The Pillars of the Earth

In twelfth-century England, in the fictional town of Kingsbridge, the dream of building the greatest cathedral the country has ever seen binds together the fates of a handful of ordinary and extraordinary people. Tom Builder, a mason searching for work to support his family; Prior Philip, an idealistic monk determined to see the cathedral rise; Aliena, a dispossessed noblewoman; and Jack, an artist in stone — their lives are shaped by ambition, faith, love, and revenge against the backdrop of a country torn apart by civil war.

Spanning decades and generations, Ken Follett's epic follows the building of the cathedral through famine, betrayal, and the brutal rivalries of church and crown. Around the construction site swirl the schemes of grasping nobles and clergymen, most notably the ruthless William Hamleigh and the calculating Bishop Waleran, whose designs threaten everything the people of Kingsbridge are trying to build.

A departure from the thrillers that made Follett famous, The Pillars of the Earth became one of the best-loved historical novels of its era and the first book in the Kingsbridge series. Rich in period detail and driven by unforgettable characters, it is a sweeping story of the men and women who raised a monument in stone.