Fall of Giants (Century Trilogy, 1)

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Fitz goes with Maud to a meeting in the East End, where he sees Ethel. He speaks to her, but they both maintain a very formal tone. He asks her to meet him the next day and Ethel reluctantly agrees. He offers to arrange for her to watch a Parliamentary debate now that her childhood hero, David Lloyd George, is Prime Minister. He also offers to set her up in a large house complete with servants and tutors for Lloyd if she will be his mistress. She tells him that she will think about it. On April 6, 1917, the United States declares war on Germany. Walter’s only hope now is for the Russian government to collapse so that the anti-war group will take control. Grigori’s joy is tempered when he sees that Pinsky, his nemesis, has joined the Revolution. Katerina gives birth to a girl while Grigori is busy fighting; she sent a message to him that she was giving birth, but he ignored it. She is bitter that she had to have the baby with the help of the midwife they both hated. Walter finds himself attracted to Monika von der Helbard despite his marriage to Maud. He and Monika discuss the new Russian government’s announcement that they will continue to fight. Despite his own attraction and her obvious interest in him, Walter keeps Monika at arm’s length, even though he knows that her feelings are hurt by his distance. Think about the ways the main characters' lives intersected throughout the book. Were there any characters that didn't meet over the entirety of the novel that you wished did? Who, and why?

Fall of Giants is his magnificent new historical epic. The first novel in The Century Trilogy, it follows the fates of five interrelated families—American, German, Russian, English, and Welsh—as they move through the world-shaking dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for women’s suffrage. Bea tells Fitz that she wants to go to Russia to see Andrei. Fitz sees this as an opportunity to observe conditions in Russia for the Foreign Office. Ethel views the House of Commons victory for women’s suffrage with some regret that she and Maud are no longer championing the cause together. Passing by, Fitz warns her that it will be defeated in the House of Lords.

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As his battalion meets the German offensive, Grigori’s fear soon turns to anger at the relentless barrage of bullets. The battle is nothing but confusion and Grigori is unable to make any shot count. He is surprised to find most of one ear shot off. It is not until after the fighting is over that he manages to shoot a passing German. Throughout May and June 1917, Lev runs a nightclub in Buffalo while cheating on his wife with Marga. Josef catches him and gives Lev a new job at the foundry to keep him away from women. However, the workers go on strike over low wages and Gus is sent to stop it. When Lev fails to end it himself, Gus meets with the Union Leader, Lev, and Josef. He demands a 50 cent increase in wages or they will lose the factory to the army. Josef agrees to the deal. Later, Lev is caught again with Marga and Josef forces him to join the army. Gus later announces that he, too, has volunteered. The publication of Fall of Giants will be a major international event, with simultaneous publication in at least fifteen countries. Is this the biggest publication event of your career to date?

I keep recommending this book to friends. It's one of those books that both educates and entertains - a real winner as I feel I'm improving myself rather than simply indulging in escapism. If the sheer size of the traditional paper version puts you off, then this is definitely one to do audio-style. The narration is spot on. There are several key themes linking facets in world history at this point. They include the causes of the First World War, the collapse of the Russian Empire, and Germany's role in the continuance of a bloody war that led to its economic collapse and the postwar rise of Hitler. Walter has been reassigned to the battlefield as the fighting has become crucial in the final days of the war. On the fog-covered no-man’s-land, Walter’s company faces Billy Williams and the boys of Aberowen. When the fog lifts, the gunfire begins. The Germans split and come at the British from both sides. Billy and his men retreat.As Grigori finishes his story, he cleans Katerina’s wounds and falls instantly in love with her. He tells her of the death of his mother, killed on Bloody Sunday in 1905 when the workers marched to the Winter Palace to plead to the tsar for redress of grievances. From September to December 1914, Fitz works in France as an interpreter to help maintain the peace between the French and British members of the military. He learns that most of the government has fled Paris, leaving a man named Gallieni to defend it. Fitz is angry that the British are choosing to retreat instead of fighting, and he is introduced to French General Lourceau who convinces the British general to keep fighting. However, their advancements are slow and Gallieni uses taxis to move the French men to the front lines. While Britain is slow, the German advance is stopped and they fight until December 24th where the men call an unofficial truce and Walter asks Fitz to tell Maud he was thinking of her.

Gus is sent to Berlin once the election is over. There, he meets Walter and says that Wilson wants the Germans and Allies to hold peace talks. However, Otto says they need a total victory and that America’s army is too small to matter. Walter then writes a love letter to Maud and sends it through Gus, promising that they will deliver Wilson’s proposal to the Kaiser. Gus tells Maud about the peace talks as Fitz tells them there will be no compromise in the British government. Gus gives Maud the letter, much to her excitement.

READERS GUIDE

Do you think it will surprise readers to realize how little freedom and equality women in Europe and America had in the early twentieth century? That an unmarried upper-class Englishwoman was not allowed to be alone with a man, for example, or that she had to ask her father's or brother's permission to get married—or that he expected to read all her mail?

In St. Petersburg, Fitz and Gus Dewar tour the Russian locomotive works, guided by Lev and Grigori Peshkov. Grigori recognizes Fritz’s wife Bea as the sister of the Russian prince who had killed his father. Walter goes to his father’s office and shares what he has learned. He then meets Maud at tea at the Duchess of Sussex’s home. Maud manages to get Walter alone in the library, but they are soon interrupted by Lady Hermia, Maud’s aunt. Walter details the casualties of the German victory to General Ludendorff. The Russian Second Army (Grigori’s division) effectively has been wiped out in the East, although the Russians have gained the advantage on the Western Front.

At the German Embassy, Walter hopes that the British and the French can stay out of the war so that the conflict is confined to eastern Europe. However, this depends on France’s ability to maintain a position of neutrality. Germany has told Britain that, if she promises to stay out of the war, France will not be invaded. Fitz feels that this would be betraying British allies. France has a treaty with Russia, however, obliging her to fight if Russia does, which it seems is about to happen. If France enters the war, Britain then will feel no obligation to support her against Germany. In continuation of the above question, if you had to identify one of the main characters' stories as one that would make a good "stand-alone" novel, which would it be? Why do you think his/her story would make an enjoyable book on its own? The characters and their extended families find their fortunes changing for the better and for the worse due to both their interactions with each other and the effects of the First World War. After finding an article about Maud in his wallet, Monika guesses that not only is he in love with Maud but is in fact married to her. Despite her pain, she promises to keep their secret. Walter writes a letter to Maud in code, telling her that his family wants him to marry someone and that he has been forced to tell their secret. In Paris, personal grievances between the British and French commanding generals slow communication as the Germans march on the city. Fitz learns that the French government has fled Paris. He receives a call from Maud with the news of the London home front. Fitz tells her of his prediction that the war will be over, one way or another, in a few days.