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Book Summary and Reviews of The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett

The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett

The Evening and the Morning

The Prequel to The Pillars Of THe Earth

by Ken Follett

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  • Published:
  • Sep 2020, 928 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

Thirty years ago, Ken Follett published his most popular novel, The Pillars of the Earth. Now, Follett's masterful new prequel The Evening and the Morning takes us on an epic journey into a historical past rich with ambition and rivalry, death and birth, love and hate, that will end where The Pillars of the Earth begins.

It is 997 CE, the end of the Dark Ages. England is facing attacks from the Welsh in the west and the Vikings in the east. Those in power bend justice according to their will, regardless of ordinary people and often in conflict with the king. Without a clear rule of law, chaos reigns.

In these turbulent times, three characters find their lives intertwined. A young boatbuilder's life is turned upside down when the only home he's ever known is raided by Vikings, forcing him and his family to move and start their lives anew in a small hamlet where he does not fit in... . A Norman noblewoman marries for love, following her husband across the sea to a new land, but the customs of her husband's homeland are shockingly different, and as she begins to realize that everyone around her is engaged in a constant, brutal battle for power, it becomes clear that a single misstep could be catastrophic... . A monk dreams of transforming his humble abbey into a center of learning that will be admired throughout Europe. And each in turn comes into dangerous conflict with a clever and ruthless bishop who will do anything to increase his wealth and power.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"[A] richly told, complex story ... Follett is a powerful storyteller ... [whose] fans will enjoy this jaunt through the days before England was merry." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Follett has done it again. Readers will gobble up this exciting prequel." - Library Journal

"[An] absorbing and lengthy saga of life in a chaotic and unstable England on the cusp of the Middle Ages ... Fans of Follett's ever-popular Kingsbridge series ... will flock to this ... while intrigued newcomers can start here."- Booklist

"Follett vividly re-creates the ancient era ... in this feast for his fans." - AARP

This information about The Evening and the Morning was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

Ken Follett Author Biography

Photo by Barbara Follett

Ken Follett is one of the world's best-loved authors, selling more than 188 million copies of his thirty-six books. Follett's first bestseller was Eye of the Needle, a spy story set in the Second World War. In 1989, The Pillars of the Earth was published and has since become Follett's most popular novel. It reached number one on bestseller lists around the world and was an Oprah's Book Club pick. Its sequels, World Without End and A Column of Fire, and prequel The Evening and the Morning, proved equally popular, and the Kingsbridge series has sold more than fifty million copies worldwide. Follett lives in Hertfordshire, England, with his wife, Barbara. Between them they have five children, six grandchildren, and three Labradors.

Link to Ken Follett's Website

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