If you liked the Century Trilogy, you’ll love the “extraordinary . . . monumental masterpiece.”—Booklist, that changed the course of Ken Follett’s already phenomenal career.
“Follett risks all and comes out a clear winner,” extolled Publishers Weekly on the release of The Pillars of the Earth. A departure for the bestselling thriller writer, the historical epic stunned readers and critics alike with its ambitious scope and gripping humanity. Today, it stands as a testament to Follett’s unassailable command of the written word and to his universal appeal.
The Pillars of the Earth tells the story of Philip, prior of Kingsbridge, a devout and resourceful monk driven to build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has known . . . of Tom, the mason who becomes his architect—a man divided in his soul . . . of the beautiful, elusive Lady Aliena, haunted by a secret shame . . . and of a struggle between good and evil that will turn church against state, and brother against brother.
A spellbinding epic tale of ambition, anarchy, and absolute power set against the sprawling medieval canvas of twelfth-century England, this is Ken Follett’s historical masterpiece.
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"This book is a wade, but a wonderful wade if you enjoy English History. Revolving around the building of a cathedral, it vividly portrays what life was like in the days of King Stephen. I must warn the potential reader, there is much brutality here, but it is counterbalanced by people for whom love is a vocation. It is a world very different from out own, where success has a very different meaning, but family, is still family. Within this book, I have met people whom I shall never forget. That is the true sign of great writing."
— Rob (4 out of 5 stars)
" One of the greatest sagas I've read, fantastic and captivating characters !! "
— Chefalan30, 2/19/2014" A wonderfully book, read it in two days. That was a great two days... "
— Zarus, 2/9/2014" A bit longer than I would like, I enjoyed most of it but the narrative provides little surprises and impact. "
— Carlos, 2/4/2014" Really enjoyed the book!! The tv series, not so much. "
— Jaime, 2/4/2014" Not as good as Rutherford's historic novels, but definitely a good read. And better than vol. #2. "
— Daryl, 2/3/2014" Gritty realism it all seems so unfair! "
— Mervyn, 1/31/2014" This was a re-read as I was given World Without End and wanted to ensure that I wasn't missing anything. I enjoy Ken Follett although find his writing repetitive at times - likely wants to make certain that we remember the plot line as convoluted as it can be! Thoroughly enjoyed the concept of building the cathedral as the central focus for a historical rendition of life in the 1100's. "
— Dorothy, 1/24/2014" Love this book, could not put it down either. Long, but great to read!!! "
— Monica, 1/20/2014" One of my favorite books of all time. Didn't want it to end. "
— Lissettegomezarevalo, 1/13/2014" I am not into history but I was into this book from the beginning until the end! It's big but fast paced and pretty easy to read! "
— Lonnie, 1/10/2014" Wonderful history lesson. "
— Roy, 12/28/2013" The plot was overly thickened. Probably only finished it because it was yom tov. But it was fine. "
— Loen, 12/26/2013" Long story but very well written with a lot of story coming together in the end. "
— Thomas, 12/4/2013" A most excellent, albeit long, read! "
— Tracy, 11/13/2013" Old style story with stock characters and plot. Not my style "
— Finbarr, 6/30/2013" A great historical fiction story of the medieval times of church and the kingdoms. I enjoyed the building of the story's characters throughout the story. The reading is better than the mini series . "
— Julie, 6/20/2013" I loved the sort and characters. Some parts were very intense and a few were quite vile. Very well written and readable. Some guy in the used book store recommended it. Thanks for speaking up! "
— Wendy, 5/4/2013" How to build a cathedral in 4 million gruelling steps. I don't understand readers' fascination with this novel. It's overdone and overlong. "
— Susan, 4/6/2013" I am reading this at a leisurely pace, but while not grabbed hard, find it enjoyable and interesting. Actually the last couple hundred pages pulled all the plots together and it was hard to put down then. "
— Gloria, 12/31/2012" I story is wonderful and the characters are all interesting through all their goodness and faults. Terrific book. "
— Sonia, 8/30/2012" I really enjoyed this book, except for a few minor things. I don't want to ruin anything for others. "
— Shari, 5/9/2012" Love this book. Because of my busy life, I am usually the type of person to read a chapter or two before bed, but this book took over my life. I know it is long, but I kept hoping it would not end. "
— Amanda, 2/11/2012" A fabulous read. "
— Susan, 12/30/2011" Who would have thought I would have enjoyed a book about building a church so much? My only problem was there weren't many dynamic characters. Most of the characters you could either classify as "good" or "bad" (or downright evil in one character's case). "
— Destiney, 12/6/2011" Liked the story of the people...got bored with the descriptions of the land and the building...overall good book, just took some time to get through it. "
— Barb, 10/19/2011" Finished the audiobook today. My expectations were too high for this book. And I wanted a bit more about the 3 conspirators introduced at the start and how their lives go throughout the book. "
— Bernadette, 9/21/2011" Yahoo, finished all 41 hours. Loved the characters "
— Deb, 5/24/2011" As of this writing (5/24/11), this is my all time favorite! "
— Lauren, 5/24/2011" LOVED this book. I really enjoyed watching the HBO series too! "
— Nicole, 5/23/2011" Excellent book. I really liked the descriptions of how the cathedrals were built. Also, I knew virtually nothing about monasteries in general before reading this book, so it was interesting to learn some about that - and not in a boring way. It's a long book, but a great read. "
— Stacey, 5/23/2011" One of my favorite books of all time. It is a super long read, but one I could not put down! "
— Helen, 5/22/2011" I found this book hard to put down and read it while on 3 weeks vacation in Scotland. "
— Tbergamin, 5/22/2011" A book with a little of everything. I loved it!<br/> "
— Kara, 5/22/2011" As a historical fiction novel, this book caught me by complete surprise. It was a gripping page-turner through and through. "
— Julie, 5/21/2011" This book came highly recommended, and it proved ultimately disappointing. Not a terrible read, but I couldn't bring myself to read the sequel (another 1,000 pages!). "
— Steve, 5/20/2011" One of the most well put together stories with exciting, intertwining story lines and characters I've read in a very long time. Probably will be one of my most favorites of all times. "
— Sora, 5/20/2011" I'm torn about this book. On one side it was very interesting, well written and really helped you to get into the characters. But at the same time it was way to long and slightly repetitive. I say if you have the time go for it. "
— Kara, 5/20/2011" I LOVED this book - the details are incredible, I became temporarily obsessed with life in the 1200's, and there's just enough trashiness to keep it interesting. The series is on Netflix and differs a little from the book but was still really great. "
— Amanda, 5/20/2011" <br/> <br/>I must have read this ten or more years ago. I passed the book on, even forgot the title, but the story of the master builder and his cathedral set centuries ago haunted me. I recently rediscovered the book and its on my 'to be re-read' list. "
— Brenda, 5/19/2011Ken Follett is one of the world’s best-loved authors, selling more than 160 million copies of his thirty books. His first bestseller was Eye of the Needle, an Edgar Award–winning spy story set in the Second World War. In 1989 The Pillars of the Earth was published and has since become the author’s most successful novel. It reached number one on bestseller lists around the world and was an Oprah’s Book Club pick. The series has sold more than fifty million copies worldwide and hitting the New York Times bestsellers list.
Richard E. Grant is a British Swazi actor, screenwriter, and director. A prominent figure on television and film since the 1980s, he achieved international recognition as John Seward in the 1992 blockbuster film Dracula.
John Lee is the winner of numerous Earphones Awards and the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration. He has twice won acclaim as AudioFile’s Best Voice in Fiction & Classics. He also narrates video games, does voice-over work, and writes plays. He is an accomplished stage actor and has written and coproduced the feature films Breathing Hard and Forfeit. He played Alydon in the 1963–64 Doctor Who serial The Daleks.