteran of the Great War who is haunted by the men he could not save. Drawn by Adam's isolation, James becomes obsessed with restoring Adam to those who love him while at the same time denying his own tortured memories that estrange him from his wife, Celia.
Advertisements that seek to locate Adam's family draw hundreds who believe he is their missing son, brother, or husband. As James Haworth wonders, "Can that many people be deluded? Can there be so much wishful thinking in the world?" The tenderness with which the novel explores these women's loss and longing serves as the foundation for exploring eternal questions of grief: is it essential to face reality when it is too brutally painful to be borne? Does pretending to feel better promote or disrupt lasting emotional healing?
A book that begs to be re-read and discussed, Scott's novel is a treat to be savored.
The story revolves around the story of Adam Galilee, the name given to the amnesic soldier who is arrested by the police for sketching in chalk on a tomb in Durham Cathedral. Adam is released into the care of psychiatrist James Haworth, another veteran of the Great War who is haunted by the men he could not save. Drawn by Adam's isolation, James becomes obsessed with restoring Adam to those who love him while at the same time denying his own tortured memories that estrange him from his wife, Celia.
Advertisements that seek to locate Adam's family draw hundreds who believe he is their missing son, brother, or husband. As James Haworth wonders, "Can that many people be deluded? Can there be so much wishful thinking in the world?" The tenderness with which the novel explores these women's loss and longing serves as the foundation for exploring eternal questions of grief: is it essential to face reality when it is too brutally painful to be borne? Does pretending to feel better promote or disrupt lasting emotional healing?
A book that begs to be re-read and discussed, Scott's novel is a treat to be savored.
January 20, 2023
Wow, where do I start? I absolutely loved this book. The author skilfully portrays the frightened man who had no idea who he is and of the efforts made by a doctor who tries so hard to help him get past the trauma he has undoubtedly suffered so that he can unlock the mystery of who he is. The stories of the desperate women who were all determined to “claim” him were heart rending as was Adam’s sense of responsibility in doing all he could to find out if he was who they wanted him to be, even though it caused him more anguish. The sense that a whole generation was traumatised by the war in so many ways is so well portrayed and it broke my heart reading about those poor women looking for the men they had lost, as well as the men traumatised by the things they had seen and experienced. I cannot recommend this book highly enough and having already read and loved The Photographer of the Lost, cannot wait for Caroline Scott’s next book
October 27, 2020
Thank you Caroline Scott, Simon Schuster UK and Kaleidoscopic Tours for having me on this tour and for my gifted copy.
SYNOPSIS : Based on true events. A soldier who has lost his memory is arrested in Durham Cathedral and a doctor tries everything in his power to help him remember who he was. His picture is published in a newspaper and several women come forward claiming to be his relatives. Does he belong to any of them or to somebody else?
I really like reading historical fiction and this one didn't disappoint. It is the first book I have read by Caroline Scott and I was surprised on how slow paced the history is set up, it is a slow burner one, but at the same time how it got me so hooked!
I was reading at bedtime and I ended up going to bed later because I was immersed in the story. I wanted to know more about the soldier, how he felt after the trauma he brought from the war and how is life was changing despite his memory loss. I really wanted him to find his family to put the missing pieces back together. It was moving and breathtaking.
SYNOPSIS : Based on true events. A soldier who has lost his memory is arrested in Durham Cathedral and a doctor tries everything in his power to help him remember who he was. His picture is published in a newspaper and several women come forward claiming to be his relatives. Does he belong to any of them or to somebody else?
I really like reading historical fiction and this one didn't disappoint. It is the first book I have read by Caroline Scott and I was surprised on how slow paced the history is set up, it is a slow burner one, but at the same time how it got me so hooked!
I was reading at bedtime and I ended up going to bed later because I was immersed in the story. I wanted to know more about the soldier, how he felt after the trauma he brought from the war and how is life was changing despite his memory loss. I really wanted him to find his family to put the missing pieces back together. It was moving and breathtaking.
September 18, 2025
This is one of the most moving books I have ever read.
The main character Adams portrayal is heart churning as you realise a whole generation was lost during to the First World War and for those who did return how truly horrific and cruel their lives became as they suffered psychological and physical conditions.
The loss of the widows, mothers and sisters is laid bare, as hundreds come forward to claim Adam.
Carolyn Scott's description of the loss and longing of those women is written with such emotions that at times it reduced me to tears. The scene when the unknown soldier is buried in Westminster Abbey is so sad, as thousands of women descended in London, all believed it was their loved one being buried.
The main character Adams portrayal is heart churning as you realise a whole generation was lost during to the First World War and for those who did return how truly horrific and cruel their lives became as they suffered psychological and physical conditions.
The loss of the widows, mothers and sisters is laid bare, as hundreds come forward to claim Adam.
Carolyn Scott's description of the loss and longing of those women is written with such emotions that at times it reduced me to tears. The scene when the unknown soldier is buried in Westminster Abbey is so sad, as thousands of women descended in London, all believed it was their loved one being buried.
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