Historical War Saga

Cinco famílias, cinco países e cinco destinos marcados por um período dramático da história. Queda de gigantes, primeiro volume da trilogia "O Século", de Ken Follett, começa no despertar do século XX, quando ventos de mudança ameaçam o frágil equilíbrio de forças existente—as potências da Europa estão prestes a entrar em guerra, os trabalhadores não aguentam mais ser explorados pela aristocracia e as mulheres clamam por seus direitos.

Born into a pre-war and middle class Irish family, Rita Reilly enjoys a comfortable upbringing. Her family live above their newsagent and grocery store which prospers because of a terrific location and regular traffic. Rita has every reason to expect she'll complete secondary school, gain a university education, and continue on a path of her own choosing. However, when a death in the family occurs, Rita offers to stay behind while her parents and brother travel for the funeral. What happens while they are away will a profound effect on the entire Reilly family. The Reclusive Life of Rita ...

The War Criminal's Son brings to life hidden aspects of the Civil War through the sweeping saga of the firstborn son in the infamous Confederate Winder family who shattered family ties to stand with the Union. General John H. Winder was the commandant of most prison camps in the Confederacy, including Andersonville. When Winder gave his son William Andrew Winder the order to come south and fight, desert, or commit suicide, William went to the White House and swore his allegiance to President Lincoln and the Union.

1939. After the sudden and tragic loss of her husband, Helen is returning home to her mother’s house in Biggin Hill, Kent - the one place she vowed she’d never go back to again. Alone and not knowing where to turn, Helen finds herself joining the local women’s sewing circle despite being hopeless with a needle and thread. These resourceful women can not only make do and mend clothes, quilts and woolly hats, but their friendship mends something deeper in Helen, too.

Liverpool, World War II. Monica Eustace and Joan McDonald met as next-door-neighbours living in Mersey View in Liverpool. Their friendship is a close as ever, though they're married now, and sharing Monica's grand house on the other side of the city. But war clouds are gathering, casting a shadow over the happy future they dream of with their young husbands. Meanwhile, in London, Joan's half-sister Bella is overwhelmed with the glitz and glamour of the city while she's training as a singer - but will she forget her friends back home?

It is the year 1916, and pretty young Eithne Clay runs a shabby but genteel South London boarding house while her husband is off at war. Her 14-year old son Ralph dotes on his mother, but has adolescent thoughts he'd rather hide from her. Winnie, the young maid, is a homely, good-hearted country girl, rejected by Archie, the cheeky butcher's boy before he too is called up. And when the dreaded telegram arrives at the house, things turn from difficult to desperate for the two young women....

When Prince Odysseus is sent on a quest to recover his family honour, he’s led to Delos where a mysterious new prophecy has captivated the gods.

Japanese-occupied Malaya, 1945. Cecily Alcantara's children are in terrible danger. Her eldest child Jujube, who works at a tea house frequented by drunk Japanese soldiers, becomes angrier by the day. Jasmin, the youngest, lives confined in a basement for her own safety. And her son, Abel, has disappeared without a trace. Cecily knows two things: that this is all her fault; and that her family must never learn the truth.

Beware the reluctant bridegroom... Spencer Becket was only eight when he arrived in Romney Marsh as part of the mysteriously displaced Becket family. The son of a seaman and a mother who’d died in childbirth, he grew up longing to be a soldier. His adoptive father reluctantly purchased him a commission, and Spence was off to fight in America, chockfull of passion and ideals. He returned home older, perhaps wiser, but also with one small patch of his memory inconveniently missing. Beware the compromised bride... Mariah Rutledge is the daughter of a British officer killed during a losing ...

Lady Alexandra Baldwyn is stifled by her claustrophobic life of privilege at Somerton Hall. She is desperate to escape the confines of her family's stately home and do her bit for the war effort like her brother, Charles, and his best friend, Freddie Chevalier. She pleads with her parents to let her become a nurse in France, but her father refuses to sign the necessary papers, and she must be content with driving ambulances in London.

Vowing to honour her dead father's memory, 23-year-old Wanda throws herself into the Polish resistance, risking her life to transport ammunition for the uprising against the Nazis. But a clandestine meeting with an informant reveals a shocking twist. The man before her is the very soldier who took her father's life. Claiming to be a double agent, the informant sparks doubt, forcing Wanda to make a life-altering decision: trust the man she hates most in the world or jeopardize her network's crucial mission.

When orphan Julie Miller is sent to Canada to keep her safe from Hitler’s bombs at the start of WWII, she hopes this will the start of a happier new life for her after years of sadness. Taken in by a schoolteacher, it seems that Julie’s dreams are coming true. But that’s before a shadow is cast over her safe refuge, and before long, she is forced to run away. This is just the start of a long journey, one with many hardships before she can find a place to call home.

England, 1941. Reunited briefly with her husband-to-be before he returns to fighting, Lily Baker now finds her mundane army office work dreary. But when her boss asks her to keep watch on the happenings at the depot, she quickly suspects a new weapons supplier of fraud. As she trains her sharp eye on the potential cheat, she agrees to help an unmarried colleague with an unexpected pregnancy. But when, without evidence, she is accused of being the one with child, she faces hard decisions.

For 12 years he rode as an officer of the United States Army. For one year he served as an apprentice warrior of the Apaches. Torn between two loyalties, Nathanial Barrington prays he has found the peace he sought for so long. By the side of Clarissa, his star-crossed mate, he marks his stake as a rancher on land no one else dares claim, deep in Apache territory. But Barrington’s respite is short-lived. For the Apache nation is caught between the pincers of the bluecoats from the north and the Mexicans from the south.

An unknown location, occupied France, 1944. Dropping silently behind enemy lines, Sylvia Crichton, codename Monique, is determined to fight for the country of her birth and tear it from its Nazi stranglehold. As one of the dancers at the nightclub Mirabelle, Sylvie’s mission is to entertain the club’s German clientele and learn their secrets. In a world of deception and lies, she can trust no one.

Bella is born into a life of comfort and privilege, with parents who adore her. They encourage her to travel and to speak her mind. But when she falls in love it reveals a long-buried secret at the very centre of her family. The layers of deception lead to tragedy, destroying all she holds so dear. However, change beckons for everyone as the threat of war looms. Bella and all around her must face a new beginning.

It’s 1854. In the East, tension between North and South pulled the country apart, with a weak President helpless to stop it and Secretary of War Jefferson Davis following his own agenda. But in the West, a different threat arose. A new generation of Apache leaders were taking over, who would no longer talk peace with the White Eyes. Instead they would fight with the courage, daring, and brilliance that was the Apache pride.

With London still in the grip of war, Cordelia, Mavis, and Jane find themselves facing a new challenge. Determined to make a difference, the librarians band together to organise rent strikes, standing up against dirty landlords and unfair practices. Meanwhile, with the arrival of American GIs in the East End, Cordelia is presented with a temptation too irresistible to bear. Should she follow her head or her heart – stay faithful to her beloved Robert fighting abroad, or enjoy the brief respite from the constant air raids and destruction?

The war has ended; the men are returning home to their loved ones, but for some, things have changed. Charlotte Hennessey-White's husband, David, is no longer the gentle loving man he once was and Charlotte, so independent during the war, is devastated. Edna Burbage's strong fiancée, Colin, has suffered appalling physical injuries. He won’t hold her to her promise of marriage, but she insists her feelings are unchanged. But is that true? And Polly Chandler's sweetheart, Gavin, who’d she’d planned her whole future around, hasn’t come home at all.

Morgan Becket became one of Ainsley Becket’s family of orphans when her sailor father buttoned his pants and got up from the bed of her prostitute mother, who later sold her to Ainsley. The price, a single gold coin and a bottle of gin. To please Ainsley, the fairly volatile Morgan travels to London to acquire some Town Bronze and enjoy a Season. Setting the exotically beautiful, high-spirited Morgan Becket loose on the London marriage mart is a gamble that can end either in triumph or complete disaster, as Morgan believes she can never be better than the circumstances of her birth, and ...