One down, two to go

Whew! Just finished this giant of a book this morning on the elliptical. It’s the first in the Century Trilogy by Ken Follett. It does an excellent job of tracing the roots of present day issues to what was going on one hundred years ago, before, during and just after WWI. The lives of members of five families are tangled and woven throughout the book and across the world.

There are coal mines, manor houses, spies, battlefields, the highest tiers of government, the poorest neighborhoods and yes, romance. Lots of intrigue and backroom dealing.

Follett also describes the roots of feminism and the labor movement in Great Britain. During the war, women took over men’s jobs but were paid less for the same work. Sound familiar? When the vote was finally granted to women, it was only to women over thirty who were householders, the most conservative women.