Description
The first in Ken Follett's breathtaking Century Trilogy, Fall of Giants is a captivating novel that follows five families through the world-shaking dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for votes for women.
A World in Chaos
1911, a thirteen-year-old boy, Billy Williams, begins working down the mines as George V is crowned king. The escalating arms race between the empire nations will put not only the king but this young boy in grave danger.
A Terrible War
Billy's family is inextricably linked with the Fitzherberts, the aristocratic owners of the coal mine where he works. And when Maud Fitzherbert falls in love with Walter von Ulrich, a spy at the German embassy in London, their destiny also becomes entangled with that of Gus Dewar, an ambitious young aide to Woodrow Wilson, and two orphaned Russian brothers whose plan to emigrate to America falls foul of conscription, revolution and imminent war.
A Revolution That Will Change Everything
When Russia convulses in bloody revolution and the Great War unfolds, the five families' futures are entwined forever, love bringing them closer even as conflict takes them further apart. What seeds will be sown for further tragedy in the twentieth century and what role will each play in what is to come?
Continue the captivating Century Trilogy with Winter of the World and Edge of Eternity.
An epic of love, hatred, war and revolution
About the Author
Ken Follett was born in Cardiff, Wales. Barred from watching films and television by his parents, he developed an early interest in reading thanks to a local library. After studying philosophy at University College London, he became involved in centre-left politics, entering into journalism soon after. His first thriller, the wartime spy drama Eye of the Needle, became an international bestseller and has sold over 10 million copies. He then astonished everyone with his first historical novel, The Pillars of the Earth, the story of the building of a medieval cathedral, which went on to become one of the most beloved books of the twentieth century. One of the most popular authors in the world, his many books, including the Kingsbridge series and the Century trilogy, have sold more than 178 million copies. A father and husband, Ken lives with his wife in England and enjoys travelling the world when he can.
Reviews
Few works set out with such a grand concept as Ken Follett's new Century trilogy, but part one suggests that the series will be one of the literary masterpieces of our time * Sunday Times *
He's pulled it off again with Fall of Giants: it's classic Follett with the brewing cataclysm of war given a human angle * Sunday Express *
Follett is masterly in conveying so much drama and historical information so vividly * Scotsman *
The master storyteller Ken Follett knits together British, American, German and Russian points of view from the start to the end of the First World War into a fascinating and remarkably fertile tapestry of society and politics * The Times *
An epic saga on a grand scale. Spiked with romance and intrigue . . . This involving historical saga is the perfect read for long winter evenings * Choice *
An extraordinary achievement * Reader's Digest *
Follett has managed to write an accessible and fascinating page turner that leaves the reader wanting more, at the same time as staying true to history * Sunday Business Post *
Book Information
ISBN 9781509848515
Author Ken Follett
Format Paperback
Page Count 864
Imprint Pan Books
Publisher Pan Macmillan
Weight(grams) 594g
Dimensions(mm) 197mm * 131mm * 54mm