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The world's most successful historical novel comes as a graphic novel series

9.4.2025

Translation: machine translated

25 years after the publication of "The Pillars of the Earth", the epic story about the construction of a medieval cathedral in England is being reissued. As a graphic novel series. Volume 2 "The Fire of God" will be published at the end of April.

A novel about the construction of a medieval cathedral? Not a good idea. At least that's what the publishers thought when the concept was first presented to them. It must have been sometime in the 1980s when the British author Ken Follett approached his publishers with this project. And by then, Follett was already a successful and award-winning author of numerous spy novels.

Today, those publishing executives are probably more than happy that they eventually waved Follett's idea through. "The Pillars of the Earth" was published in 1989. Since then, the book has sold around 175 million copies (although different sources quote different figures), has been translated into 37 languages and has been published in 80 countries. There are several adaptations as board and card games, a computer game, a film adaptation and Ken Follett has now published three sequels and a prequel, which together form the "Kingsbridge series".

I myself probably read Follett's epic historical novel - along with other books by the British author - as a teenager at the end of the 1990s. However, I still remember "The Pillars of the Earth" in particular, while my memories of the spy novels have long since faded and I only recognise a few titles today, even when I read through Follett's list of works.

Graphic novel series - Volume 2 coming at the end of April

One person who read "The Pillars of the Earth" around the same time as me and was deeply impressed by the story and the characters is the French comic author Didier Alcante. Even back then, he immediately realised that this story "could become an extraordinary graphic novel". Today, over a quarter of a century later, I read Alcante's memory in the epilogue of the first volume of his adaptation.

The story is set in England in the 12th century.

The fictional town of Kingsbridge is the main setting.

Alcante has turned his idea into reality. Not without the approval and blessing of author Ken Follett and in collaboration with illustrator Steven Dupré and colourist Jean-Paul Fernandez.

Volume one was published in October 2024 with the subtitle "The Dream of a Cathedral". It is not quite the first of six books that make up the original: it follows three storylines centred around the central characters Tom Builder and his family in search of work as master builders, Prior Philip and his career within the Catholic Church of England and the noblewoman's daughter Aliena and her family, who become caught up in power struggles and intrigue between the nobility and clergy.

Die Säulen der Erde - Der Traum von einer Kathedrale (German, Ken Follett, Didier Alcante, Steven Dupré, 2024)

Fiction

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Die Säulen der Erde - Der Traum von einer Kathedrale

German, Ken Follett, Didier Alcante, Steven Dupré, 2024

Volume two "The Fire of God" will be available in stores from 25 April. While volume one primarily introduced the most important characters and constellations, the fictitious city of Kingsbridge and the planned construction of a new cathedral there will introduce the actual main plot and storyline.

Fiction

Die Säulen der Erde - Das Feuer Gottes

German, Ken Follett, Didier Alcante, 2025

It is not yet known how many individual volumes the graphic novel series will be translated into. However, I assume that the six parts (in the book they are called "Book 1-6") of the original will be exceeded and that the entire story, spanning around four decades, will be translated into at least eight to ten illustrated volumes.

Header image: Oliver Fischer

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