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The Evening and the Morning

A Kingsbridge Novel

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The Evening and the Morning

By: Ken Follett
Narrated by: John Lee
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About this listen

From the bestselling author Ken Follett, The Evening and the Morning is a historical epic that ends where The Pillars of the Earth begins.

'Another historical thriller of mighty proportions' – The Times

A Time of Conflict
It is 997 CE, the end of the Dark Ages. The king’s grip on the country is fragile and chaos reigns. A young boat builder dreams of a better future after a devastating Viking raid shatters the life he hoped for.

Lives Intertwined
A Norman noblewoman follows her husband to a new land only to find her life there shockingly different; and a capable monk at Shiring Abbey has a vision of transforming his humble home into a centre of learning admired throughout Europe.

The Dawn of a New Age
Now, with England at the dawn of the Middle Ages, these three people will each come into dangerous conflict with a ruthless bishop, who will do anything to increase his wealth and power, in an epic tale of ambition, rivalry, love and hate.

Over three decades ago we were introduced to Kingsbridge in The Pillars of the Earth, and now in this masterful prequel international bestseller Ken Follett will take us on a journey into a rich past, which will end where his masterpiece begins.

More than 175 million copies sold worldwide. Published in over eighty territories and thirty-seven languages. The international no.1 bestselling phenomenon returns.

 Family Life Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Medieval Suspense Thriller & Suspense Middle Ages Romance Fiction Exciting Marriage

Critic reviews

Another historical thriller of mighty proportions. A prequel, set in Dark Ages Britain, to his bestselling The Pillars of the Earth
An earthy barrage of page-turning incident
Plenty of action to keep the reader involved. This epic tale sets the foundation for the author's much-loved 1989 book, The Pillars of the Earth
An effortlessly engaging and entertaining read
One of the great bestselling novelists
Follett is a master storyteller
All stars
Most relevant
Twists and turns, lots of surprises and frustrating situations. Spell binding story. Loved every second of it 😊

Wonderful story. I would love to say what I loved most but it would give too much away!

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Easy listening which is healthier than sleeping pills. Uncomplicated writing, simple sentences, easily followed plots, reasonably well researched and good at 'placing' you in the relevant period, in the hovels of ordinary folk, as well as the palaces of historical figures. There's no penetrating insight or innovative analysis of historical events but I wouldn't want that in a sleeping pill. Most of the characters are straightforward 'good' or 'evil'; there's nothing to challenge you, or make you think too hard, and even in the dramatic peaks you won't be kept awake by a racing pulse. Pretty reliable at putting me to sleep and I've listened to all the Kingsbridge books for that reason. I usually drop off after about 10 minutes (finding the place at which I dropped off, the following day, can take as long). That happens whether I'm in bed, in an armchair, on a plane, in a hotel room, whatever. I once tried to cook dinner for guests whilst listening to one of these and had to select something else when I became extremely drowsy - I wouldn't play this stuff in the car on a long drive! Ken Follett is a UK Labour Party donor (moderate left wing / social democrat / Democrat for non-Brit readers) and it shows. That's not a problem for me but others may have a different view; some depictions of appalling behaviour by clergy or nobility have obvious parallels with extremist right wing politicians in C21, but these are historically accurate in a generalised way and he doesn't batter you around the head with it. The language is so simplistic that I doubt it would work, as well, in a novel set in more modern times, so I haven't read his 20th Century stuff. If Disney had produced a cartoon characterisation of EP Thompson's The Making Of The English Working Class, it might have come out a little like this. Maybe. A bit. But if that sounds like a negative comment, it's not - I like the books, it's just that my reasons for doing so may not have the same appeal for everyone. The narrator, John Lee, is good, but veers a little close to the unintentionally comical when voicing female characters, which carries the risk that it may occasionally bring you back from the brink of sleep to let off a loud, unexpected, uninhibited laugh, perhaps to the irritation of a loved one who was peacefully succumbing to the effect of sleeping solutions of their own choice. Not that this has ever happened, obviously, but it might. Just saying. Perhaps better (if less amusing) simply to read the female parts in a normal voice and let the reader's imagination supply the feminine inflexions of thinner vocal cords. Maybe that's just me, though.

Fiction To Sleep By

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The story follows the pattern of the others in the Kingsbridge series. The narration followed an annoying rhythms throughout so that it was an effort to care about the characters. I didn’t enjoy this as much as the others.

Narrator spoiled it

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I just loved this book. my 1st Ken Follett recommended by a friend. I loved the story and the trials and tribulations of the two main characters, it held me captive and I enjoyed returning to listen to more on my walks.

A Joy

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So disappointed with the narrator. Such an odd delivery. Each sentence falls at the end with a fast beginning. Spoilt it for me.

Good story poor narrator

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