Ken Follett is a Welsh author of thrillers and historical novels. During his career, he has sold well over 10 million copies of his novels. Although his first novels were not so well-received by the public, his published encouraged him to continue his writing and soon afterwards, at the age of 27, he writes Eye of the Needle, novel that becomes an instant success and brings Ken the Edgar Award for Best Novel from the Mystery Writers of America.

With his instincts guiding him towards success, he decides to start writing historical novels, decision that had surprised, if not shocked his closes acquaintances. But in an amusing twist of events, the new novel surpassed even his original moment of fame, and now he`s better known for writing The Pillars of the Earth, a historical novel, than the thrillers that made him famous to begin with. This particular book has become his best-selling work, being considered the “nation’s best-loved book” in 2003.

Why are his books so popular? It`s probably from the illusion of life that he imbued them with. He`s always done massive amounts of research for his novels and is meticulous in his reconstructions of an era, whether it`s the Middle ages or a more recent event.

What`s really to be appreciated at him though, is not his ability to joggle with styles of writing, but his courage to try something new. Instead of writing endless stories that follow the same structure over and over again, Follett did his best to reinvent himself as a writer with each new written novel. In the end, what started as a hobby to fill up the gaps left by his career, turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to him. And for that we must give him recognition!

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