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Ken Follett is known worldwide as the master of split-second suspense, but his most beloved and bestselling book tells the magnificent tale of a twelfth-century monk driven to do the seemingly impossible: build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has ever known.
Everything readers expect from Follett is here: intrigue, fast-paced action, and passionate romance. But what makes The Pillars of the Earth extraordinary is the time the twelfth century; the place feudal England; and the subject the building of a glorious cathedral. Follett has re-created the crude, flamboyant England of the Middle Ages in every detail. The vast forests, the walled towns, the castles, and the monasteries become a familiar landscape. Against this richly imagined and intricately interwoven backdrop, filled with the ravages of war and the rhythms of daily life, the master storyteller draws the reader irresistibly into the intertwined lives of his characters into their dreams, their labors, and their loves: Tom, the master builder; Aliena, the ravishingly beautiful noblewoman; Philip, the prior of Kingsbridge; Jack, the artist in stone; and Ellen, the woman of the forest who casts a terrifying curse. From humble stonemason to imperious monarch, each character is brought vividly to life.
The building of the cathedral, with the almost eerie artistry of the unschooled stonemasons, is the center of the drama. Around the site of the construction, Follett weaves a story of betrayal, revenge, and love, which begins with the public hanging of an innocent man and ends with the humiliation of a king.
At once a sensuous and endearing love story and an epic that shines with the fierce spirit of a passionate age,The Pillars of the Earth is without a doubt Ken Follett's masterpiece.
--jacket
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Subjects
White Ship, The Anarchy, Battle of Lincoln, Anglo-Saxon law, Suspense & Thriller, epic fiction, suspense fiction, church and state, historical literature, church architecture, fiction, Epic literature, Historical fiction, history, monks, Cathedrals, New York Times bestseller, Open Library Staff Picks, Design and construction, nyt:mass_market_paperback=2010-02-28, Thriller, Middles Ages, Reading Level-Grade 9, Reading Level-Grade 11, Reading Level-Grade 10, Reading Level-Grade 12, Fictional Works Publication Type, Middle Ages, Fiction, historical, Great britain, fiction, Sagas, Kirchenbau, Familie, Baumeister, Thrillers, England, fiction, Fiction, thrillers, general, Fiction, historical, general, English fiction, Fiction, History, White ship, The anarchy, Battle of lincoln, Anglo-saxon law, Suspense & thriller, Epic fiction, Suspense fiction, Church and state, Historical literature, Church architecture, Monks, New york times bestseller, Open library staff picks, Nyt:mass_market_paperback=2010-02-28, Middles ages, Reading level-grade 9, Reading level-grade 11, Reading level-grade 10, Reading level-grade 12, Fictional works publication type, Middle agesPeople
Henry I of England, Stephen of Blois, Maud, Robert of Gloucester, Henry II of England, Thomas Becket, Jack Jackson, Ellen, Tom Builder, Alfred Builder, Martha, Prior Philip, Bishop Waleran Bigod, Aliena, Richard of Kingsbridge, William Hamleigh, Percy Hamleigh, Regan Hamleigh, Francis of Gwynedd, Bartholomew, Remigius, Cutherbert Whitehead, Milius Bursar, Johnny Eightpence, Jack Shareburg, Agnes, Jonathan, Tommy, Sally, Raschid Alharoun, Walter, ElizabethPlaces
Great Britain, Kingsbridge, Shiring, Winchester, Gloucester, Canterbury, ChristendomShowing 10 featured editions. View all 95 editions?
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01
The Pillars of the Earth
2017, Pan Books
paperback
in English
- printing (1)
1509848495 9781509848492
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02
The Pillars of the Earth
2014, Pan Books
paperback
in English
- 25th Anniversary Edition (3)
1447265440 9781447265443
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03
The Pillars of the Earth
2010-10, Signet
Mass Market Paperback
in English
- 1st Signet printing, TV Tie-in edition (10)
0451233050 9780451233059
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04
The Pillars of the Earth
2007, Pan Books
paperback
in English
- printing (23)
0330450131 9780330450133
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06
The Pillars of the Earth
2007-10, New American Library
Paperback
in English
- First New American Library Printing (Deluxe Edition) (25)
0688046592 9780688046590
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07
The Pillars of the Earth
2001?, Signet
Mass Market Paperback
in English
- 1st Signet printing (41)
0451166892 9780451166890
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08
The Pillars of the Earth
2000?, Pan Books
Paperback
in English
- 10th Anniversary edition (6)
0330391984 9780330391986
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09 |
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10
The Pillars of the Earth
1989, William Morrow and Company
Hardcover
in English
- First Edition (1)
0688046592 9780688046590
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The Pillars of the Earth is a historical novel by Welsh author Ken Follett published in 1989 about the building of a cathedral in the fictional town of Kingsbridge, England. Set in the 12th century, the novel covers the time between the sinking of the White Ship and the murder of Thomas Becket, but focuses primarily on the Anarchy. The book traces the development of Gothic architecture out of the preceding Romanesque architecture, and the fortunes of the Kingsbridge priory and village against the backdrop of historical events of the time.
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