Ken Follett

Ken Follett has been topping bestseller lists with his thrillers and historical fiction for almost 50 years and an estimated 198 million copies of his 38 novels have been sold across the world. ...

The UCL philosophy graduate was born in Cardiff in 1949 and, married with a baby by the age of 21, began his career in journalism. While a step into publishing saw him work for Everest Books, he also developed his talents as a fiction writer, debuting as Simon Myles in 1974 with The Big Black – the opening volume of a trilogy focusing on London businessman Apples Carstairs – in the hope of earning enough money to fix his Vauxhall Ventura. A flurry of standalone books followed, but it was 1978’s Second World War spy thriller Eye of the Needle that, despite taking little more than three weeks to draft, brought him fame and the Edgar Award for Best Novel.

Nine bestselling spy thrillers later, Follett turned to historical fiction with 1989’s The Pillars of the Earth. Set against the strife of the 12th century, the critically acclaimed tale sees the prior of Kingsbridge and stonemason Tom devote their energy to building a grand Gothic cathedral to secure their town’s future. Despite the book’s international success it was 18 years – and several other publications – before Follett returned to Kingsbridge with World Without End, which sees a long-held secret surface during the Black Plague.

After penning the global narrative of his Century Trilogy in the 2010s, telling the stories of five families as they navigate the upheavals that occurred between the First World War and the fall of Communism, Follett wrote three further Kingsbridge novels: A Column of Fire, following royalist Ned Willard during the political intrigues of the Elizabethan era; the prequel volume Evening and the Morning, exploring the founding of the town in the wake of Viking raids; and The Armour of Light, which sees industrialization and the Napoleonic Wars impact the town’s residents.

Follett’s popularity has resulted in several screen adaptations of his work, with the author taking a cameo role in The Pillars of Earth miniseries – lead characters were played by stars including Donald Sutherland, Rufus Sewell and Matthew Macfadyen. Remaining prolific and influential, Follett supports several literacy organizations near his home in Stevenage.