''A Column of Fire'' is a 2017

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

by British author

Ken Follett Kenneth Martin Follett (born 5 June 1949) is a Welsh author of thrillers and historical novels who has sold more than 198 million copies of his works. His books have been sold in over 80 countries. Follett's commercial breakthrough came with ...

, first published on 12 September 2017. It is the third book in the Kingsbridge Series, and serves as a

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

to 1989's '' The Pillars of the Earth'' and 2007's '' World Without End''.

Plot

Beginning in 1558, and continuing through 1605, the story chronicles the romance between Ned Willard and Margery Fitzgerald, as well as the political intrigue of the royal courts of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, and the oft-times violent conflict between supporters of the nascent

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

and those supporting the Catholic Church’s

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...

in the late 16th century. As depicted in the early chapters, the city of Kingsbridge is ruled by an

oligarchy Oligarchy (; ) is a form of government in which power rests with a small number of people. Members of this group, called oligarchs, generally hold usually hard, but sometimes soft power through nobility, fame, wealth, or education; or t ...

of rich merchants who sit on the city's council; the most powerful family holds the position of the city's mayor. The plot focuses on three families; each represents a major ideological division present in English society at the time. The Fitzgeralds are a staunchly Catholic family, which under the Catholic Queen

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

gives them an advantage over the others and the position of Mayor. They seek to upgrade their social position by a marrying into the titled aristocracy. At the opposite pole are the intransigently Puritan Cobleys, who secretly hold Protestant worship - a highly dangerous act under Catholic rule. Their strong religious principles do not, however, stop the Cobleys from resorting to occasional underhand tricks to cheat their competitors and employees, and dabbling in the new lucrative field of the

Transatlantic Slave Trade The Atlantic slave trade or transatlantic slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of Slavery in Africa, enslaved African people to the Americas. European slave ships regularly used the triangular trade route and its Middle Pass ...

. In between are the more pragmatic Willards - nominal Catholics under Mary, but who would turn Protestant once

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...

came to power. In the book's early part, the dominant Fitzgeralds make use of their alliance with the ruthless Catholic Bishop Julius to hit at their rivals. They get Philbert Cobley burned as a heretic for conducting a Protestant service and drive the Willards virtually bankrupt by strictly enforcing anti-usury laws which are usually regarded as a legal fiction (since in fact all merchants take interest on loans). This forces Ned Willard to take service with Princess (later Queen) Elizabeth, rather than pursuing his family's traditional commercial activities - eventually ending up as the Queen's spymaster. Later on, with the Protestants gaining ascendancy, they take revenge on the Fitzgeralds, making their commercial activity dependent on renouncing the Catholic faith - thereby driving Rollo Fitzgerald out of business and into becoming an exile Catholic Priest and a mastermind of Catholic plots against Queen Elizabeth with pseudonym Jean Langlais. With these two major viewpoint characters thrown out of Kingsbridge and into the wider scene, the book's focus changes. Unlike the two previous novels in this series, a large portion of the plot takes place outside the town of Kingsbridge, utilizing such far-flung settings as

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

and the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

, and involving many major characters who have no direct connection with the town. In the later part of the book, Ned Willard's nephew Alfonso restores the Willard family fortunes by conducting projects designed by his grand-mother and becomes the new Mayor like his grand-father. However, to the end of the book the local affairs of Kingsbridge remain secondary to the greater political and religious struggles. The later parts of the book focus on the deadly battle of wits between Catholic conspirator Rollo Fitzgerald, hatching sophisticated dangerous conspiracies, and Ned Willard, the Royal spymaster tasked with uncovering and foiling these conspiracies. In many ways this echoes, under 16th Century conditions, the themes of Follet's

WWII World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

spy thriller '' Eye of the Needle'' - which featured a similar struggle between German spy Henry Faber ("Die Nadel") and

MI5 MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), officially the Security Service, is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Gov ...

spy catcher Percival Godliman.

Historical events

The plot includes extensive depictions of several important historical events of the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Follett in general follows known historical facts, but altering them to the extent necessary for his fictional characters to play a significant role: * The death of King

Henry II of France Henry II (; 31 March 1519 – 10 July 1559) was List of French monarchs#House of Valois-Angoulême (1515–1589), King of France from 1547 until his death in 1559. The second son of Francis I of France, Francis I and Claude of France, Claude, Du ...

in a jousting accident - a traumatic event setting the stage for the decades-long

French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion were a series of civil wars between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants (called Huguenots) from 1562 to 1598. Between two and four million people died from violence, famine or disease di ...

. * The

Massacre of Wassy The Massacre of Vassy () was the murder of Huguenot worshippers and citizens in an armed action by troops of the Duke of Guise, in Wassy, France on 1 March 1562. The massacre is identified as the first major event in the French Wars of Religio ...

on 1 March 1562, the first major event of those wars. * The escape of

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

, from imprisonment at

Lochleven Castle Lochleven Castle is a ruined castle on an island in Loch Leven, in the Perth and Kinross local authority area of Scotland. Possibly built around 1300, the castle was the site of military action during the Wars of Scottish Independence (1296–1 ...

(1568), described in great detail from the point of view of the fictional Alison McKay, to whom Follett attributed the part of various actual ladies in waiting and servants of Queen Mary. Alison McKay is depicted as afterwards strongly but vainly urging Mary not to take the decision to go to England - a fatal mistake which led to a much longer imprisonment which the loyal Alison shared up to the moment of Mary's execution. * St. Bartholomew's Day massacre (1572) in which Catholic mobs massacred thousands of Protestants in

. Conflicting interpretations of this catastrophic event were current at the time and are still debated among modern historians - some regarding the massacre as the unplanned culmination of escalating religious tensions, while others attributed it to a deliberate Machiavellian planning. In the latter case, the blame for planning the massacre is variously attributed to the Guise Family, leaders of the fanatic Catholic League, to King Charles IX and his mother

Catherine de Medici Catherine de' Medici (, ; , ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Italian Florentine noblewoman of the Medici family and Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to King Henry II. She was the mother of French kings Fran ...

, or to both. Follett's account attributes to the book's main villain, Pierre Aumande - an intelligent, capable, and utterly ruthless man - the main responsibility for planning and initiating the massacre. He is depicted as manipulating the Guise Family, the King and his mother and the Mayor of Paris, getting the Paris militia mobilized on false pretexts and then made to start killing Protestants and making deadly use of meticulous lists of the names and addresses of Paris Protestants, which Aumande had compiled through previous years of systematic espionage. In all that, Aumande is shown as being motivated mainly by opportunism, seeking to bolster his position as the Guise Family's main adviser, and he also makes of use of the general massacre to sadistically settle some personal accounts. The protagonist Ned Willard and Sylvie, the French Protestant woman he loves, get only a belated warning of the impending massacre and are able to warn in time only a few of the threatened Protestants - at considerable risk to their own lives. * The

Babington Plot The Babington Plot was a plan in 1586 to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I, a Protestantism, Protestant, and put Mary, Queen of Scots, her Catholic Church, Catholic cousin, on the English throne. It led to Mary's execution, a result of a letter s ...

(1587) in which Queen

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

's agents got hold of secret correspondence in which

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. Follett attributes to Ned Willard - working in the Queen's Secret Service as

Francis Walsingham Sir Francis Walsingham ( – 6 April 1590) was principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England from 20 December 1573 until his death and is popularly remembered as her " spymaster". Born to a well-connected family of gentry, Wa ...

's deputy - the credit for having painstakingly uncovered the plot and intimidated Gilbert Gifford into becoming a

double agent In the field of counterintelligence, a double agent is an employee of a secret intelligence service for one country, whose primary purpose is to spy on a target organization of another country, but who is now spying on their own country's organi ...

and delivering to the Queen's agents the letters sent to and by Mary. In actuality, Gifford was recruited by Walsingham himself. * Drake's raid on Cadiz in 1587 - emphasizing that as well as delaying the sailing of the Spanish Armada, the English raiders were motivated by seeking to loot Spanish ships (including Follet's viewpoint character, the sea captain Barney Willard). * The

Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada (often known as Invincible Armada, or the Enterprise of England, ) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by Alonso de Guzmán, Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aristocrat without previous naval ...

(1588), by which King

Philip II of Spain Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...

sought to conquer England. Follett attributes to Ned Willard two important contributions to the English victory. First, years earlier, Ned talks to his brother Barney, a seasoned English sailor whose ship had done well in a sea battle with a Spanish

galleon Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships developed in Spain and Portugal. They were first used as armed cargo carriers by Europe, Europeans from the 16th to 18th centuries during the Age of Sail, and they were the principal vessels dr ...

off

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ) is an island between Geography of Cuba, Cuba and Geography of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and the second-largest by List of C ...

. Based on that experience, Barney believes that England should not seek to build galleons of its own, but rather create a navy composed of "smaller, more agile ships, which could dance around a galleon and rake it with cannon fire". Ned conveys this advice to the Queen, who acts on it - and builds the ships which would eventually defeat the Armada. Closer to the events, Ned Willard goes on a dangerous spying mission from

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...

, to assess the Spanish strength. From his merchant cousin, based in Antwerp, Willard hears of the

Hellburners Hellburners ( Dutch: ''hellebranders''), also known as explosion ships or Antwerp fire, were a pair of specialised explosive fireships built and fielded by the defending Dutch rebels in the Fall of Antwerp (1584–1585), part of the Eighty Years ...

fireship A fire ship or fireship is a large wooden vessel set on fire to be used against enemy ships during a ramming attack or similar maneuver. Fireships were used to great effect against wooden ships throughout naval military history up until the adv ...

s employed against the Spanish during the recent Siege of Antwerp. On this basis, Willard advises the English commanders to load the cannons of the fireships sent into the port of Calais, so that even with no human crews they would start firing when the fire gets to them. This turns out to be very crucial, as otherwise the Spanish might have been able to tow the English fireships to burn harmlessly in the open sea. Without the fireships causing the Spanish ships to scatter and break formation, the outcome of the entire battle might have been different. As depicted in the story, neither Ned nor anyone else is aware of the crucial role his advice had in the English victory. Only the omniscient writer conveys it to the reader by shifting back and forth between the English and the Spanish points of view. In his depiction of the Armada, Follett clearly strives to be fair to both sides, several times emphasizing that both the English and the Spanish had courageous fighters and skilled sailors. * The

Gunpowder Plot The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was an unsuccessful attempted regicide against James VI and I, King James VI of Scotland and I of England by a group of English ...

(1605), in which Catholic conspirators sought to blow up the

English Parliament The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised th ...

and kill in one blow the recently enthroned King James I, his sons

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

and

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

and all his principal ministers and advisers, and to use the resulting power vacuum to seize power. Follett attributes to the book's antagonist, the staunch Catholic Rollo Fitzgerald, the role of initiating the plot and recruiting

Guy Fawkes Guy Fawkes (; 13 April 1570 – 31 January 1606), also known as Guido Fawkes while fighting for the Spanish, was a member of a group of provincial English Catholics involved in the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. He was born and educate ...

to implement it. To Ned Willard is attributed the role of uncovering the conspiracy and averting it at the last moment. For dramatic purposes, Follett omits the historical fact that the gunpowder had undergone some deterioration and might not have exploded. As depicted in the book, it was completely combustible and the plot might well have been carried out, with drastic results for later English history, but for Willard discovering it in the very nick of time.

Characters

Point-of-View Characters * Ned Willard - The younger son of a prosperous Kingsbridge merchant family, a tolerant Protestant who desires no man should die for his faith. * Margery Fitzgerald - Daughter of the mayor of Kingsbridge, a Catholic with loyalties torn between her religion and her love for Ned Willard, with whom she shares common ideals. * Rollo Fitzgerald - Margery's elder brother, a hard-line Catholic. A relentless bully who views his family honor as more important than its individual members. * Pierre Aumande - An ambitious but low-born French Catholic con man. As the story moves forward, he is revealed to be progressively more sadistic and black-hearted. * Sylvie Palot - Daughter of a Parisian printer and bookseller, a zealous but tolerant Protestant. Full of courage, and a desire to change the world, she puts herself willingly in danger for the sake of her faith and her ideals. * Alison McKay - Lady-in-waiting and close childhood friend to Mary, Queen of Scots, a Catholic. Described as beautiful, and loyal to a fault, there is little she will not do for Mary's sake. * Barney Willard - Ned's elder brother, a merchant living with relatives in Spain, a tolerant Catholic. A devil-may-care, enterprising rogue, he lives for the thrill of adventure, the company of beautiful women, and the life of the sailor. * Ebrima Dabo - An enslaved West African man, in bondage to the Willards' Spanish relations, a nominal Catholic who secretly follows traditional

Mandinka Mandinka, Mandika, Mandinkha, Mandinko, or Mandingo may refer to: Media * Mandingo (novel), ''Mandingo'' (novel), a bestselling novel published in 1957 * Mandingo (film), ''Mandingo'' (film), a 1975 film based on the eponymous 1957 novel * ''Man ...

beliefs. Prominently Featured Historical Figures * Mary Tudor, Queen of England - Elder half-sister of Elizabeth I, a hard-line Catholic (mentioned, but does not appear). *

, King of Spain and King of England de jure uxoris - Husband of Mary Tudor, a hard-line Catholic (mentioned, but does not appear). * Elizabeth Tudor, Queen of England - Called Elizabeth I, a tolerant Protestant. * Tom Parry - Treasurer to Queen Elizabeth I. *

Sir William Cecil William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (13 September 15204 August 1598), was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State (1550–1553 and 1558–1572) and Lord High Treasurer from ...

- Advisor to Queen Elizabeth I. * Francis, Duke of Guise - Called Scarface, a celebrated French general, father of Henri I of Guise and uncle of Mary, Queen of Scots, a hard-line Catholic. *

Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine Charles de Lorraine (17 February 1524 – 26 December 1574), Duke of Chevreuse, was a French Cardinal, a member of the powerful House of Guise. He was known at first as the Cardinal of Guise, and then as the second Cardinal of Lorraine, after t ...

- Spymaster, younger brother of Scarface and uncle of Mary, Queen of Scots, a hard-line Catholic. * Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland - A Catholic, briefly Queen Consort of France, niece of Scarface and Cardinal Charles, called Mary, Queen of Scots. * Francis II, King of France - Son of

Henri II of France Henry II (; 31 March 1519 – 10 July 1559) was King of France from 1547 until his death in 1559. The second son of Francis I and Claude, Duchess of Brittany, he became Dauphin of France upon the death of his elder brother Francis in 1536. As ...

and Catherine de' Medici, first husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, a hard-line Catholic. *

Catherine de' Medici Catherine de' Medici (, ; , ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Italian Republic of Florence, Florentine noblewoman of the Medici family and Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to Henry II of France, King Henry II. Sh ...

- Queen Consort of France and Queen Regent during the reign of her son Charles, wife of Henri II, mother of Francis II, Charles IX, and Henri III, a tolerant Catholic. *

Sir Francis Walsingham Sir Francis Walsingham ( – 6 April 1590) was principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England from 20 December 1573 until his death and is popularly remembered as her " spymaster". Born to a well-connected family of gentry, Wa ...

- Secretary and spymaster to Queen Elizabeth I. * Sir Francis Throckmorton - Conspirator against Queen Elizabeth I. *

Sir Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( 1540 – 28 January 1596) was an English Exploration, explorer and privateer best known for making the Francis Drake's circumnavigation, second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition between 1577 and 1580 (bein ...

- English fleet commander. * Henri, Duke of Guise - Leader of the French Catholic League, son of Scarface. * Charles IX, King of France - Son of Henri II of France and Catherine de' Medici, younger brother of Francis II. * Gaspard de Coligny - Admiral of France and Protestant leader, advisor of Charles IX. * Henri III, King of France - Son of Henri II of France and Catherine de' Medici, younger brother of Francis II and Charles IX. * Princess Margot, Princess of France - Daughter of Henri II of France and Catherine de' Medici, lover of Henri I, Duke of Guise, married to Henry of Navarre. * Henry of Navarre, Heir of Navarre Kingdom - Protestant, married to Princess Margot to deal peace between Catholics and Protestants. * Robert Cecil, Earl of Salisbury - Son of William, advisor and Secretary of State to Queen Elizabeth and King James. *

James VI and I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 M ...

, King of Scotland, and later, of England - Son of Mary, Queen of Scots and Lord Darnley. *

- A Catholic conspirator in the

. * Thomas Percy - A Catholic conspirator in the

. Other Major Characters * Alice Willard - Mother of Ned and Barney, widow of the former mayor of Kingsbridge, a prosperous Kingsbridge merchant and tolerant Protestant. * Sir Reginald Fitzgerald - Father of Margery and Rollo, mayor of Kingsbridge, a vindictive Catholic. * Bart Shiring - Son of the Earl of Shiring, rival suitor for Margery's hand. * Swithin, Earl of Shiring - Father of Bart. * Bishop Julius of Kingsbridge - A hard-line Catholic who want buy to Sir Reginald Fitzgerald the Kingsbridge priory. * Philbert Cobley - A strict Protestant merchant of Kingsbridge who hold secret and forbidden Protestant worship. * Dan Cobley - Son of Philbert, a strict Protestant merchant of Kingsbridge. * Isabelle Palot - Mother of Sylvie, a Protestant. * Louise, Marchioness de Nîmes - A Protestant aristocrat, member of Sylvie's congregation. * Carlos Cruz - A merchant from Seville, cousin of the Willards, a tolerant Catholic. * Odette - Maidservant to Veronique de Guise, later wife of Pierre Aumande. * Nath - Maidservant working for Pierre Aumande, a Protestant. * Alain de Guise - Stepson of Pierre Aumande, a Protestant. * Bella - A mixed-race enterprising rum distiller on the Caribbean island of

. * Alfonso Willard - Bella's son by Barney Willard, eventually taken to England and becoming Mayor of Kingsbridge. Other Characters with spoilers * Bartlet Shiring - First son of Margery and officially Bart Shiring (in fact Swithin), Earl of Shiring after Bart. * Roger - Second son of Margery and officially Bart Shiring (in fact son of Ned), deputy of Kingsbridge and member of King privy council after Ned. * Donal Gloster - Former Philbert Cobley's employee who tries to seduce Ruth Cobley, Philbert Cobley's daughter. His failure made him alcoholic and manipulable. * Jonas Bacon - Captain of the Hawk, seized vessel in Calais by French which ruined Sir Reginald Fitzgerald then Alice Willard

Similarity with ''Winter of the World''

''A Column of Fire'' shares a major plot element with Follet's '' Winter of the World''. Though set in respectively the 16th Century and the 20th, both novels have a rich commoner woman (Margery Fitzgerald in the one book, Daisy Peshkov in the other) marrying the scion of a titled English aristocratic family. In both books, the character finds herself trapped in a loveless and unhappy marriage, overshadowed by her husband's powerful autocratic father, and must try to make the best of it; starts a secret affair with a man she truly loves; and is able, after many tribulations, to escape the unhappy aristocratic marriage and happily marry her true love.

Reception

Bill Sheehan of

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

summarizes the book by commenting: "Like its predecessors in the Kingsbridge series, “A Column of Fire” is absorbing, painlessly educational and a great deal of fun. Follett uses the tools of popular fiction to great effect in these books, illuminating a nation’s gradual progress toward modernity. The central theme of this latest book — the ongoing conflict between tolerance and fanaticism — lends both relevance and resonance to the slowly unfolding story of England’s past."

Musical adaptation

In 2019, a musical adaptation of ''A Column of Fire'' had its world premiere 1 March, 2019, at

Bellevue Teatret The Bellevue Teatret ( English: Bellevue Theatre) is a theatre in Klampenborg at the northern outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark. Opened in 1936 to the design of Arne Jacobsen, the building is considered one of his most important architectural work ...

Klampenborg Klampenborg is a northern suburb of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located in Gentofte Municipality, Gentofte municipality, directly on Øresund, between Taarbæk and Skovshoved. Like other neighbourhoods along the Øresund coast, Klampenborg is an ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. The musical was written by Thomas Høg, Lasse Aagaard, and Sune Svanekier, who had previously adapted ''The Pillars of the Earth'' into a musical at

Østre Gasværk Teater Østre Gasværk Teater is a theatre in the Østerbro district of Copenhagen, Denmark, located in an abandoned gasholder house of the former Østre Gasværk (‘Eastern Gasworks’). The theatre is constructed within the masonry shell that used t ...

in 2016.

References