Ken Follett

Ken Follett was born in Cardiff in 1949 and, after graduating in 1970 and taking a short journalism course, worked as a trainee reporter on the South Wales Echo. His breakthrough was the spy thriller Eye of the Needle (1978), later filmed with Donald Sutherland, and his next bestsellers stayed in the genre: Triple (1979), The Key to Rebecca (1980), The Man from St. Petersburg (1982) and Lie Down with Lions (1986).

The Pillars of the Earth (1989) changed direction. Set in the 12th century, during the civil war known as the Anarchy, it follows the building of a cathedral in the fictional town of Kingsbridge and traces the shift from Romanesque to Gothic architecture. It became his best-known book and the start of the Kingsbridge series. Since then he has alternated history and thrillers. The Century Trilogy, made up of Fall of Giants (2010), Winter of the World (2012) and Edge of Eternity (2014), follows five interrelated Welsh, American, German, Russian and English families through the 20th century, and Circle of Days (2025) is set in the Neolithic period, when Stonehenge was built. His books have sold nearly 200 million copies.

Begin with The Pillars of the Earth, even though The Evening and the Morning comes earlier in Kingsbridge's history. Pillars is the book the rest of the series grew from, and the prequel was published 31 years later. If Pillars works for you, World Without End (2007) is the natural next step: it returns to Kingsbridge 157 years later and follows the descendants of the first book's characters.

For his 20th-century history, start the Century Trilogy with Fall of Giants and keep going in order. For his thriller side, Eye of the Needle is the place to start.