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| World Without End | |
 Cover art of World Without End, UK edition (2007) |
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| Author | Ken Follett |
|---|---|
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Historical fiction |
| Publisher | Dutton (US edition) |
| Publication date | 9 October 2007 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
| Pages | 1024 (Paperback, US edition) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0525950079 (Hardback, US edition) |
| Preceded by | The Pillars of the Earth |
World Without End is a 2007 novel by Ken Follett and the sequel to 1989's The Pillars of the Earth.
World Without End takes place in the same fictional town as Pillars of the Earth — Kingsbridge — and features the descendants of some Pillars characters two centuries later. [1] The plot incorporates two major historical events, the start of the Hundred Years' War and the Black Death. [2]
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
The novel begins in the fictional city of Kingsbridge, England in the year 1327. Four children witness two men killed in the forest; the story that follows is an account of their intertwined lives over the next 30 years. The major characters are Caris, ambitious daughter of the city Alderman; Ralph, son of a disgraced knight; Merthin, Ralph's clever older brother; and Gwenda, starving daughter of a poor landless laborer. The four spend their entire lives trying to understand and protect the secret they share from that fateful encounter in the forest.
The story revolves around the cathedral of Kingsbridge and its priory. In the time of Pillars, the monastery had been a pious institution that encouraged learning and innovation; in the 14th century, the monks have become conservative and discourage modernization.
[edit] Plot introduction
~Plot introduction~
[edit] Explanation of the novel's title
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[edit] Plot summary
Part One - 1 November, 1327 Part one introduces the four main characters; Merthin, Ralph, Caris and Gwenda. They are between 8 and eleven years old. Except for Ralph and Merthin, who are brothers and have grown up together, the children all meet for the first time. They decide to go into the woods to try out the bow Merthin has fashioned, despite the threat of viscious gangs of outlaws that populate the forest. When they reach a clearing, Ralph uses the bow to shoot and kill a hare, and also Gwenda's dog. The children hear adults approaching and hide in the bushes around the clearing. Soon after, a knight called Thomas Langley appears, pursued by two men-in-arms who want the letter he is carrying. When their hiding place is revealed, Ralph shoots one of the men with the bow and arrow and Thomas swiftly kills the other. The children flee, but Merthin is frozen with fear and remains behind. The knight, whose arm is wounded, asks Merthin to help him bury the letter. Afterwards, he instructs Merthin to keep the letter a secret until the event of Thomas' death, when he is to tell a priest about it.
Part one also sets up the romance between Caris and Merthin, as the two children take an instant liking to each other. Since Caris takes Gwenda to her home and gives her a puppy to replace the dog Ralph has killed, the friendship between the two girls also begins in this section.
Although he is not one of the central four characters, the monk Godwyn plays a large role throughout the novel and is seen for the first time in chapter four. He is Caris' cousin, the son of her aunt Petranilla, and although his request to study medicine at Oxford is refused by the Prioress his mother's relentless ambition to see her son do well means that she sells her home to fund his education.
The section ends with the death of Caris' mother.
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