From one of Canada's most beloved performing artists comes an
audacious work of non-fiction that explores the stories that shape us
and the reach that the past can have across generations.
Growing up north of Toronto, R.H. Thomson's imagination was captured by
romantic notions of war. He spent his days playing with toy soldiers on
the carpet of his grandmother's house, recreating the Battle of Britain
with model planes in his bedroom, or sitting at the local theatre
watching World War II B movies--ones that offered a very clear
perspective on who were the heroes and who the villains; which side were
the victors and which the vanquished.
Yet Thomson's childhood was also shaped by the spirits of real-life
warriors in his family, their fates a brutal and more complicated
reminder of the true human cost of war. Eight of Robert's great
uncles--George, Joe, Jack, Harold, Arthur, Warren, Wildy, and
Fred--fought in the First World War, while his great Aunt Margaret
served as a wartime surgical nurse in Europe. Five of the great
uncles--George, Joe, Fred, Wildy, and Warren--were killed in battle
while two others--Jack and Harold--would return home greatly diminished,
spending the rest of their lives in and out of sanitariums, their lungs
scarred by disease and poison gas. Throughout their lives, the great
uncles, as well as great aunts and cousins, were faithful letter
writers, their correspondence offering profound insights into their
experiences on the front lines to their loved ones back home, a somber
record of the sacrifice the family paid.
In By the Ghost Light, R.H. Thomson offers an extraordinary look at
his family's history while providing a powerful examination of how we
understand war and its aftermath. Using his family letters as a starting
point, Thomson roams through a century of folly, touching on areas of
military history, art, literature, and science, to express the tragic
human cost of war behind the order and calm of ceremonial parades,
memorials, and monuments. In an urgent call for new ways to acknowledge
the dead, R.H. has created "The World Remembers," an ambitious
international project to individually name each of the millions killed
in the First World War.
Epic in its scope and incredibly intimate in its exploration of lives
touched by the tragedy of war, By the Ghost Light is a truly original
book that will challenge the way we approach our history.
