Book
The Pillars of the Earth
First published 1989
After the loss of his work and home, master mason Tom Builder joins Prior Philip’s attempt to rebuild the ruined church at Kingsbridge as a great cathedral. Their project draws in the dispossessed noblewoman Aliena, the inventive stonemason Jack and the violent Hamleigh family, whose ambitions threaten both the town and the cathedral community.
The novel unfolds during the civil war between King Stephen and Empress Matilda, when disputed authority allows local magnates and bishops to pursue private power. Cathedral construction provides the story’s long framework, linking architectural change with commerce, monastic reform and the struggle for lawful government, before the narrative reaches the conflict between Henry II and Thomas Becket.
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