World Without End

Ken Follett’s novel World Without End (2007) is the second book in the Kingsbridge series, which comprises The Pillars of the Earth (1989) and A Column of Fire (2017); The Evening and the Morning (2020) is a prequel to the series. Spanning from the deposing of Edward II of England (1327) to 1361, this volume traces what happens in the lives of people of high and low status as English society confronts challenges to order. These challenges include the Black Plague, the Hundred Years’ War, and the growth of a merchant class intent on challenging royal and religious authority. Although historical figures do appear in the novel, the central characters are fictional. This guide is based on the 2007 Penguin print edition. World Without End includes depictions of sexual assault and rape.

Plot Summary

Part 1 begins in the year 1327. Young Caris Wooler, Gwenda, and brothers Merthin and Ralph witness Thomas Langley running away from armed men intent on retrieving a letter that contains the secret of what really happened to Edward II after his wife deposed him. Merthin helps Thomas bury the letter, and Thomas enters the priory as a monk. Gwenda, a peasant girl, begins a lifelong friendship with Caris, the daughter of a prosperous wool merchant. Merthin becomes a carpenter’s apprentice, and Ralph becomes a squire after their family goes bankrupt.

In Part 2, the narrative picks up 10 years later. The bridge into the town collapses, killing many important leaders in the town and changing the lives of the major characters. Gwenda uses the confusion to free herself from the gang to whom her father sold her. Ralph rescues his lord and becomes the lord of Wigleigh. Merthin sleeps with his master’s daughter. Caris, now an able lieutenant to her father, discovers a gift for healing and leadership as she cares for the victims of the bridge collapse.

In Part 3, which occurs in the last half of 1337, Merthin transforms himself into a bridge builder after his master dismisses him from his apprenticeship. Ralph uses his power as a lord to prevent the peasant Wulfric from inheriting his father’s land; Gwenda subsequently becomes Wulfric’s lover and then his wife. She is pregnant with Ralph’s son after a failed attempt to exchange sex with Ralph for Wulfric’s land. Godwyn, Caris’s cousin, becomes the prior of Kingsbridge through Machiavellian maneuvering.

In Part 4, which occurs one year later, Ralph is convicted of raping Annet, but his earl saves him by taking him to fight in France. Meanwhile, Merthin solidifies his reputation as a builder, and Caris experiences business success that boosts the town’s economy. She is engaged to Merthin. Her success angers Godwyn, her cousin and now the grasping prior of Kingsbridge. Godwyn connives with forces in the town and in the priory to have Caris tried for witchcraft. She escapes death by taking vows at the Kingsbridge nunnery. Merthin leaves for Florence.

Part 5 occurs during crucial battles in the Hundred Years’ War and the moment when the plague sweeps through Europe, killing many people. Ralph gains a knighthood and marriage with young Tilly (Matilda) for his service during the war. He is a ruthless, violent lord who uses his power to destroy the lives of Gwenda and Wulfric. Godwyn steals the nunnery’s funds, and Caris embarks on a dangerous trek through France to ask the king for justice. She doesn’t get it. Caris becomes the prioress after her superior dies of the plague; she then becomes the acting prior after Godwyn and the monks abandon Kingsbridge when the plague arrives. Merthin returns from Florence after surviving the plague, which kills his wife. He begins work on a cathedral tower for Kingsbridge.

In Part 6, Kingsbridge descends into lawlessness and moral disorder due to the plague. Caris does her best to restore order, with limited success. She openly engages in an affair with Merthin. Ralph becomes the lord of Shiring when the previous lord, Sir William, dies. Ralph achieves this rank by killing his wife Tilly, leaving him free to marry the previous earl’s widow (Lady Phillipa), and sacking the Kingsbridge nunnery to find information on the letter Thomas Langley carried. Philemon—a thief, a monk, and Gwenda’s unscrupulous brother—becomes prior as the church tries to restore order. The town secures its independence from the church and installs Caris as the director of a hospital to treat plague victims, leaving Caris free to renounce her vows and marry Merthin.

In Part 7, Thomas dies. Merthin decides to complete his promise to Thomas to give the mysterious letter to a priest. He digs up the letter and finds a secret in it: Edward II was not executed. He switched places with one of his would-be executioners instead. With the king alive somewhere, Edward III safe on his throne, and Thomas and Isabella dead, Merthin reasons disclosing the secret in the letter will only cause trouble. He buries the letter again. Gwenda and Sam (Gwenda’s first son, whom she conceived with Ralph) kill Ralph after he attempts to coerce Gwenda into sex. When Philemon becomes the church’s choice to become bishop to Shiring, Caris and Merthin use the letter as leverage to prevent him from being installed as bishop. He leaves for a post with the pope. Merthin completes his cathedral, and the town manages to stem the ravages of the plague due to the work of Caris and Merthin. The novel closes with Caris and Merthin standing atop the tower and looking at the town.