Winter of the World was published by Macmillan in 2012, the second volume of the Century Trilogy, covering 1933–1949. The children and grandchildren of the characters from Fall of Giants now face the defining catastrophe of the century: the rise of Nazism, World War II, and its aftermath.
The novel opens with the Reichstag fire and Hitler’s seizure of power, seen through the eyes of the German von Ulrich family — liberal democrats watching their country slide into barbarism. Carla von Ulrich becomes a resistance nurse; her brother Erik joins the Wehrmacht. The British Fitzherberts are divided between appeasement and intervention. The American Dewars navigate isolationism and then total war. The Russian Peshkovs endure Stalingrad.
Follett weaves the fictional families through documented events: Kristallnacht, the Battle of Britain, Pearl Harbor, D-Day, the Holocaust, the Manhattan Project, and Hiroshima. The novel’s thesis is that the generation that fought WWII was shaped by having watched their parents fail to prevent WWI’s aftermath from producing something worse.
Collecting Winter of the World
First edition (Macmillan, London, 2012): Boards with dust jacket.
Market values:
- UK first edition, fine in jacket: $15–$30
- Signed first: $40–$80
Projected values (2026–2036): Moderate appreciation.
World War II
The second volume of the Century Trilogy covers 1933–1949, following the children of the families from Fall of Giants through the rise of fascism, World War II, and the dawn of the Cold War. Follett’s treatment of the era spans every theatre: the Spanish Civil War, Pearl Harbor, D-Day, Stalingrad, the Manhattan Project, and the Berlin airlift. The narrative technique is panoramic — Follett cuts between his five families as they experience history from different national perspectives.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Follett balance history and fiction? Follett places fictional characters at the intersection of real historical events, allowing them to witness and participate in history without altering it. Historical figures appear in their documented roles, while Follett’s invented characters provide the emotional core. The method is similar to Herman Wouk’s The Winds of War.