Description
Book SynopsisThe first novel in Kate Williams' groundbreaking new historical series which begins in the First World War. For fans of BIRDSONG and DOWNTON ABBEY.
Trade Reviewa big juicy drama set on the eve of the First World War. TV historian Kate Williams paints a spellbinding portrait of a family clinging on desperately to their privileged way of life * GOOD HOUSEKEEPING *
A beautifully conjured family saga. Fans of DOWNTON ABBEY will love it -- Alison Weir
Brilliant - a passionate and poignant story of a glittering family on the precipice of a vanished world. Spellbinding, gripping and beautiful - a must read . . . the new CAZALET CHRONICLES -- Lisa Hilton
[An] all-encompassing, sweeping epic. It's a book to get immersed in for hours at a time . . . powerful . . . a wonderful achievement -- Katherine Webb
A wonderful evocation of a family torn apart by war, packed with drama and written with a sensitive warmth and fantastic historical insight -- Imogen Robertson
Celia de Witt is the 15 year old daughter of a German born industrialist and his aristocratic wife who live in a magnificent country house; her elder sister is about to have a grand society wedding. What
could go wrong? The First World War, that's what ... shades of
Downton, with a dash of
Atonement * TATLER *
This is the first part in a trilogy set against the the First World War that delves into the complexities of loyalty and survival as life in the de Witt family is ineradicably changed. * WOMAN & HOME *
The new novel by the historian Kate Williams, is an epic story about a young woman whose idyllic world is shattered by the First World War, * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH STELLA Magazine *
Williams is too good a historian for melodramatic sentimentality; trusting the historical detail, the reader can relax into a well-paced, truly affecting narrative . . . Richly detailed, light of foot, Williams tantalises with loose ends and disturbs with shocking shadows * INDEPENDENT *
This terrific saga comes with a fascinating twist ... Williams has a gift for showing how great movements in history affect the lives of people caught up in them -- Kate Saunders * THE TIMES *
Williams keeps her story moving and the result is a vivid portrait of a perennially fascinating period of history. -- Stephanie Merritt * THE OBSERVER *
Wartime-saga lovers will be kept on their toes to the end. * DAILY MAIL *
Historian Kate Williams's epic about the First World War starts in the idyllic country mansion of the wealthy de Witt family ... [she] outlines the tragedy of war but also reveals .. how this first modern conflict changed British society beyond recognition. * SUNDAY EXPRESS *
Kate Williams in a vivid writer, conjuring atmosphere through scents and tastes as well as period props. The enjoyable elements of a sweeping family saga are present, but Williams also develops a sense of the emotional and psychological revolutions, both collective and individual, that were catalysed by the conflict -- Lisa Hilton * TLS *
This book has more firepower than DOWNTON . . . Powerful storytelling. -- Alex Gordon * PETERBOROUGH EVENING TELEGRAPH *
Deeply researched and intelligently written, 'The Storms of War' brings Edwardian England to life - life overshadowed by the war that is recreated here in vivid and visceral fashion. Historical fiction that mostly manages to be both cerebral and educational without feeling dull. * THE BOOKBAG *
'As spellbinding as Ken Follett's Fall of Giants'
* BOOKLIST *
