Where is kingsbridge in pillars of the earth

Book a hire car for your holiday in Britain - pick up at the airport or in the major cities. Tickets For London Attractions - Tiqets. So what is the fascination with the mythical Kingsbridge Cathedral? Kingsbridge Cathedral is based on Salisbury Cathedral. Ken Follett. This is not War and Peace , so do not be as afraid of that page count as reason would dictate, as the pages will fly by.

I really needed some escapism into a different time and place, and this book served that purpose perfectly. As I was reading it, I kept thinking that this would have been a great choice for that long plane flight to Scotland last year. There are some graphic rape scenes, but they are purposeful to the plot and certainly are a part of a destabilized England at that time. Unfortunately, the very topics that William Hamleigh and his thugs find so amusing are a part of human history going back to the days when we were battering each other with sticks and stones.

I would have to use another words to discuss all the other worthwhile aspects of this book, but I will leave the rest to you to discover on your own. View all 44 comments. Aug 20, Misfit rated it did not like it Shelves: skimmed-a-lot , wall-banger , anachronisms-ahoy , medieval-make-believe , one-time-read-only , get-it-from-the-library , shelf-of-shame-material , who-wrote-this , will-this-book-never-end , die-in-a-fire.

I know I'm going to be in the minority here, but this is truly one of the worst books I have ever read. I came so close to throwing the book across the room on several occasions, and ended up skipping through many pages just to get to the final and not too surprising finish.

The characters were flat and lifeless and seemed to have been transplanted from the 20th century into medieval England. The book was rife with unnecessary profanity that in no way enhanced the storyline and obscene gratuitou I know I'm going to be in the minority here, but this is truly one of the worst books I have ever read. The book was rife with unnecessary profanity that in no way enhanced the storyline and obscene gratuitous sex I mean how many times did William have to rape someone to prove that he was a really really bad guy?

I noticed that at least one other reviewer commented that this book was required reading in his child's school, which if you are a parent I would recommend you take a good look at this book and perhaps take issue with your school district. I also noticed comments about the historical accuracy and research that must have been involved in writing this book. If that is so, it must only be in regards to the building of the cathedral and the civil war between Stephen and Maud.

As for the rest, I must disagree, I have read many well written and researched books of medieval times thank you Sharon Kay Penman and Elizabeth Chadwick for such awesome reads , and I was infuriated on numerous discrepancies in this book. Women in those days wore their hair braided and covered, it being quite scandalous for any man other than her husband or lover to see it loose. I doubt that the king would punish the children so for the sins of their fathers, and most likely would have been made wards of the king until they reached their majority.

This was most desirable as the king could then skim the proceeds off the estates and funnel them to the crown's use. Sometimes a king would give ward ship to another party as a reward for service, etc. What on earth was a teenaged Richard doing living at home? These were formidable beasts that were not easily handled by strangers. Yet Aliena and Richard were able to not only saddle the warhorse, but to get right on and ride it? I don't think so.

So how did Aliena manage to not only communicate with them, but could set up a successful business in that atmosphere? I could go on with more examples if I had remembered to take notes, but there were many similar instances to this throughout the book. View all 74 comments. Jan 17, Sean Barrs rated it it was amazing Shelves: 5-star-reads , historical. This book was so completely fantastic that I almost forgot the outside world existed when I was reading it. The intense story So much happens within this novel.

Such is the life of commoners in the period. They are good folk, and are just trying to erect a church for the betterment of their town. However, the corruptness of the local nobility, and the church hierarchy itself, almost prevents them from achieving their aim. Prior Phillip and Jack the Builder are forced to seek out the aid from their monarch, but because of the turmoil of the civil war, this monarch keeps changing.

They have a choice of two royal courts to appeal to. Well, this is the mere surface level of the plot. This book is so much beyond it. It is a story of betrayal and seduction; it is a story of love and hardship; it is a story of human nature and the all-encompassing morals that imposes.

It is just fantastic in every sense. The characters are real, and their hardships are even realer. This is no less true for the villains of the book, William Hamleigh in particular is characterised superbly. His parents ruined him; he has no restraint; he has nobody to tell him no. So, to his mind, he can get away with anything. He even has a Bishop who will gladly absolve all his sins. This is an incredibly dangerous mind-set, and one that almost destroys the protagonists of the book.

He's a nasty man. The strength of the church Follet also weighs the potential power of the church. I love the way he contrasts godly Prior Phillip with the twisted Bishop Waleran.

He is in the church for the simple reason that he is a man of faith. Contrastingly, Bishop Waleran is a tyrannical despot. The Bishop is vain, greedy and ambitious. In this his will is his own; he is completely self-serving. He abuses his power to meet his own ends and self-aggrandisement. So, he is slightly corrupt. In this, he is not a true believer of his own faith. By contrasting these two characters Follet demonstrates how the church has the power to do great good and also great evil.

This, for me, is quite a strong message to take from the book because it shows us the dividing nature of man, of life, of good and evil; it shows us that all things can be benevolent or terrible.

It also hints at redemption. If something is this bad, it can be made into something good once more; it has the potential to be as it should be in the right hands. I do love this story. It shows that if people can come together, to achieve something greater than themselves then humanity is not lost despite the backdrop of war, corruptness and general chaos. Jack begins the novel as a mute boy with little human socialisation.

At the end of the novel he is a respected builder and farther of the town. Everything centres on Jack, and his family history. His narrative questions the restraints the common man lived under in the period; it highlights the injustice the legal system exerted in the time. The church doctrine almost prevents him from being a farther to his child. But, he perseveres and overcomes the restrictions of the church, his awful step-brother and the corruptness of society itself.

This is a book I just have to read again. View all 24 comments. Shelves: library. This was incredible. After reading this for weeks, I'll need a bit to sort out my thoughts on this one. Review to come. Also, how great is the feeling when you're the first person to check out a brand new replacement copy via the library? View all 39 comments. Aug 31, James rated it really liked it Shelves: 3-multi-book-series , 1-fiction.

I read this out of order as once I read "World Without End," I was so captivated that I had to go back to read this one. It was good, but I much preferred "World Without End. And to think it takes place over years ago I love the relationship people had with the church -- not so much from a religious perspective, but in how it defined every action and thought in the I read this out of order as once I read "World Without End," I was so captivated that I had to go back to read this one.

I love the relationship people had with the church -- not so much from a religious perspective, but in how it defined every action and thought in their day. It was a powerful time period. And when I think about what I would have done if I lived in that time period The detail woven into these stories is exemplary. That's what makes his novels feel so magical and inviting.

About Me For those new to me or my reviews I write A LOT. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vote in the poll and ratings. Thanks for stopping by. Note : All written content is my original creation and copyrighted to me, but the graphics and images were linked from other sites and belong to them. Many thanks to their original creators. View all 45 comments. Jan 13, Peter rated it it was amazing Shelves: historical-fiction , favorites.

Epic If you ever wanted to use the words Epic and Classic in a book review, The Pillars of the Earth is a book that upholds that accolade. It is a fabulous masterpiece of historical fiction, based in England in the 12th Century.

The sense of time and place are vividly drawn and the fragility and harshness of life shadow each of the characters. The array of characters are impressively developed, and with over pages in the novel, this becomes a generational journey spanning many decades and gi Epic If you ever wanted to use the words Epic and Classic in a book review, The Pillars of the Earth is a book that upholds that accolade.

The array of characters are impressively developed, and with over pages in the novel, this becomes a generational journey spanning many decades and gives us a glimpse of how it was to grow and age in medieval England.

Multiple threads tell the stories of individuals and families and their experiences of survival, jealousy, power and what life and neighbours can throw at them. All are explored with colourful detail, in an unforgiving period where right and wrong, and our sense of justice is tested to the limit.

The building of a cathedral at Kingsbridge is the cornerstone of this engrossing novel. How religious affiliation can bring out the principles of some men and the skulduggery of others.

What good men are forced to do and what bad men are capable of doing. With a book, this long, praise has to be given to the fact that the momentum of the story never faltered and after investing so much time within its engrossing pages, it is difficult to come to terms with normality when the book is finished.

I would highly recommend reading this book and it does occupy a place on my favourites shelf. View all 52 comments. Dec 31, Dan Schwent rated it really liked it Shelves: kitten-squisher , , confession-time , homework-from-the-ladies. Confession time: This is not a book I would have picked out for myself.

First of all, look at the size of this kitten squisher! Second of all, Amanda's hate-filled review of it is one of my favorite reviews on Goodreads.

However, it's one of my girlfriend's favorite books and when she suggested I give it a read, I knew what was good for me. Lucky for me, I enjoyed it. Pillars of the Earth is a multigenerational tale about the construction of a cathedral in a fictitious English town in the s.

Many threads are followed for it's nigh page girth. Tom Builder goes from being an expectant father to a widow to a master builder. Philip becomes a prior and the ruler of Kingsbridge.

And lets not forget Jack, Aliena, Richard, Waleran, that bastard William Hamleigh, or any of the many other characters. Ken Follett was primarily known as a thriller writer before Pillars and it shows.

Every time things appear to be going right for the good guys and it looks like the cathedral is back on track, another monkey wrench is thrown into the works. For a book with very little in the way of action, I was enthralled.

You can squeeze a lot of plot complications in nearly pages and Follett jammed in as many as he could. I have to admire the kind of planning it took to write something like this. As I said before, I always found the size of this thing daunting but I probably shouldn't have. It's a best seller, and best sellers aren't known for being difficult reads. Since Follett is a thriller writer, he tended to keep things to the point for the most part, though I thought he was ignoring Elmore Leonard's rule about not writing the parts people skip a few times.

I don't really want to say much about the plot for fear of spoiling anything. It's a long read but the ending is worth the time it takes to get there. Parting thoughts may contain spoilers : - Tom Builder sure jumped into bed with Ellen pretty quickly. Agnes' body wasn't even cold yet. View all 62 comments.

Aug 04, Matt rated it it was amazing Shelves: buddy-read , audiobook. Ken Follett leaves his comfort zone with this epic tome, which highlights the development and building of a massive cathedral in Kingsbridge, a rural English community.

Follett takes the reader back to the 12th century, where Tom Builder is looking for work. After the death of his wife in childbirth, Tom leads his family from town to town hoping for employment scraps to ensure his brood has a means to survive.

Meanwhile, a young monk by the name of Phillip travels to Kingsbridge on business, onl Ken Follett leaves his comfort zone with this epic tome, which highlights the development and building of a massive cathedral in Kingsbridge, a rural English community.

Meanwhile, a young monk by the name of Phillip travels to Kingsbridge on business, only to show his leadership skills and curry favour with some of the other monks, earning himself the role of Prior. This local leadership role could prove important, as the priory is badly in need of repair.

King Stephen takes his place on the throne, though a coup is in the works. When Tom makes his way to Kingsbridge, he reports some news and pledges loyalty to Stephen, which may work to the benefit of everyone. A fire leaves the local cathedral destroyed, though Tom is able to begin creation of a place of worship for the monks. Armed with his past experience and work ethic, Tom is permitted to build a new cathedral, grand and elegant in nature.

It will, however, take years to complete, as the political and economic situation in Kingsbridge continues to evolve. The story continues with the evolution of Kingsbridge as a local hub, creating much needed markets and economic fluctuation in order to sustain the costly building that is being erected.

There are some who wish to see Kingsbridge falter, not the least of whom is the recent earl of Shiring. Tom and his family continue to toil on the cathedral, though they, too, are struck with calamitous news on more than one occasion. Prior Phillip seeks to forge onwards, though must use his theological knowledge and guidance to shepherd the people of Kingsbridge towards the Word rather than temptation.

As the narrative continues to evolve, layers of new characters emerge in this multi-generational story, all of whom bring their own struggles to the forefront, while one, looming theme binds it all together. Full of forks in the story, Follett has undertaken a massive project with this book, which is only the first of the trilogy.

Patient readers will lose themselves in this epic tome, only to demand more by the time they reach the end though one cannot fault them if they need a breather! As early as the preface, Follett agrees that this was likely his most difficult literary project to date, tapping into a genre and backstory with which he has no experience.

Follett lays the groundwork for an amazing series here, fleshing out countless characters, storylines, and developments while never forgetting to overarching idea of the Kingsbridge Cathedral. The scores of characters who grace the page do not receive equal representation throughout the chapters, though there is an evolution of central players as the story moves forward and time passes, layering generations atop and beside one another.

Phillip and Tom remain the central characters whose ideas prove to be stalwart themes throughout, but the reader is graced with the likes of Alfred and Jack, offspring literal and through marriage of Tom, who seek to continue the build for as long as it will take. There is also Aliena, who sought to hold onto the earldom for her brother and whose business sense brought economic growth to the region. Weighing in on the antagonist side of the ledger would surely be William Hamleigh and Bishop Waleran, whose plotting seeks to bring Phillip and the cathedral to its knees.

The interaction between these characters enriches the novel and keeps the reader wanting more. I would disagree with that assessment, for this is not the type of novel that can be both rich and brief. The slow and methodical development of characters and storyline takes time and, I would venture to surmise, all would be lost with brief parachuted mentions throughout the narrative.

There will be some whose attention span cannot last the entire novel, which is no criticism. Leave it to those with the patience to take the journey to express excitement about it in hopes of filling in the gaps.

There is still much to go in Kingsbridge and its cathedral, the true lifeblood of the novel. The end of this piece is but a resting place for many more adventures, sure to arise if readers pledge to continue reading the other two novels in the trilogy. I am packed and ready to go, Mr. Let the journey recommence with the next novel. Kudos, Mr. Follett, for stepping out of your espionage thrillers to bring us this wonderful piece. I can admit that I am fully enthralled and I want to see what you have in store for us and the townsfolk of Kingsbridge.

View all 27 comments. Nov 10, Lucy rated it did not like it. I hated this book. Let's just get that out of the way so there is no confusion later on. Ken Follett describes a gloomy, dismal, nearly barbaric society whose citizens' greatest concerns seem to be their egos and their lust for power and control. He uses the building of the great European cathedrals as the impetus for his story; the magnificent structures were made possible through trickery, lies, greed, criminal acts and selfish ambition.

Forget about the Glory of God When visiting cathedrals, it's worth studying the finer details. At Salisbury, for example, the lancet windows - those tall narrow windows with a pointed arch at the top - are particularly interesting. Lancet windows are a feature of the style called Early English, the earliest Gothic style in the country.

As well as the lancet windows, if you visit Salisbury it is worth going up to the tower where you can see the great wheel - a winch used for hauling up massive stones. Another aspect that I find interesting about cathedrals is the length of time it took to construct them - work could take many decades or even centuries.

For example, construction of the glorious Cologne cathedral began in but later stopped for hundreds of years before resuming. It was finally finished in Work on a cathedral would stop for several reasons - those in charge of the project could run out of stone or money, or even decide they should build it somewhere else entirely and start all over again. And what is fascinating for me is that while work stopped for, say, a century, different architectural styles were developing.

In English cathedrals, you can walk around and see that some parts are Norman, some are Early English, others are Decorated a Middle English style and more still are High Gothic. I enjoy looking at cathedrals very much.

I'm not a religious person - in fact I'm an atheist - but I'm still moved by the beauty and grandeur of these buildings. Wherever I happen to be travelling, I enjoy spending time looking at the local cathedral. I go to Cologne a lot because this is where my German publishers are based, and I take the opportunity to visit the cathedral every time I'm in the city.

Meanwhile, I'm planning another Kingsbridge novel - it won't be about building a cathedral but it will be about the town. Ken Follett was speaking to Frank Barrett. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. Whilst on an assignment, Ken visited Peterborough Cathedral and soon cathedral visiting became a hobby of his.

With nearly 1, pages and over , words, The Pillars of the Earth took Ken three years and three months to write. During the writing process, Ken went through several different titles before deciding on The Pillars of the Earth.

However, eighteen years later, to the delight of many readers, Ken released World Without End. Set in Kingsbridge years after The Pillars of the Earth , the novel focuses on how the Black Death affects the city of Kingsbridge and the townspeople.