Book Summary and Reviews of The Armor of Light by Ken Follett

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Cathryn Conroy

Filled with Intrigue, Violence, and Sex, This Is an Engrossing Historical Novel
When it comes to life, the one thing you can be sure of is change. This novel by Ken Follett, the fifth in the incredible Kingsbridge series of historical fiction, embraces this adage as the primary theme of the 750-page book.

Taking place from 1792 to 1824 in the fictional English town of Kingsbridge, this is the story of a large cast of characters rich and poor, male and female, young and old at the beginning of the industrial revolution. The story opens with a horrific scene as a beloved husband and father is killed through a wealthy man's negligence and the rippling effect that has on the dead man's survivors.

Among others, we meet:
• Sal Clitheroe is a tough and resourceful widow. She is the mother of 6-year-old Christopher (nicknamed Kit), who is forced to go to work at his young age.
• The wealthy and influential Riddick family. The squire is the old father of three young men, one of whom is evil and one of whom is good.
• The Anglican bishop, his wife Arabella and daughter Elsie. Arabella is much younger than her old husband, and she has a torrid affair that is kept secret…until it can't be suppressed any longer. Elsie is in love with someone who thinks of her as only a friend so she marries another man in haste.
• Amos is a good-hearted man who owns a mill in the town, employing many people. He is madly in love with Jane Midwinter, who spurns him.
• Spade, whose real name is David Shoveller, is a prosperous weaver and a good soul. He is close to his sister Kate, who is the town's premier dressmaker. Kate harbors a big secret that could ruin her reputation and business.
• Jane Midwinter, the daughter of the Methodist minister, is only interested in a lavish, comfortable life, but the marriage she makes to achieve that is fraught with despair and little love.
• Alderman Hornbeam, the requisite bad guy, who values money and his own style of living above all else, isn't afraid to bash others to get what he wants—even if it means hanging them in the public square.

The book is filled with the history of this period, beginning with the invention of the spinning Jenny that radically changed the way cloth was made, transforming it from the labor of individual spinners working alone in their homes to a mechanized process done in a mill. How this invention changed employment, culture, and society is a primary focus of the book, including the rise of worker unions as employees are summarily displaced by technology. The characters embody what is needed to both force and embrace the radical changes that are taking place.

Since lawbreakers in England could join the army to escape prison, the story ends with several of our more nefarious, as well as patriotic, Kingsbridge friends fighting for Britain against Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Waterloo. If you enjoy war stories, this battle is quite the tale—but not for the squeamish.

Filled with intrigue, violence, love, sex, passion, scandal, and lots of drama, this is an engaging and engrossing book to savor and enjoy. (Even though the last book in this series, you don't have to read the books in order, although each one is special and worth reading.)

Bonus: Find out where the term "Luddite" comes from and how the Luddites had unsuccessfully tried to squash the industrial revolution in England.

Other books by Ken Follett at BookBrowse

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