Ken follett

Ken follett He is one of the best known writers in the world. He became world famous with his book "The Pillars of the Earth", but in reality he already had many other books under his belt and the readers who "drank" his books were many.

If you have not heard of the author and want to know more about him, we invite you to do so below because we have compiled everything you should know about the life of this writer.

Who is Ken Follett

We could say that Ken Follett is one of the most recognized best-selling authors in the world, acclaimed and that every time he puts out a book there are many who go to bookstores for him. But we want to unravel the writer, to know a little more about his personal life.

To do this, we must start in June 1949. Exactly on the 5th was when he arrived in Cardiff, to a very religious family. Follett was the eldest of three brothers and he lived a childhood quite marked by his parents, Martin and Veenie Follett. To give you an idea, they were forbidden to listen to the radio, watch television or go to the movies.

So for Ken Follett the only way to entertain himself was through stories. These were narrated by his mother and the imagination and fantasy that he had as a child did the rest. Thus, with nothing to do, he learned to read very early and books served as a way to escape from his boring life. For this reason, he had as his favorite place the library of his city.

At the age of 10, the Follett family moved to London and continued studying there. He enrolled in Philosophy at University College, something that surprised many since, being the son of a tax inspector, it was thought that he would follow in his father's footsteps. But due to the way he grew up, since his family was very religious, he was full of doubts and that career was a way of looking for answers to what he had in his mind. In fact, the author himself considers that this choice influenced him as a writer.

At the age of 18, he experienced a strange situation for his age. And it is that, while he was studying and having a good time at the University, his girlfriend, Mary, became pregnant and the couple ended up getting married after the first term of studies. He continued with the career, becoming passionate about politics, and ended in September 1970.

Ken Follett's early works

Recent graduate, Follett decided to do a postgraduate degree in journalism, something that began to get the "bug" by writing. In fact, he started working as a reporter in Cardiff, at the South Wales Echo.

When their daughter, Marie-Claire, was born three years later, she became a columnist for the London Evening News.

Despite the fact that he was getting a job, he realized that his dream of being a successful investigative journalist was never going to come, so he decided to change his course and began to write fiction in his spare time, at night and at night. weekends.

That made, a year later, in 1974, he decided to quit his job at the newspaper and join Everest Books, a London publisher where he began to publish his books, although none of them were successful. Until it arrived. "Island of Storms" was the book that catapulted Ken Follett into the best-seller group.

Island of storms

This book, published in 1978, won the Edgar Award and has sold more than 10 million copies to date. As a result, Ken Follett quit his job and rented a villa in the south of France to devote himself entirely to his next novels. Of course, with fear of not being able to repeat what he had achieved with that great success.

It took three years for Ken Follett to pack his bags again and move, again, to London, specifically to Surrey. And it is that the cinema, theater and other types of entertainment pulled him back to the city. At that time, Follett became more and more interested in politics. He was involved in the electoral campaigns of the Labor Party, where he met Barbara Broer, secretary of the local branch of the party. He fell in love with her and married her in 1984. They live in the Hertfordshire rectory, where Ken Follett's children, Barbara's children, as well as the couple's partners and grandchildren, are also.

Regarding her work, Barbara has been Stevenage's MP since 1997 while Ken Follett continues with the writing; Furthermore, he has never allowed politics to enter the literature.

His writing guidelines are to start writing after breakfast and continue until four in the afternoon, when he stops to relax and unwind.

The 'other' Ken Follett

Usually Ken Follett we know his more literary side but, Do you know that he is also president of other associations? Well yes, specifically, it is known to be:

• President of Dyslexia Action.
• Member of the Board of Directors of the National Literacy Trust.
• Member of the school council of the Roebuck Primary School and Nursery.
• Honorary Doctorate in Literature, from the University of Glamorgan.
• Member of the Royal Society of Arts.
• Honorary President of the Stevenage Community Trust.

And, despite the fact that his time is dedicated to books, the writer knows how to organize himself to fulfill many other commitments, and to help where he is needed. In addition to being very involved with his family.

Ken Follet books

Here we leave you a list of all the books that Ken Follett has published, sometimes signed through different pseudonyms.

• Apples Carstairs series (1974-1975), signed under the pseudonym Simon Myles
  • The Big Needle.
  • The Big Black
  • and The Big Hit
• Spy series Piers Roper (1975-1976), signed with his name
  • Shakeout
  • Bear Raid
• Other works signed with different pseudonyms (1976-1978)

• Juvenile novels, under the pseudonym Martin Martinsen
  • The Secret of Kellerman Studies or The Mystery of Kellerman Studies
  • The mighty twins or The mystery of the planet of worms
• Works under the pseudonym Bernard L. Ross
  • AMOK: King of Legend
  • Capricorn One
• Novels under the pseudonym Zachary Stone
  • The Modigliani scandal.
  • Paper money.
• Novels signed with your name since 1978
  • The island of storms.
  • Triple.
  • The key is in Rebecca.
  • The man from St. Petersburg.
  • The wings of the eagle.
  • The valley of the lions.
  • Night over the waters.
  • A dangerous fortune.
  • A place called freedom.
  • The third twin.
  • In the mouth of the dragon.
  • Double game.
  • High risk.
  • Final flight.
  • In the White.
  • Never.
• The Pillars of the Earth Saga

• • The pillars of the earth.
  • An endless world.
  • A column of fire.
  • The darkness and the dawn.
• The Century Trilogy
  • The fall of the giants.
  • The winter of the world.
  • The threshold of eternity.
• Non-fiction
  • The Heist of the Century, 1978, with René Louis Maurice; (titled in the United States The Gentleman of 16 July).
  • Notre-Dame, 2019, book tribute to the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris after its fire.

Now that you know Ken Follett a little better, do you dare to read more of his books? Which one did you like the most?