'Gripping . . . An amazingly audacious and completely innovative way of writing history'
WILLIAM BOYDAn enthralling narrative history with an international cast of characters that
captures this definitive period after the close of the Great War.Lenin and Hitler Einstein and
Hemingway Josephine Baker and Rosa Luxemburg Marcus Garvey and Mustafa Kemal: key players and
participants in a world on the cusp of modernity at a moment when anything seemed possible.As
the First World War reaches its awful climax a shockwave of creative destruction is released.
Europe is torn apart by revolution. America is in flames. A deadly pandemic stalks the globe.
The curtain rises on a dangerous and exciting new era not unlike our own: of populists and
prophets freedom fighters and fascists radical new ideas and clashing ideologies contesting
an uncertain future.Crucible is the collective diary of this era filled with vaulting dreams
dark fears grubby ambitions and the absurdities of chance. Encompassing both tragedy and
humour it brings immediacy and intimacy to a moment of deep historical transformation - with
consequences that echo down to today.'Dazzling . . . A compelling patchwork depiction of an
era' TLS'This buoyant study of life after the Great War illuminates the part that chance plays
in history' Observer
