The Great Shadow vs The Trumpet-Major, and Robert His Brother: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: Napoleonic wars, History, Fiction

Cover of The Great Shadow

The Great Shadow Arthur Conan Doyle · 1892 ★★★★☆ 3.8 134 pages · ≈ 2 h 29 m · Challenging Find on Amazon

vs

Cover of The Trumpet-Major, and Robert His Brother

The Trumpet-Major, and Robert His Brother Thomas Hardy · 1880 ★★★★☆ 3.7 379 pages · ≈ 7 h 01 m · Challenging Find on Amazon

The verdict

Ratings are close: 3.8 vs 3.7 — either is a safe pick by score.
The Great Shadow is the quicker read — about 2 hours vs 7 for The Trumpet-Major, and Robert His Brother.

Side by side