#23 in Historical fiction
The Pillars of the Earth
- 1,040
- Pages
- about 19 h
- Reading time
- Series 2010
- On screen
- Oprah's Book Club
Affiliate link: buying through it supports BookRank at no extra cost to you.
Our view
This is historical fiction on the grand scale: over a thousand pages following the building of a cathedral and the fortunes of a priory town through years of civil war. The sweep is the appeal. Some readers find the characters drawn in bold strokes, heroes and villains with little in between, who think more like moderns than medieval people, and feel that a mystery thread resolves flatly. For readers who want a long, immersive saga.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
The Pillars of the Earth is a historical novel by Welsh author Ken Follett published in 1989 about the building of a cathedral in the fictional town of Kingsbridge, England. Set in the 12th century, the novel covers the time between the sinking of the White Ship and the murder of Thomas Becket, but focuses primarily on the Anarchy. The book traces the development of Gothic architecture out of the preceding Romanesque architecture, and the fortunes of the Kingsbridge priory and village against the backdrop of historical events of the time.
Reading order · Kingsbridge
Full order & progress →- The Pillars of the EarthThis book
8.48.4 / 10 - World Without End
8.28.2 / 10 - A Column of Fire
8.08.0 / 10 - The Evening and the Morning
8.18.1 / 10 - The Armour of LightThe Armour of Light–Not ranked yet
On screen
This book has been adapted for the screen once.
- SeriesThe Pillars of the EarthIMDb
Adaptation data: Wikidata · On screen →
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.4 across 1,271 ratings. With that many, the reader vote carries 90% of the weight and the score stays at 8.4 — the Historical fiction average of 8.0 barely moves it.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.4 | 72 | 6% |
| Google Books | 9.0 | 98 | 8% |
| Hardcover | 8.3 | 1.1K | 87% |
Frequently asked
How long is The Pillars of the Earth?
It has 1,040 pages — longer than 95% of the ranked books in Historical fiction.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Historical fiction — with scores between 8.3 and 8.4, closest to this book.
