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J. William Whitaker has released the second book in a series of historical fiction, The Toll of Folly. It is the sequel to his first work, Some Damn Fool Thing and explores from the perspective of four young Parisians as well as key historic figures the crucial days when The Great War broke out across Europe. 

History is a narrative built on the summed experience of lives over a prescribed period, and can be influenced by the selection and number of subjects and the time period studied. . It is similar to an integral in the Calculus.

Historical fiction is in some ways a derivative of this integral allowing the reader to focus on the individual lives that form the collective and the effect that the events of any period had on them. 

Through the Hebraic poetry of the Old Testament and the mystical prose of Tolstoy implying a divine calculus imposed on the long arc of history, we are reminded that the human condition is subject to dramatic cycles. Some have the good fortune to live in stable times where peace and prosperity nurture a virtuous cycle in which our better angels can thrive. Others however are far less fortunate having to deal with uncertainty and fear often brought on by such harsh intrusions as plague, famine or war. To some degree that is our lot at present.

The four protagonists of this book along with all their contemporaries had the misfortune to live at a flexion point in history when in the summer of 1914 war broke out across the continent. Gone within a matter of days were all the old customs, rules and assumptions that formed the basis of a world they knew and had been successful in. In their place came terrible new realities.  

Society was suddenly remade by the clash of great armies imbued with a fervor nurtured by vain glorious narratives of the need to subjugate newly   declared enemies. Generals now held sway over all, with everyone being required to support the armies as soldiers, or providers of goods and services that nourished war making  

With little warning the world changed from promise and optimism to one of daily uncertainty made ever worse by a new reality of unimagined destruction and horror. The Toll of Folly is a study of life suddenly disrupted where everything one knew and took for granted becomes threatened or irrelevant.  It is a study of four young and gifted Parisians and the millions of their contemporaries forced to confront with little or no respite loss and the all too present face  of death,  

At the onset of the war one of the protagonists finds himself in a battle line facing the German army in Lorrain, Two others are trapped in Germany and must develop the means to deal with the challenges of their tenuous  position while searching for a way to escape to France. The youngest finds  her musical studies no longer relevant for such times and sees in the faces of the wounded a new calling for her considerable talents.

In the ensuing days they are all forced to deal with the many consequences of foolish policy and bad decisions made by leaders on both sides, testing their resolve and challenging them to improvise crucial solutions. Then they find themselves reunited in a Paris abandoned by the government and threatened by engulfment by a massive German offensive. More importantly they discover important new aspects of their relationships to one another and the means to draw upon them to deal with the uncertainties they will certainly face.  

The Toll of Folly is a story bounded by history describing many of the men and events that played prominent roles in the days when the very survival of France depended on the outcome of a collision of troops within earshot of Paris,  Yet it  also  breaks from the historical narrative to provide a story of the hopes and dreams of  individuals, as well as their fears and uncertainties, Through these individuals who are forced to confront the difficulties of their daily lives  the writer of fiction can provide another perspective on age old questions relating to the origins of evil and suffering while exploring their effect on life’s most blessed aspects. In a world seemingly intent on destroying itself is there still a place for beauty, fidelity, honor and love?  

To find out, and discover more details on The Toll of Folly visit jwmwhitaker.com