Fall of the Titans

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Fall of the Titans (Original: Fall of Giants ) is a novel by the British writer Ken Follett , published by Lübbe-Verlag . The book was published simultaneously on September 28, 2010 in 16 countries. It is the first part of the trilogy The Century Saga (Original: The Century Trilogy ), Part 2 was published on September 18, 2012 under the title Winter der Welt (Original: Winter of the World ). The third part appeared in 2014 under the title Children of Freedom (Original: Edge of Eternity ).

content

The plot revolves mainly around five families in Europe and America before, during and shortly after the First World War . A young man with connections to England comes from a German-Austrian aristocratic family and has to go to war as a German officer. A Welsh girl from a miner's family fights for women's rights. A noble Welsh family moves between conservative and liberal values. An aspiring American politician works with all his might for peace. And two brothers from Russia go different ways, one becomes an idealistic revolutionary under Lenin and the other looks for happiness in the USA. Their fates are intertwined against the background of the escalating conflict in Europe, which rearranged the old balance of power.

The novel begins with 13-year-old William Williams, known as Billy Twice, the son of a union official. He has his first day at the Aberowen coal mines in Wales .

Ethel Williams, Billy's older sister, works as a servant on the estate of Earl Edward Fitzherbert. After he became pregnant, she had to leave the property, but was given a house in London.

A disaster happens at the Aberowen coal mines, exposing the coal company's lousy security measures. During the accident, Billy becomes the hero who saves the lives of many workers. The widows of those who died in the accident are thrown out of their rental houses and the union goes on strike . The strike is unsuccessful.

Walter von Ulrich, employee of the German embassy in London, falls in love with Maud, the sister of Earl Fitzherbert. After the outbreak of the First World War, Walter had to leave England. The day before their departure, Maud and Walter secretly marry.

Grigory Peshkov, metal worker at the Putilov works in Petrograd , dreams of emigrating to the United States . On the day of his departure, his brother Lew kills a policeman. Grigori gives Lev his ticket and stays in Russia .

Gus Dewar, son of an American senator, becomes one of President Woodrow Wilson's closest confidants and, as a specialist in European foreign policy, acts as his advisor.

During the First World War, Walter von Ulrich first had to fight on the Eastern Front . He was then transferred to the Western Front , where he even met Earl Fitzherbert on Christmas Eve 1914 during a ceasefire.

Billy Twice has to go to the Western Front and he's in the Aberowen Pals . His unit in command is Earl Fitzherbert, whom he hates for getting his sister pregnant.

During the war, Maud Fitzherbert and Ethel Williams worked together for women's rights.

Lev Peschkow arrives in the United States after a long layover in Wales. Here he works for Joseph Vyalov, the owner of several bars and hotels. When Joseph Vyalov's daughter Olga has a child from him, Joseph forces her to marry.

The Aberowen Pals are transferred to Russia. to fight the Red Army there. Seargeant Billy Twice writes about it to his sister Ethel, who then starts the Hands-Off-Russia campaign. Billy is jailed for 10 years for this reason, but he is released. He marries Mildred, a friend of Ethel's.

Walter and Maud announce their marriage during the peace negotiations in Paris. They then live in modest circumstances in Germany and Maud has to make music in a night club .

Ethel and Billy become MPs in the House of Commons after the war .

Gus, meanwhile in a relationship with the journalist Rosa, works together with the President for the formation of a League of Nations that is supposed to guarantee worldwide peace.

Grigori took part in the October Revolution , lived in the Kremlin with the friend of his brother Lev Katherina, who was left behind, and belonged to the new Russian elite.

Lev is forced by Joseph Vyalov to volunteer for the army because of his persistent infidelity. After his return he kills Joseph Vyalov in a fight and takes over his business threatened by prohibition . His solution to the threatened business is to illegally import and sell whiskey from Canada .

Characters of the novel

American

Gus Dewar, son of American Senator Cameron Dewar from Buffalo .

Joseph Vyalov, a businessman

Lena Vyalov, his wife

Olga Vyalov, his daughter

Rosa Hellman, a one-eyed reporter

Russians

Grigory Peshkov

Grigori originally comes from an area southeast of Moscow and grew up there on his parents' farm. When he was eleven years old, his father was hanged. The family then moves to Saint Petersburg . His mother was shot dead on Bloody Sunday in St. Petersburg in 1905. He becomes a lathe operator in the Putilov factory in Saint Petersburg. He originally wanted to emigrate to the United States. However, when his brother Lew is wanted on suspicion of murder, he unceremoniously starts the cruise. He then takes care of Katherina, his brother's pregnant girlfriend. When the First World War began, he was drafted and had to fight at the front. Shortly before he was transferred to the front, he married Katherina. In the course of the October Revolution he quickly made a career with the Bolsheviks and became an advisor to Leon Trotsky .

He is portrayed in the book (in contrast to his brother Lew) as a conscientious character who is interested in politics and who cares about his environment. He is a Bolshevik and is hostile to religion.

Lev Peshkov

Grigori Peshkov's younger brother goes to Saint Petersburg with his brother Grigori when his father is executed. Afterwards he worked as a stable boy in the Putilow works. With card game tricks he has an additional income, which he often spends on bars and women. When he is suspected of murder, he has to flee Russia. He then embarks on a boat trip to the United States, which was actually intended for his brother. However, the trip ends in Cardiff . In order to be able to finance the onward journey to the USA, he hires out as a miner in Aberowen. There, too, he cheats while playing cards and earns extra money. But when his cheat is exposed, he has to flee Aberowen. With the money won, he emigrates to the USA. Once there, he goes to Buffalo and works as a stable boy for Joseph Vyalov. After a short time, however, he becomes its chauffeur and bodyguard. When he gets his daughter Olga pregnant, he has to marry her. Then he runs a nightclub belonging to his father-in-law. When Joseph Vyalov discovers he is having an affair with nightclub singer Marga, he is removed from that position. Soon afterwards he has to enter the First World War. After the First World War, he kills Joseph Vyalov in a fight and then takes over his business empire.

Lew is a frivolous contemporary who often spends the money he has earned (through cheating) in bars and for women. Since he is poor with money, he is often involved in petty criminal activities such as receiving stolen goods, theft or fraud. He also has a weakness for women and has several illegitimate children (with Katherina and Marga).

Katherina

Katherina is a peasant girl who came to Saint Petersburg in 1914. Grigori gets her a job at the Putilov works. She begins a relationship with Lew, but she has to leave when he has to flee Russia on suspicion of murder. A few months later, she gives birth to their son, Vladimir. Grigori takes care of Katherina and takes her child as his son. When war broke out, the two married. After the war they have a daughter named Anja.

Princess Bea

The wife of Earl Edward Fitzherbert. She originally came from Russia and, after marrying Fitzherbert, lives together in Wales. In Russia she lived well and had several lands that were lost to her in the course of the Russian Revolution.

Germans and Austrians

Walter von Ulrich

Walter von Ulrich is the son of the German diplomat Otto von Ulrich. He himself is a military attaché to the German embassy. Before the war he lived in London as he speaks English very well. In his childhood he had frequented the Tý Gwyn estate and was therefore good friends with the then young Earl Edward Fitzherbert, whom he also called Fitz. He also fell in love with Lady Maud, the earl's sister. But their mutual love only kindled when they saw each other again during the king's visit to Tý Gwyn. They wanted to get married from then on, but could not do so because of the impending war and the ensuing hostility between Germany and England, which is why they only married in secret shortly before the war began. After all, Walter also had to go to the front in France.

Otto von Ulrich

Walter's conservative father. He believes in the stab- in-the-back legend , and he and his son have a strained relationship.

Count Robert von Ulrich

Walter's gay cousin. He's Austrian, so he's fighting on the Eastern Front. He was taken prisoner by Russia , but returned to Austria after the end of the war . He supports Hitler .

Welsh

Earl Edward Fitzherbert, known as "Fitz"

Fitz is a rich earl in the House of Lords . He is married to Bea, a Russian princess. Before the war, he impregnates Ethel Williams, his housekeeper, and then takes her to a house in London. During the war he becomes the commanding officer of the Aberowen Pals, but is injured in the leg, which means that he can only hobble. He is a great opponent of the Bolsheviks.

Lady Maud Fitzherbert, his sister

Lady Maud is a suffragette who falls in love with the German Walter von Ulrich. Before the war breaks out, they secretly marry.

David Williams, called "Dah"

Cara Williams, his wife, called "Mam"

Ethel Williams, her daughter

Ethel works as a maid in Earl Edward Fitzherbert's mansion. She starts an affair with him and becomes pregnant. As a result, she has to quit her job and leave Aberowen, as her father rejected her after noticing the pregnancy. However, Fitz buys her a little house in London where she can live. After giving birth to her son Lloyd, she sews uniforms for the British Army (since the First World War has broken out in the meantime). She befriends Maud and begins to get involved in the suffragette movement. In particular, they fight for women's suffrage. Meanwhile, she marries and has a daughter. She joins the Labor Party and, after women's suffrage has been introduced, runs as a candidate for a seat in the lower house. In this election she wins a seat and is one of the first women to move into the House of Commons.

Billy Williams, Ethel's younger brother

Billy had to work as a miner boy in the Aberowen coal mine when he was only thirteen. His colleagues give him the nickname "Billy-with-Jesus". When the First World War began, he volunteered for the front. He is transferred to the western front in northern France and fights the Germans there. He made a quick career and was promoted to sergeant . Shortly before the end of the war, he was transferred to a secret mission in support of the White Army and the Czechoslovak legions in Vladivostok. When he wrote letters to his sister about the mission in Siberia, his superior, Earl Fitzherbert, charged him with high treason. He is sentenced to ten years of forced labor in a military prison. However, he had to be released a year later under public pressure from the press. In Owen But he is celebrated as a hero on his return and at the next general election elected deputy of the Labor Party.

In the novel, Billy is consistently ascribed positive traits. He is very righteous and is always ready to stand up for weaker people. In a mine accident in Aberowen, he personally rescues some coal miners from certain death. During the First World War, too, he was characterized by great bravery and leadership and was valued by his comrades. He is often critical of his superiors, especially Earl Fitzherbert, because he is of the opinion that officers are only selected based on their aristocratic origin and not on their competence. At first he was very religious, regularly attending the Bethesda Chapel service, but soon turned away from religion. Politically, he is left-wing and sympathizes with the Bolsheviks and the October Revolution. He is against the established system in England and the predominance of the aristocracy. He is involved in the Labor Party .

criticism

“At Follett, entertainment and education of readers are consistent. Coloring, the main activity of the trivial novel, is not his business, his anonymous and omniscient narrator finds an appropriate and therefore realistic language for the warlords' disdain for human beings and the horror of material battles. What then distinguishes this technically perfect novel from really great art? In Thomas Mann's story “Tonio Kröger”, the dance teacher François Knaak says that he is so popular because he “doesn't look into things”, doesn't really get to the bottom of them. The same applies to the great writer Ken Follett: he shows us the world and its actors consistently and exclusively from the outside. This limits his narrative ability and makes him popular. On the other hand, he also gives the readers the freedom to fill the gaps in his writing with their own imagination. "

"Despite embarrassing sex scenes on the level of a penny novel and dialogues flying like saucers: Ken Follett's new novel is well researched and friendly and social-democratic - nothing stands in the way of a film adaptation in public law."

- Gustav Seibt , Süddeutsche Zeitung, December 12, 2010

literature

Web links

expenditure

The book is available in different editions in stores.

  • Hardcover version (Bastei Lübbe, 1,022 pages first publication: September 28, 2010, ISBN 978-3-7857-2406-4 .)
  • Paperback (Bastei Lübbe, 1,038 pages, first publication: March 30, 2012, ISBN 978-3-404-16660-2 .)
  • Audio book (Lübbe Audio, 12 CDs, 930 minutes, first publication: September 28, 2010, ISBN 978-3-7857-4400-0 .)
  • Download version (Lübbe Audio, 12 CDs, 930 minutes First publication: September 28, 2010, ISBN 978-3-8387-6666-9 .)
  • EBOOK (Lübbe Digital EBOOK (Download) First publication: September 28, 2010, ISBN 978-3-8387-0202-5 .)
  • enhanced e-book (Lübbe Digital (Download) First publication: September 28, 2010, ISBN 978-3-8387-0328-2 .)
  • Unabridged audio book (Audible.de, 37 hours) First published: 2010

Individual evidence

  1. www.ken-follett.com Fall of Giants ... , English, accessed October 26, 2010
  2. Jochen Hieber: The renaissance of the trenches. faz.de, accessed on January 28, 2011 .
  3. Jochen Hieber : The Renaissance of the Trench , Article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung of October 16, 2010, accessed on December 27, 2012.
  4. Gustav Seibt: The fiery Maud . In: sueddeutsche.de . 2010, ISSN  0174-4917 ( sueddeutsche.de [accessed on March 9, 2019]).
  5. ^ Bastei Lübbe Verlag ( Memento from February 23, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  6. Audiobook portal Audible.de