To Lead, To Follow came to me in many pieces, particularly after reading historical fiction in class and reading Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities in my free time. The novel's fragmented mental development is shown through the fact that the perspective of the story is split between the royal family and a poor baker's family.

Among the various themes of the novel is war and conflict, especially in their abilities to equalize the lowest and the highest among us. Furthermore, it is a tale of men largely for men; not because of any particularly ribald or masculine elements, exactly, but being male, I understand males best. The novel explores the four categories into which men can fall: fathers, sons, leaders, and followers.

I'm writing it as I go, of course, and so any feedback is welcome.