The Evening and the Morning: A Novel

Ken Follett

Sep 2020 · Kingsbridge Book 4 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

#1 New York Times Bestseller
An Amazon Best Book of 2020
 
The thrilling and addictive prequel to The Pillars of the Earth--set in England at the dawn of a new era: the Middle Ages

"Just as transporting as [The Pillars of the Earth] . . . A most welcome addition to the Kingsbridge series." --The Washington Post

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 his home 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 it soon becomes clear to her 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.

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.

Ratings and reviews

Amazing story, kept me hooked until I finished it. Some moments might bring tears to your eyes in times of sadness and happiness. Greatly appreciate Ken Follett 🙏

The author is once again amazing. I think. The reader is utterly awful for those of us who are hard of hearing. He tries - unsuccessfully- to add accent in languages he doesn’t know or understand and brought me to tears of frustration trying to follow the story. I bought the hard copy due to the complete failure of the reader. Don’t buy the audio book if you want to “read” the book. It’s horrific.

This book is about the town of Dreng's Ferry and it's politics and inhabitants. The main characters are Edgar, the builder, Aldred, a bishop guy, and Ragna. They all have important roles in the plot and each of them is interesting. The best character out of all of them, though, is Edgar who starts out as a boat builder and, eventually, becomes an architect of sorts. He is the one who comes up with the ideas to rebuild the crumbling city after various Viking invasions and attacks. Overall, because of these characters, the plot of building the decrepit city into a thriving metropolis is fascinating, terrifying and incredible. Many vulgar things happen in this book, but, despite those things, it still has an incredible beauty and melody.

About the author

Ken Follett is one of the world's best-loved authors, selling more than 170 million copies of his thirty-two 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, proved equally popular, and the Kingsbridge series has sold more than forty million copies worldwide. Follett lives in Hertfordshire, England, with his wife, Barbara. Between them they have five children, six grandchildren, and two Labradors.