#1 New York Times BestsellerOprah’s Book Club SelectionThe “extraordinary . . . monumental masterpiece” (Booklist) that changed the course of Ken Follett’s already phenomenal career. Look out for Ken’s newest book, A Column of Fire, available now.“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 … 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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One of the best books ever written, in my opinion.
This introduced me to Ken Follett, and I have been reading him since. The beginning of a sweeping epic about the construction of an English cathedral in the Middle Ages covers common people’s lives, the feudal system, and the political power of the church. Follett takes you right next to the characters and leads you through the stories of the people and events of the time. Riveting and fascinating.
Great historical fiction. Lots of information re: the way people lived, women’s’ roles and prejudice of class. Life was hard.
Historical
Loved it .story was wonderful
One of the best books I’ve ever read and one of the very few I would invest the time in to read again. Definitely not formula fiction. There was a miniseries done on this,but it didn’t do the book justice. It’s a long story but given the character development, it allows you to feel for all of them. I ran through the whole range of emotions on this one
One of my all time favorite books!
This is a wonderful historical fiction book. It starts with the death of the heir to the throne of England when his ship sinks.
There’s a monk named Philip that after is the prior of Kingsbridge that crosses paths with Tom, Tom’s dream is to build a Cathedral and he is risking it all for that dream…. But here is where the villains William and Woleran begin to do everything they can in order to destroy our main characters and their dreams….
There’s romance, betrayal, tragedy and hope….This is definitely a must read.
One of my all time favorites!
I enjoyed this book tremendously. It is a look in to the guilds and the building of a great monastery.
Facinatingstory set in the the culture of the time, the details about architecture. Informative about the building of the world’s great cathedrals. I loved it !
Then I was fortunate to visit many churches in Europe and was awestruck because I understood the efforts of so many laborers aND craftsmen.
This entire trilogy was outstanding. Excellent historical detail, many diverse well developed characters and multi-thread story lines that never bog down. Read them.
Loved this book. It was awe inspiring! The history and background of how the great cathedrals were built is beyond amazing. Also the way author followed the characters during their lives while the building took place was eye opening.
This is one of my all-time favorite books!!!
I had not read any historical novels set in the 12th century so decided to purchase it (way before ebooks). It was one of the best books I have ever read and found myself re-reading it occasionally. It is very interesting to me because of the characters and the time, 1123 – 1174AD, which I knew very little about.
If you like historical books, they don’t get any better than this one!
It’s Ken Follet, what can I say? The guy is a great writer. and his historical fiction is always a good read.
Gave a real “sense” of living in the middle ages.
I enjoyed the historic settings of this book. The building of Cathedrals is central to the story line, and the author brilliantly transports the reader back in time. It’s a long book but well worth the read.
One of my favorite books!