This book is the third volume in the Kingsbridge series. It is similar to the others in some ways but much different in others. Like the earlier two books, Pillars of the Earth and World Without End, this book is sweeping in scope, covering more than 50 years. People are married, have babies, and the babies grow up. Like the others, this one is set in a historical period and has lots of authentic detail drawn from written sources. But while the others were set in periods that have been relatively neglected by recent authors, both historians and novelists, A Column of Fire happens against the backdrop of the Protestant Reformation and the changes England experienced after King Henry VIII died without a male heir. Here, we the readers are on somewhat more familiar ground. The 16th century has been covered in many movies and TV shows in addition to nonfiction literature. There are only a few novelized versions, most not recent, so I’m not aware of other historical novels set in this period so there’s little to compare it with except the actual history. The author does a thorough job of setting his story, with some fictional characters and other historical persons, in an authentic plot derived from historical sources. I dare say it’s possible to learn the history from this book, always a scary thing to think about when discussing a novel.
The familiar history of King Henry’s break with the Catholic church and the chaos that introduced into what was then a provincial and unimportant country is the enabling event that sets the plot in motion. As such, the book differs from most of today’s fiction in that it is driven by theme and plot more than by character, although the characters are deftly drawn. Familiar names come up frequently for the moderately well-read history buff. Erasmus, Calvin, and of course Martin Luther play a substantial role although they don’t actually appear. The Pope at the time also plays a role, alas, not a very helpful one. We meet Guy Fawkes, whose attempted terrorist act closes out the action. The difference between Protestant and Catholic sects is made as clear as it’s possible for a modern book to make it, although to me it leaves a mystery as to what the tie-in between Calvin, Erasmus, and Henry VIII might be. Mary Tudor and Mary Queen of Scots are characters. The book is huge and sweeping because it’s trying to follow the consequences of Henry VIII’s creation of a new breakaway church. It does a good job leaving the story where it did, in the reign of James I in England and Henri IV in France, pointing the way to an eventual reconciliation of the sects of Christianity with the Edict of Nantes on one side of the channel and the Gunpowder Plot on the other. Amazingly for a plot that spans 50 years, it seems taut and action packed. People are put to death for their beliefs and there’s a great tie-in with the Pilgrims’ voyage to America. No American wouldn’t get it.
Now for the few, the very few things I didn’t like about the book. It’s small format and therefore rather hard to read. For this long a book, it’s certainly worth making the print and physical size of the pages bigger. Then there’s the use of somewhat less familiar versions of some of the characters’ names. Mary is more often “Queen of the Scots” than the familiar schoolroom “Queen of Scots.” French characters from the nobility have their titles translated into English, except for Philip II, King of Spain, who is “King Felipe.” I am still moderately literate in French from my school days and I remember some of the French characters with their French titles, like the Duc de Guise. It seems odd to see them anglicized. I also found myself confused by the “Marquess” being male and the “Marchioness” being female.
More objectionable though is that the maritime parts were clearly written by a landlubber. The author studiously avoids almost all naval terms. He seems unaware of how much work it is to furl or set sail, and how easy it is to heave to with the sails set, one mast thrusting in reverse and the other ahead, with the result that the ship holds position fairly well but is ready to fill and gather speed very quickly. He’s done his homework on what actually happened in the Spanish Armada, but with a seaman like Ned’s brother Barney telling the story there’s no excuse to dumb it down.
In spite of these minor lapses, I felt the book deserved 5 stars. It’s a masterpiece.
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Popular Highlights in this book
“When a man is certain that he knows God’s will, and is resolved to do it regardless of the cost, he is the most dangerous person in the world.”Highlighted by 2,500 Kindle readers- Changing your beliefs with every change of monarch was called “policy,” and people who did it were “politicians.”Highlighted by 1,284 Kindle readers
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From the Publisher
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| The Evening and the Morning | The Pillars of the Earth | World Without End | A Column of Fire | The Armor of Light | |
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| Price | $13.99 | $17.36 | $13.16 | $11.71 | $20.07 |
| Discover the entire Kingsbridge Series | Prequel | Book 1 | Book 2 | Book 3 | Book 4 |
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Buy it if you like Follet and History
I just got finished reading Ken Follet’s Column of Fire, the 3rd book of the Kingsbridge series. This book is about the persecution of the Protestants by the Catholics, and the Catholics by the Protestants, in England, France & Spain in the late 1500s up to about 1603, going thru the intrigues around Queen Elizabeth’s attempts to stop persecution, the imprisonment & execution of Mary Queen of Scots, the Spanish armada fiasco and ending with Guy Fawkes’ attempt to blow up King James and Parliament. The book gets a lot of flack here for being a “jumble of boring characters not obviously related to each other,” and “not as good as the previous books,” and “no connection back to Kingsbridge.” However, I found the absolute opposite to be true. It is a really good historical novel with connected characters (connected to Kingsbridge) who are portrayed well.The following comment does not deserve removal of a star. It is a very good read. But it was difficult to tell what types of Protestants were fighting what types of Catholics (and vice versa) in England. Sometimes it seemed that the story in England was about Anglicans (Church of England) vs. Roman Catholics, at other times it seemed like Puritans vs. Anglicans. Perhaps the book would have been easier to follow if Follet had included a few explanatory mentions of the Henry the VIII split from the Roman Catholic Church in the 1530s (before this story begins) and the formation of the Anglican Church. This was the beginning of the English Reformation, which was pretty major in comparison to France (a little) and Spain (none at all). Perhaps the author felt the different denominations were too complicated to explain. However, I thought the background to the English part of the story was very over-simplified.
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Jeff
Another epic tale in the Kingsbridge saga
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 16, 2024
