The 1910s

The Edwardian twilight — a king dies, a comet blazes, and the old order begins to crack.

Pageantry and peril — a lavish coronation, a triangle fire, and the race to the South Pole.

Hubris meets iceberg — the unsinkable sinks, and the world loses its Edwardian innocence.

The last summer of innocence — tango fever, modernist shocks, and storm clouds gathering over Europe.

The lamps go out — an assassination in Sarajevo plunges the world into the Great War.

Mud, blood, and poison gas — the war's horror becomes undeniable as the trenches consume a generation.

The Somme and Verdun — industrial slaughter on an unimaginable scale as the war reaches its darkest hour.

America enters, Russia collapses — the war's turning point reshapes the world order.

Armistice and pandemic — the guns fall silent but a deadlier killer sweeps the world.

A broken peace — Versailles redraws the map as the world struggles to recover from war and plague.