A huge 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.
It is 1911. The Coronation Day of King George V. The Williams, a Welsh coal-mining family, is linked by romance and enmity to the Fitzherberts, aristocratic coal-mine owners. Lady Maud Fitzherbert falls in love with Walter von Ulrich, a spy at the German Embassy in London. Their destiny is entangled with that of an ambitious young aide to US President Woodrow Wilson and to two orphaned Russian brothers, whose plans to emigrate to America fall foul of war, conscription and revolution.
In a plot of unfolding drama and intriguing complexity, Fall of Giants moves seamlessly from Washington to St Petersburg, from the dirt and danger of a coal mine to the glittering chandeliers of a palace, from the corridors of power to the bedrooms of the mighty.
About the Author
Jennifer Kloester is the world’s foremost expert on romance author Georgette Heyer, and the author of Georgette Heyer: Biography of a Bestseller and Georgette Heyer’s Regency World, both published by Sourcebooks in the U.S. A professional writer for more than a decade, Jennifer was granted unlimited access to Georgette Heyer’s private papers by her son, Sir Richard Rougier. She has also had exclusive access to the newly-discovered archives of Georgette Heyer’s early letters. Meticulously researched, Jennifer’s groundbreaking biography provides a wealth of new and intriguing insights into one of the world’s most reclusive bestselling authors. Jennifer has travelled widely researching Georgette Heyer’s life and writing and is a sought-after speaker on Heyer and the Regency.
Jennifer’s debut novel for young adults, The Cinderella Moment, will be published in the summer of 2013 by Penguin Books Australia and by Swoon YA Romance/Month9Books. She lives in Melbourne, Australia.
Industry Reviews
'All lovers of the great Heyer, inventor of the Regency Romance, will love this superb biography of a very private woman.' -- Saga
'Jennifer Kloester's book is an exhaustive and detailed biography which is quite as gripping as The Regency Buck or The Corinthian. Recognition at last.' -- Country Life
'Kloester crams her book with nuggets ... Heyer's devotees will be charmed by this engaging tour of the author's world.' -- The Washington Post