Ken Follett on Stonehenge, building cathedrals, and the glaring flaw in Shakespeare's greatest soliloquy

The bestselling author Ken Follett joins the Country Life Podcast

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Ken Follett
The author Ken Follett has had a career spanning over half a century.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Ken Follett is a man who doesn’t really need much introduction, but introduce him I will anyway.

Thirty-eight books written. 197 million copies sold in 80 countries and in 40 languages. Very popular across the world — and even in China and Brazil, according to the man himself.

You would think that might be enough to retire on, but Ken is not interested in retirement. Rather he would like to talk about his latest book Circle of Days, which is about the building of Stonehenge and is out on September 23 (but is very much available to pre-order now).

Ken has long been the master of historical fiction, with his bestseller Pillars of the Earth adoring most bookshelves up and down the country. He joins the podcast to discuss his writing process, and how he combines his painstaking research with fiction to create his much-loved tales.

We also chat about cathedrals, the revival of Notre Dame, whether he’s played his own video game, a fictional dinner with Shakespeare, and his favourite place in the UK (the answer to which might just surprise you).

Ken Follett Circle of Days cover

(Image credit: Quercus)

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher
Guest: Ken Follett
Editor and producer: Toby Keel
Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

James Fisher
James Fisher
Digital Commissioning Editor

James Fisher is the Digital Commissioning Editor of Country Life. He writes about motoring, travel and things that upset him. He lives in London. He wants to publish good stories, so you should email him.