Nyt Book Review Coloums of Fire Ken Follet
Past Leslie Lindsay
From the #1 New York Times bestselling writer of THE PILLARS OF THE Earth and Globe WITHOUT END comes the next ballsy novel in the Kingsbridge series: A COLUMN OF FIRE.
In 1989 Ken Follet published the historical epic THE PILLARS OF THE Globe, a departure for the bestselling writer which stunned reader and critics alike with its ambitious scope and unforgettable cast of characters. That was nearly 30 years ago!. It reached #1 on bestsellers lists across the world, and since become Follet'southward most popular novel. X years agone, Oprah selected THE PILLARS OF THE Earth for her Book Club, and the second book in the series was published, Earth WITHOUT Cease.
The saga continues with Follet's new epic, A COLUMN OF Burn down (September 12, Viking). This one introduces a world of spies and secret agents in the 16th century, a time when Queen Elizabeth I ruled. Set during one of the about turbulent and revolutionary times in history, this novel is one of Follet'south most exciting and aggressive works yet. It's perfect for longtime fans of the Kingsbridge series, but if you weren't around xxx years ago, it works well every bit a stand up-lonely, besides.
A COLUMN OF Fire begins in 1558. The ancient stones of Kingsbridge Cathedral peer over a urban center torn to shreds by religious conflict. Power in England shifts precariously
between Catholics and Protestants, high principles clash with friendship, loyalty, and honey.
I'grand honored to welcome Ken Follet to the blog.
Fifty.L.: Ken, it's a honor to chat with you. While A COLUMN OF FIRE is part of a serial, it still needs to be something you are willing to spend a pregnant amount of time with. Where did the inspiration for A COLUMN OF Burncome up from?
Ken Follet: I read somewhere that Queen Elizabeth I started the outset English secret service. That intrigued me, and I read several books near spies and secret agents in the 16th century. I felt certain this could be the ground of an exciting novel.
L.L.: Let's talk titles for a moment. Why did yous choose to call the book A COLUMN OF Fire? Information technology sounds quite ominous.
Ken Follet: [It is]. Information technology's biblical, like THE PILLARS OF THE Globe. Spies are sometimes referred to equally a Fifth Column. And a lot of people were burned at the stake in the 16th century.
Fifty.L.: So were you excited nearly returning to Kingsbridge? [There are numerous towns chosen Kingsbridge, but the one in Follet'southward THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH is fictional].
Ken Follet: You bet. We've watched the identify grow from an Anglo-Norman settlement to a thriving medieval boondocks, and now we encounter it at the commencement of the English Renaissance . Kingsbridge is England in miniature.
L.Fifty.: We know that A COLUMN OF FIREis near spies and secret agents in the 16th century. What other themes environment the book?
Ken Follet: Nigh of my recent books are about people struggling for freedom in one form or another: Welsh coal miners, Russian factory workers, Jews, African Americans. This is about religious liberty.
Fifty.L.: Can you talk virtually how these themes relate to your own life?
Ken Follet: I've always hated people who assume they have authorization over me. This made my schooldays a challenge, obviously. A bully makes me aroused. I empathise with fictional characters who fight against tyranny.
L.L.: I can't get over the historical scope of this book. Non to mention, it'south over 900 pages! What sort of enquiry did you lot do for A COLUMN OF Burn down?
Ken Follet: At that place's nobody left to interview, of course. Every bit usual, almost of my data comes from history books. I besides visited houses and castles congenital in this catamenia. I looked at 16th century clothing in the London Museum , and I went several times to the National Portrait Gallery to report the faces of Queen Elizabeth, Mary Queen of Scots, Francis Drake and many others.
Fifty.L.: Did you visit the locations of the key events in A Cavalcade of Burn down?
Ken Follet: Scotland for Loch Leven, the prison from which Mary Queen of Scots escaped; Belgium for Antwerp, then the banking centre of the western world; Spain for Seville, the richest city in Spain; Paris considering it was the headquarters of those who conspired to assassinate Queen Elizabeth.
Fifty.Fifty.: Enough of historians have written about this era. Who among them do you particularly similar or respect?
Ken Follet: Robert Hutchinson has written well most espionage at this time. Geoffrey Parker is the say-so on the long and bloody state of war in the Netherlands . Perhaps the most useful book wasConyers Read'southward three-volume biography MR. SECRETARY WALSINGHAM, well-nigh the man who was he Elizabethan equivalent of "M" in the James Bond stories.
Fifty.L.: So, I have to ask, are whatsoever of your fictional characters based on real people?
Ken Follet: Not really. I might requite a villain the pilus style of someone I dislike , and of course the female person heroes all have something in them of Barbara, my wife ; simply my fictional characters are never portraits of existent people.
Fifty.L.: A Cavalcade OF FIRE has a number of real historical characters, including several heads of country. Who did you specially admire?
Ken Follet: 3 great 16th century leaders understood the demand for religious tolerance , and interestingly they were all women: our Queen Elizabeth I; Caterina dei Medici, who was queen of French republic and then Queen Female parent; and Marguerite de Parme, governor of the Netherlands. In an age of relentless bigotry, each of them tried to persuade people of rival religions to live in peace. For that they were hated. Their efforts were only partly successful.
Each of them was undermined : Elizabeth by repeated plots to assassinate her, Caterina by the ruthless Guise family unit, and Marguerite by her half-blood brother King Felipe Two of Spain. I admire their idealism, courage and persistence in the face of bloodthirsty opposition.
50.L.: You've had a long, illustrious career; what are you most proud of?
Ken Follet: Information technology was a pretty good achievement to write a novel well-nigh the rather unpromising subject field of building a cathedral in the Middle Ages and turning it into an international No.1. We've sold about 20-six-million copies of THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH. That's pretty good for a book a lot of people idea would be as well tiresome.
L.Fifty.: How long did information technology take you to write?
Ken Follet: The whole affair took three years and iii months. Afterward two years I only had about 200 pages, and I felt this was a crisis. And as a novelist the only matter y'all can practise if you want to write faster is work more hours. And so I started to piece of work Saturdays and then Sundays as well. The difficulty is simply that y'all've got to keep on making upwards more and more stuff about the same people. If yous write 100,000 words of a thriller, then it'south finished. But after 100,000 words ofTHE PILLARS OF THE Earththat'southward like that much. [He holds open beginning quarter of the book.] I had all that to become. [He holds open the final three-quarters.] That was the swell difficulty.
L.L.: Some writers dread of their books being turned into films or TV serial. But have you enjoyed the experience?
Ken Follet: Southward eeing good actors giving practiced performances, bringing to life characters I've invented and speaking some of the lines I've written is a huge thrill. When it all goes well it'southward great. When it goes badly you cringe when you run into what'southward on the screen, but you have to take that take a chance.
I'm pleased and proud that some of my stories have made good film and Television. It confirms the strength of the story that it tin exist t ransformed from 1 medium to another. And I'm likewise pleased that my stories have been turned into a southward tage musical, several board games, and a computer game.
L.50.: Wow! Practise I dare ask what'due south side by side?
Ken Follet: I'm working on a new story, just I'yard not nonetheless set up to talk well-nigh it—sorry!
For more information, to connect with Ken Follet via social media, or to purchase a copy of A COLUMN OF Burn down, please visit:
- Website
- Twitter: @KMFollet
- YouTube
- Amazon
- Barnes & Noble
- BAM!
- IndieBound
Most THE AUTHOR: Ken Follett is 1 of the earth'southward best-loved authors, selling more than 160 million copies of his thirty books. Follett's kickoff bestseller wasEye of the Needle, a spy story set in the 2d World War. Follett lives in Hertfordshire, England, with his wife Barbara. Between them they take v children, six grandchildren, and three Labradors.
Y'all tin can connect with me, Leslie Lindsay, via these websites:
- GoodReads
- Facebook: LeslieLindsayWriter
- Twitter: @LeslieLindsay1
Electronic mail:leslie_lindsay@hotmail.com
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[Encompass and author image courtesy of Viking. Other images retrieved from Wikipedia, PILLARS OF THE Globe television adaption image retrieved from Daily Mail, all on 8.26.17]
Source: https://leslielindsay.com/2017/09/15/weekend-reading-new-york-times-bestselling-author-ken-follet-talks-about-the-third-book-in-his-kingsbridge-series-a-column-of-fire-how-some-of-his-wifes-characteristics-appears-in-female-characte/
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