World Without End was published by Macmillan in 2007, set in Kingsbridge two hundred years after The Pillars of the Earth, in the period 1327–1361. The cathedral that Tom Builder began and Jack Jackson completed still dominates the town, but Kingsbridge has stagnated under the rule of a corrupt prior and an incompetent prioress.
The novel follows four principal characters from childhood to middle age: Merthin, a builder in the mold of Jack Jackson, whose innovations are blocked by conservative guild masters; Caris, a wool merchant’s daughter who wants to practice medicine but is forced into a nunnery; Ralph, Merthin’s brother, a brutal knight who rises through violence; and Gwenda, a peasant woman who escapes her father’s control only to be trapped by the feudal system.
The Black Death arrives in Kingsbridge in 1348, killing a third of the population. Follett uses the plague as the catalyst that breaks the old social order — labor shortages give peasants bargaining power, women move into previously male roles, and the Church’s authority erodes as prayer proves useless against the pestilence.
Collecting World Without End
First edition (Macmillan, London, 2007): Boards with dust jacket.
Market values:
- UK first edition, fine in jacket: $30–$60
- US first edition (Dutton): $20–$40
- Signed first: $60–$120
Projected values (2026–2036): Moderate appreciation.
The Sequel
World Without End (2007) returns to Kingsbridge 200 years after The Pillars of the Earth, during the Black Death of 1348–1350. The descendants of the original characters face plague, war, and ecclesiastical corruption while attempting to build a new tower for the cathedral. The novel sold over 20 million copies and was adapted as a television miniseries in 2012.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Kingsbridge series? The Pillars of the Earth (1989), World Without End (2007), A Column of Fire (2017), and The Evening and the Morning (2020). Each novel is set in a different century of Kingsbridge’s history — from the Dark Ages to the Elizabethan era — and follows descendants of recurring families.