A Brother's Shadow by Ida Linehan Young
Reviewed by James M. Fisher
Ida Linehan Young’s second novel for Seaweed Publishing is A Brother’s Shadow. After writing Blinders, a police procedural, she has returned to her love of historical fiction, this time a story centred around the Newfoundland Overseas Forestry Unit (NOFU) which was responsible for supporting the UK’s need for timber products (and woodsmen) during WWII.1 Newfoundland was a Dominion of Great Britain at the time, and unlike in the Great War, had no regiment serving in the Second World War. However, there was a need for experienced woodsmen and these were actively recruited in Newfoundland.
“The Crown is in dire need of men like all of you, but it is not on the battlefield. The urgent need is in the timber.” He talked for a few minutes about the ships that brought wood across the ocean now being refitted for wartime activities. There was a pit prop shortage impacting the coal mines, which impacted industry and the war effort. “England says they can not win if the need is not filled. A civilian force must be ready to go immediately.”
Frank was taking it all in. It didn’t matter to him where he went.
Frank Hollett, the male protagonist of the story, has left home on Farewell Island to join the Canadian Army, but is given an axe instead of a gun and sent to Scotland to harvest timber. His older brother Sam had earlier left home to join the Army, leaving Frank behind to care for their widowed –but very capable– mother, Effie. Sam also left behind Clara, his girlfriend, who Frank also adores. Clara had worked as a domestic in a neighbour’s house, but has been let go because the oldest children are capable of helping around the house now. Effie, the kind soul that she is, takes in Clara (who came to the island as an orphan). Frank, unable to live under the same roof as “Sam’s girl”, decides to leave home and join up.
The story now switches to Scotland in the early days of WWII and the newly formed NOFU has their work cut out for them (pun intended). They need to build barracks and make other preparations, as they are starting from scratch. The unit soon gets up and running efficiently, and they are aided by the addition of “lumberjills” from the Women’s Timber Corps. One of the young women that comes under Frank’s mentorship is Fiona Morrison, whose two older sisters joined the Women’s Land Army, leaving her alone to care for her father. Frank and Fiona develop a mutual admiration that soon blooms into a romance, making him forget Clara, who he knows he will never be with once Sam returns. Even when the war is over, he decides to stay in Scotland with Fiona.
“Frank didn’t need to be asked twice. He signed on. He’d realized that he had to get on with his life and leave Newfoundland and Clara behind. He had to look to what was in front of him, rather than what was behind him,” (pg. 161)
Then he gets a letter from home…
So ends the “Scottish” half of the book and the scene now shifts back to Farewell Island where Frank returns to following his mother’s letter that Sam has been missing in action for some time.
Returning home after the war, Frank finds that he (and the other NOFU men) are viewed as “cowards” for they went into the woods, and not to the front lines. There is no hero’s welcome for them. No reimbursement for their war effort services. No jobs, either, as the returning servicemen have snapped them all up. Nevertheless, Clara and Frank are soon married, and Numerous things happen that make the couple’s difficult life anything but simple, even though I haven’t (and won’t) reveal all the details.
There is a wealth of great storytellers in Newfoundland and Labrador, and Ida Linehan Young has worked (or written) her way to the top with such historical fiction novels as “Being Mary Ro”, “A Secret Close to Home”, and “The Stolen Ones”. Her new book, “A Brother’s Shadow”, will definitely be another gem in her “Queen of the Storytellers” crown. Not only has she called attention to the crucial role that women played in the war effort behind the scenes, but she has also brought the vital work of the NOFU out of the shadows.2 Her research is admirable, her dialogues are realistic, and the emotions are genuine. Any fan of historical fiction, including those of Ms. Linehan Young, will value this addition to their library.
About the Author
Ida Linehan Young lives on the majestically rugged and beautiful island of Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada. She has an avid interest in the history of her province. Matching that love of history with the art of storytelling passed down from her father and her maternal grandfather, Ida weaves fictional characters through events and places that you might not believe were real.
About the Reviewer
James M. Fisher is the Editor-in-Chief of The Seaboard Review of Books. He resides in Miramichi, New Brunswick, with his wife, Diane, their tabby cat, Eddie, and Buster, their Border Collie. James also works as an MRI technologist at the Miramichi Hospital.
Book Details
Publisher : Seaweed Publishing
Publication date : April 30 2026
ISBN-13 : 978-1069446688
Language : English
Print length : 270 pages
The author’s father served in the NOFU.
There is more information on the historical aspects of the story included at the back of the book.