“The Pilars of The Earth” is a historical novel by Ken Follet. The story is about the building of a cathedral in Kingsbridge, England. It takes place in the middle of the 12th century, during the English Anarchy, between the sinking of the White Ship and the murder of Thomas Becket.
The novel describes the development of Gothic architecture and the fortunes of the priory of Kingsbridge.
Tom Builder is working on a new house for William Hamleigh, who was going to marry Lady Aliena. William Hamleigh is an aristocrat and Lady Aliena is the daughter of the Earl of Shiring. Aliena rejected him, and William stopped the building of their house. From this disaster, Tom Builder lost his job. He and his family went to different cities looking for work for Tom, but he couldn't find job.
Agnes, the wife of Tom, was pregnant and she was ill, so the family stopped to rest. They met Agnes and Jack, her son. Both helped them to look after Agnes. Aliena and her father saw them and and gave them some food. Jack fell in love to Aliena at first sight.
Tom and his family decided to continue on their way. Agnes died in the forest while she was giving birth to her child. They left the baby near a cathedral so that the monks could find him before he died. The same day, Tom saw Ellen again and fell in love with her. Tom and his two children, Martha and Alfred, went to live with Ellen and Jack in the priory of Kingsbridge for little time until Tom found work. Jack, to help his new “family”, burned the cathedral and it fell down, so Tom found work there as a builder.
Aliena was raped by William, so she and her brother moved to Kingsbridge too.
The building started and Jack was very happy to see Aliena every day, but they never spoke. Jack and Alfred were working with Tom on the buildings. Aliena slowly fell in love with Jack, and they saw eacxh other every Sunday.
At the Kingsbridge wool fair, William attacked the positions which sold wool and burned the city. Tom died and Alfred takes his charge of building. Aliena loses her home and her wool business, so she becomes poor. To pay for Richard's weapons and horses, she was forced to marry Alfred, who she hates. Jack became a monk, but later he escaped. Jack and Aliena made love for hours before she got married to Alfred, and Jack escaped to Santiago of Compostela.
Alfred hated his wife and abused and hit her. Aliena became pregnant, but she hid the pregnancy.
The cathedral was finished for Pentecost, but during the first mass the roof collapses and many people are buried by the stones. The same day, Aliena's son was born and everybody discovered that this child was Jack's because he looked so much like him.
Aliena escaped with her son and went to search for Jack in Compostela and Toledo. Later, she searched him in France, and she found him when he was working in another cathedral. She told Jack what had happened during his absence and said to him that the child was his. They both decided to call the boy Tommy.
They returned to Kingsbridge and Jack became a master builder.
Richard learned that William was going to burn the city, sothe Kingsbridge’s residents built a wall around the city.
Jonatan became the new subprior. People started to say that Philip, the prior, was the father of Jonatan, so they decided to ask Ellen about Jonatan. She said that Tom was his father. They believed it because Jonatan looked a lot like Tom. Ellen also reports that the bishop Walleran had killed Jack's father for no reason.
The king was angry with Thomas, the archbishop. Some of the king's men, including William, killed Thomas in a church. Philip saw the crime and told it to all Christians.
Philip became bishop and William was hung.
