Reap the Whirlwind

'... they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind'This novel follows the struggles of a working class family from the North East of England during the 'roaring twenties' which was shattered by strikes, the Great Depression, the banking collapse and the misery of unemployment. Then came War...Ben Hawthorne is seeking a socialist utopia but struggles with the demon drink. An atheist trying to improve this life, he becomes close friends with a clergyman and together they soar intellectually. With the onset of war, Ben starts working for an engineering firm producing munitions. His horror grows at what Germany is doing to Britain and what Britain is doing in return. As a Socialist, Ben thinks internationally, empathising with those on the continent suffering from the indiscriminate British blanket bombing. He faces a crisis of conscience that threatens to turn his life upside down. This story recalls Pat Barker's Resurrection Trilogy, and the works of other North Eastern writers such as Sid Chaplin's The Thin Seam and Catherine Cookson's The Cinder Path. The mood of Reap the Whirlwind is comparable to the BBC TV series The Village which dramatises early parts of the twentieth century through the eyes of ordinary people. Reap the Whirlwind is a stark reminder of our history and a warning against repeating it.