Fall of Giants (Century Trilogy, 1)

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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. What in broad strokes is going to happen in books two and three of The Century Trilogy? When will they be published? Walter manages to sneak through enemy lines in his mission to gather intelligence concerning the number of British soldiers along the Somme. He is overwhelmed when he sees thousands of men gathered in one spot.

Politics is an important element in Fall of the Giants, and you're married to a politician who is a member of Parliament for the Labour Party in the United Kingdom. Did your relationship with your wife influence the view of politics that is presented in your novel? And is there anything of her, or other important women in your life, in your main female characters? Fitz learns of the Zimmerman plan through an intercepted telegram. He gives the information to Gus Dewar. The details include a return of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona to Mexico if Germany wins the war, as well as the intention of encouraging Japan to invade the American West Coast. 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? Billy tells Fitz his name, and Fitz realizes he is Ethel’s brother. As the troops advance, Fitz is hit twice, making Billy the highest ranking officer. He leads his men through craters to take out the machine guns. They retreat, and Billy finds to his regret that Fitz is still alive.

Sometimes a real person goes to a fictional location, as when Winston Churchill visits Tŷ Gwyn. In that case, I have made sure that it was not unusual for him to visit country houses, and that he could well have done so at around that date. On the troop ship carrying Gus and other American troops overseas, Spanish flu breaks out and claims several men. Germany’s army is advancing with the front now at Rheims, north of Paris. The British army is pinned down in Flanders. Fitz is unable to return to combat because of his injuries, so he is assigned to naval intelligence. Bea has become more distant, focusing her attention on her son and regaining her interest in her Russian heritage. Fitz reminds her that she has a duty to bear him children. Meanwhile, Ethel is elated to see Billy who sees that Fitz is against peace talks. Fitz is invited by Maud to debate at a meeting. When he does so, Billy counters with the lives lost at Somme and the leadership’s incompetence. Fitz is furious as he takes Ethel to the meeting of the House of Commons, wishing he had not promised to spare any soldiers because of their opinions. As the House of Commons decides to continue the war, Ethel screams the names of the lives lost and is escorted out. 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.

Walter’s mother tells him that his cousin Robert is missing, meaning Walter could be next in line to the family titles. She wants him to marry Monika von der Helbard, one of the old aristocracy. Walter tells his father of Wilson’s request for peace talks; Otto von Ulrich dismisses the idea but agrees to pass it on to the Kaiser. Walter asks Gus to deliver a letter to Maud. At a party at Fitz’s country home in Aberowen, Ty Gwyn, Gus does so.

Success!

During November and December 1916, Mildred asks Ethel if she can use the room to start a seamstress business. Ethel agrees then talks to Bernie as she reads through letters sent to them by wives of soldiers. She thinks the newspapers are too busy glorifying war to advocate for peace and Bernie says the government both makes a lot and owes a lot of money due to the war. Bernie asks her to marry him, but she asks for time to think about it. Meanwhile, Gus waits for the reelection of Wilson and learns from Rosa that Olga married Lev. 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. The following morning, Maud asks Ethel to go for a walk with her as a chaperone and they exchange gossip about political figures. They meet Walter von Ulrich, which is the purpose of the walk. As Ethel walks separately, she sees them holding hands and then kissing passionately until they are interrupted by the ground shaking. Three years later, the main story begins. Edward "Fitz" Fitzherbert, Earl Fitzherbert, who maintains a country estate in Aberowen and licenses the land on which the coal mine is built, hosts a party for many powerful people around the world. His guests include: Grigori tells Dewar that he and Lev are saving money to go to Buffalo, where Dewar is from, to get jobs with the Vyalov family. Dewar knows that the Vyalovs are a criminal gang, but he tells Grigori simply that they employ several hundred people in their hotel bars.