World Without End
World Without End is its equally irresistible sequel—set two hundred years after The Pillars of the Earth and three hundred years after the Kingsbridge prequel, The Evening and the Morning.
World Without End takes place in the same town of Kingsbridge, two centuries after the townspeople finished building the exquisite Gothic cathedral that was at the heart of The Pillars of the Earth. The cathedral and the priory are again at the center of a web of love and hate, greed and pride, ambition and revenge, but this sequel stands on its own. This time the men and women of an extraordinary cast of characters find themselves at a crossroads of new ideas—about medicine, commerce, architecture, and justice. In a world where proponents of the old ways fiercely battle those with progressive minds, the intrigue and tension quickly reach a boiling point against the devastating backdrop of the greatest natural disaster ever to strike the human race—the Black Death.
Three years in the writing and nearly eighteen years since its predecessor, World Without End is a "well-researched, beautifully detailed portrait of the late Middle Ages" (The Washington Post) that once again shows that Ken Follett is a masterful author writing at the top of his craft.
Readers also enjoyed
Ken Follett
Ken Follett has built a career on the art of tension, whether it is the quiet suspense of a spy slipping through enemy lines or the slow, awe-inspiring rise of a cathedral that will outlast its makers. His novels combine the pace of thrillers with the sweep of history, pulling readers into stories where personal ambition and world-changing events are always on a collision course.
Born in Cardiff, Wales, in 1949, Follett grew up in a household where television was forbidden, so books became his companions. That early immersion in reading shaped not only his imagination but also his instinct for narrative. After studying philosophy at University College London, he worked as a journalist and later in publishing, careers that sharpened his eye for detail and his sense of how stories reach audiences.
Kingsbridge
Stone by stone, Kingsbridge rises, not just as a town but as a witness to centuries of struggle, ambition, and transformation. At its heart stands a cathedral, a monument to human vision, and around it unfold the lives of ordinary people who dare, suffer, and endure against the backdrop of history’s most turbulent eras.
The saga begins in the shadow of the Dark Ages, when survival itself feels uncertain, and carries through medieval England’s wars and plagues, into the passions of the Elizabethan world, and later the upheavals of revolution and industrial change. Each book immerses readers in a different century, yet the threads remain constant: the hunger for power, the resilience of love, and the fight for justice in societies that are often merciless.
Kingsbridge consists of five books and series is set to expand with the upcoming release of one more book. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
