About the book
The Van Mergaerts have been extremely successful wool traders for generations, until their privileged position is destroyed by the modern age. The entire family, from grandma to a distant cousin, used to live well on the profits of the wool trade, but the acquisition of a ‘total machine’ has brought their
prosperity to an abrupt halt. Alphons, the director’s nephew, is forced to move in with his family after his father breaks all connections with his relatives and heads out on his own. Alphons soon realizes that other members of the family are failing to cope with the new situation. In truly brilliant drawings, Aart Taminiau conjures up an image of the province of Brabant during the Industrial Revolution. The extraordinary design of the book is of intrinsic importance as well, showing how darkness gains ground as business dealings falter.