The first, and still the most famous in the series, “The Pillars of the Earth” (1989), is set in the 12th century during “the Anarchy,” a period of political chaos and violence that accompanied the struggle for succession to the English throne, the poisonous effects of which are felt even in Kingsbridge. “World Without End” (2007) jumps ahead to the 14th century and embroils itself in the turmoil arising out of the 100 Years War and the Black Death. “A Column of Fire” (2017) moves on to the 16th century and the gore-spattered reigns of (Bloody) Mary I and Elizabeth I, on to the reign of James I and the thwarting of the Gunpowder Plot. Follett then stepped back six centuries to the turn of the 10th century in “The Evening and the Morning” (2020), as Anglo-Saxon England is beset by Viking raids and the future Kingsbridge is still the muddy little town of Dreng’s Ferry.
Now, with “The Armor of Light,” we find ourselves in Kingsbridge and its surrounds in 1792, the year that marks the beginning of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. At the same time, steady advances in industrial mechanization are fast laying waste to traditional ways of life. In Kingsbridge, a center of woolen textile production, work is moving from the homes of hand carders, spinners and weavers to mills equipped with vastly more productive machinery. Combined with the inflationary effect of the wars and the government’s crackdown on “sedition” — usefully construed by the propertied classes as associations of working people — survival for workers has become a very grim business.
The story opens in a field belonging to the squire of Badford, a village lying outside of Kingsbridge. Men are digging turnips under the brutal supervision of Will Riddick, the arrogant, wastrel son of the squire. Impatient and reckless as usual, Riddick causes a cart to be overloaded and a man, Harry Clitheroe, is crushed beneath it and dies after hours of agony. If you think young Riddick will accept responsibility and offer proper restitution to the man’s family, you don’t know Ken Follett, a virtuoso of portraying injustice. Instead of reparation, Harry’s wife, Sue, receives a pittance and her 6-year-old son, Kit, is ordered to work in the manor house. It doesn’t take long for the boy to run afoul of Will and he ends up kicked in the head
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Denial of responsibility! Vigour Times is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
