A Column of Fire (The Kingsbridge Novels)

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As the times and the story continue many characters both real and imagined by Mr Follett create a wonderful telling of the Elizabethan Age. Robert Cecil, Earl of Salisbury - Son of William, advisor and Secretary of State to Queen Elizabeth and King James. 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. Over a turbulent half-century, the love between Ned and Margery seems doomed, as extremism sparks violence from Edinburgh to Geneva.

Margery discovers the truth about his intrigues and his treasonous plots to depose the queen and confronts him.Closer to the events, Ned Willard goes on a dangerous spying mission from Antwerp to Calais, to assess the Spanish strength. The death of King Henry II of France in a jousting accident - a traumatic event setting the stage for the decades-long French Wars of Religion.

Each of them was undermined: Elizabeth by repeated plots to assassinate her, Caterina by the ruthless Guise family, and Marguerite by her half-brother King Felipe II of Spain. Bill Sheehan of The Washington Post 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. What follows is a collection of stories that emerge throughout Europe, using a handful of characters who illustrate the religious persecution of both Protestants and Catholics, using the Pope and various monarchs to play Christian chess with their subjects as they shed blood to see their branch of the religion succeed. Ken Follett takes us deep into the treacherous world of powerful monarchs, intrigue, murder, and treason with his magnificent epic, A Column of Fire—the chronological latest in the Kingsbridge series, following The Pillars of the Earth, World Without End, and the prequel, The Evening and the Morning. When he reckoned the boat was at last nearing Kingsbridge, he wrapped his French cloak more tightly around his shoulders, pulled the hood over his ears, stepped out onto the open deck, and looked ahead.Philip II of Spain, King of Spain and King of England de jure uxoris - Husband of Mary Tudor, a hard-line Catholic (mentioned, but does not appear). Mary Tudor, Queen of England - Elder half-sister of Elizabeth I, a hard-line Catholic (mentioned, but does not appear). Seeing good actors giving good performances, bringing to life characters I've invented and speaking some of the lines I've written is a huge thrill. Follett illustrates this battle over decades, while the characters evolve but still have time to prove as scandalous as ever (what would a Kingsbridge novel be without some drama? The book is divided into four parts which breaks this into manageable sections - it is a huge read of over 750 pages, but certainly worth the wait.