But by the end of the novel, Kingsbridge comes into its own, changing more than any of the people who shaped it. Set at the end of the dark ages, on the cusp of the first millennium, the action and danger was immediate – less than three pages in see Viking ships raid and pillage a small English fishing village. Ragna, realizing she had nothing left to lose, tells Aldred the reason for Wynstan's erratic behaviour.

despre ea că va atinge teme precum trădarea, poligamia, homosexualitatea, dar toate au fost așa de frumos îmbrăcate, încât nu mi-a venit să cred ce repede dădeam paginile. Follett has said that he has chosen biblical quotes for the titles of all his Kingsbridge novels as he feels that they have a more powerful and epic feeling. It’s tantalizing to be immersed in the world of what seems to be a common man and watch as the world (life) pommels his ambitions.

A young Norman noblewoman named Ragna travels to England to marry Aelderman Wilwulf of Shiring only to find she is his second wife. One thing that Follett has always done is use strong characters to guide the story, Here, he chose three presumptive protagonists and presents a thorough, delightful piece told through their eyes. It is a prequel to The Pillars of the Earth and is set around the year 1,000, when Kingsbridge was an Anglo-Saxon settlement threatened by Viking invaders.

Follett has done well with his Kingsbridge trilogy, so much so that he chose to add this, a prequel, to deliver context on some much-wondered happenings in the early stages. And while there is definitely a limit to how far Follet could go on existing scholarship before taking up some creative liberties, nevertheless at times it definitely felt like I had taken a time machine to early medieval England. Set at the end of the Dark Ages, the story explores the lives of three key characters and how their interactions bring a community together over a period of time. He strikes on many historical realities at odds with our general view of medieval Europe, influenced largely by later centuries.Even so, The Evening in the Morning seems like it’s on solid ground when it illustrates how hard women had it. Life is hard, and those with power wield it harshly, bending justice according to their will – often in conflict with the king. It does not, precisely, end where 'Pillars of the Earth' begins, as the blurb implies, but it sets the foundations.