A Column of Fire (The Kingsbridge Novels)

Product Information

The fictional characters (I would have loved more depth for each one) are skilfully presented and perfectly inserted within the historical characters. We will process the refund due to you as soon as possible and, in any case within thirty (30) days of the day we confirm via e-mail that you are entitled to a refund for defective goods. There are many who would see her removed, not least Mary Queens of Scots, who lies in wait in Paris. Full of adventure and suspense, A Column of Fire is an inspiring and thrilling portrait of one of Europe’s most perilous times in history. Other cancelled products: If you want to cancel products that are not damaged or incorrectly supplied, then you must inform us of this within seven working days following the date of receipt in accordance with the Distance Selling Regulations or otherwise as soon as possible.

I didn't get a sense that they were fighting to be together, or that they were particularly disheartened when circumstances tore them apart.

Follett develops mini-stories throughout Europe, presenting characters who exemplify the religious issues in Spain and France, as well as in England, the attentive reader will remember such ‘branch-offs’ over the aforementioned trilogy. I loved the characters and again, we have an unsung hero marching through a tumultuous time - the Elizabethan era.

When I read the preface to Pillars of the Earth, I learned that Follett was not entirely comfortable with the subject matter when he first wrote that book.The Babington Plot (1587) in which Queen Elizabeth I's agents got hold of secret correspondence in which Mary, Queen of Scots explicitly assented to the conspirators' plan to kill the Protestant Queen Elizabeth and place the Catholic Mary on the throne - the evidence which led to Mary being executed for treason.

The book is huge and sweeping because it’s trying to follow the consequences of Henry VIII’s creation of a new breakaway church. With the paperback review copy weighing in at over a kilo (I couldn’t resist), this is not a novel for dropping on your nose. It is a prequel to The Pillars of the Earth and is set around the year 1,000, when Kingsbridge was an Anglo-Saxon settlement threatened by Viking invaders. Ned becomes more embroiled in the plots against Elizabeth while Margery marries another forced to give up Ned.Philip II of Spain, King of Spain and King of England de jure uxoris - Husband of Mary Tudor, a hard-line Catholic (mentioned, but does not appear). With this one I had the pleasure of reading and at the same time listening to the audiobook narrated by Jon Lee. All in all, what I think A Column of Fire needed most of all was time, time to grow and become the story it ought to have been. So read it for the history, and though I always had a few favored characters, they were not really fully fleshed, it was hard to actually get z handle on their personalities. In this period we are still in Kingsbridge and moved on from the black death and the hundred years war, the descendants are still living dramatic and harrowing lives.