Ken Follett: Winter of the World (Century Trilogy 2)

To the memory of my grandparents,

Tom and Minnie Follett

Arthur and Bessie Evans

Cast of characters

American

Dewar Family

Senator Gus Dewar

Rosa Dewar, his wife

Woody Dewar, their elder son

Chuck Dewar, their younger son

Ursula Dewar, Gus’s mother

Peshkov Family

Lev Peshkov

Olga Peshkov, his wife

Daisy Peshkov, their daughter

Marga, Lev’s mistress

Greg Peshkov, son of Lev and Marga

Gladys Angelus, film star, also Lev’s mistress

Rouzrokh Family

Dave Rouzrokh

Joanne Rouzrokh, his daughter

Buffalo Socialites

Dot Renshaw

Charlie Farquharson

Others

Joe Brekhunov, a thug

Brian Hall, union organizer

Jacky Jakes, starlet

Eddie Parry, sailor, friend of Chuck’s

Captain Vandermeier, Chuck’s superior

Margaret Cowdry, beautiful heiress

Real Historical Characters

President F. D. Roosevelt

Marguerite ‘Missy’ LeHand, his assistant

Vice-President Harry Truman

Cordell Hull, Secretary of State

Sumner Welles, Undersecretary of State

Colonel Leslie Groves, Army Corps of Engineers

English

Fitzherbert Family

Earl Fitzherbert, called Fitz

Princess Elizaveta, called Bea, his wife

‘Boy’ Fitzherbert, Viscount Aberowen, their elder son

Andy, their younger son

Leckwith-Williams Family

Ethel Leckwith (née Williams), Member of Parliament for Aldgate

Bernie Leckwith, Ethel’s husband

Lloyd Williams, Ethel’s son, Bernie’s stepson

Millie Leckwith, Ethel and Bernie’s daughter

Others

Ruby Carter, friend of Lloyd’s

Sir Bartholomew (‘Bing’) Westhampton, friend of Fitz’s

Lindy and Lizzie Westhampton, Bing’s twin daughters

Jimmy Murray, son of General Murray

May Murray, his sister

Marquis of Lowther, called Lowthie

Naomi Avery, Millie’s best friend

Abe Avery, Naomi’s brother

Real Historical Characters

Ernest Bevin, MP, Foreign Secretary

German & Austrian

Von Ulrich Family

Walter von Ulrich

Maud (née Lady Maud Fitzherbert), his wife

Erik, their son

Carla, their daughter

Ada Hempel, their maid

Kurt, Ada’s illegitimate son

Robert von Ulrich, Walter’s second cousin

Jörg Schleicher, Robert’s partner

Rebecca Rosen, an orphan

Franck Family

Ludwig Franck

Monika (née Monika von der Helbard), his wife

Werner, their elder son

Frieda, their daughter

Axel, their younger son

Ritter, chauffeur

Count Konrad von der Helbard, Monika’s father

Rothmann Family

Dr Isaac Rothmann

Hannelore Rothmann, his wife

Eva, their daughter

Rudi, their son

Von Kessel Family

Gottfried von Kessel, deputy for the Centre Party

Heinrich von Kessel, his son

Gestapo

Commissar Thomas Macke

Inspector Kringelein, Macke’s boss

Reinhold Wagner

Klaus Richter

Günther Schneider

Others

Hermann Braun, Erik’s best friend

Sergeant Schwab, gardener

Wilhelm Frunze, scientist

Russian

Peshkov Family

Grigori Peshkov

Katerina, his wife

Vladimir, always called Volodya, their son

Anya, their daughter

Others

Zoya Vorotsyntsev, physicist

Ilya Dvorkin, officer of the secret police

Colonel Lemitov, Volodya’s boss

Colonel Bobrov, Red Army officer in Spain

Real Historical Characters

Lavrentiy Beria, head of the secret police

Vyacheslav Molotov, Foreign Minister

Spanish

Teresa, literacy teacher

Welsh

Williams Family

David Williams, called Dai , ‘Granda’

Cara Williams, ‘Grandmam’

Billy Williams, MP for Aberowen

Mildred, Billy’s wife

Dave, Billy’s elder son

Keir, Billy’s younger son

Griffiths Family

Tommy Griffiths, Billy Williams’s political agent

Lenny Griffiths, Tommy’s son

Contents

Part One: THE OTHER CHEEK

1

2

3

4

5

Part Two: A SEASON OF BLOOD

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

Part Three: THE COLD PEACE

21

22

23

24

25

Part One

THE OTHER CHEEK

1

1933

Carla knew her parents were about to have a row. The second she walked into the kitchen she felt the hostility, like the bone-deep cold of the wind that blew through the streets of Berlin before a February snowstorm. She almost turned and walked back out again.

It was unusual for them to fight. Mostly they were affectionate – too much so. Carla cringed when they kissed in front of other people. Her friends thought it was strange: their parents did not do that. She had said that to her mother, once. Mother had laughed in a pleased way and said: ‘The day after our wedding, your father and I were separated by the Great War.’ She had been born English, though you could hardly tell. ‘I stayed in London while he came home to Germany and joined the army.’ Carla had heard this story many times, but Mother never tired of telling it. ‘We thought the war would last three months, but I didn’t see him again for five years. All that time I longed to touch him. Now I never tire of it.’

Father was just as bad. ‘Your mother is the cleverest woman I have ever met,’ he had said here in the kitchen just a few days ago. ‘That’s why I married her. It had nothing to do with . . .’ He had tailed off, and Mother and he had giggled conspiratorially, as if Carla at the age of eleven knew nothing about sex. It was so embarrassing.

But once in a while they had a quarrel. Carla knew the signs. And a new one was about to erupt.

They were sitting at opposite ends of the kitchen table. Father was sombrely dressed in a dark-grey suit, starched white shirt and black satin tie. He looked dapper, as always, even though his hair was receding and his waistcoat bulged a little beneath the gold watch chain. His face was frozen in an expression of false calm. Carla knew that look. He wore it when one of the family had done something that angered him.