Ken Follett: A Critical Companion
Ken Follett had the purest of motives when he began writing fiction: he did it for the money. But after Eye of the Needle catapulted him to success and secured his reputation as a master of the spy thriller, he both built on that success with other spy thrillers and experimented equally successfully with other genres such as the family saga and the historical romance. This is the first full-length study of his work and it includes individual examinations of each of his major novels, from Eye of the Needle (1978) to A Place Called Freedom (1995), as well as his early novels. Following a chapter on Follett's life and career, Turner discusses in depth Follett's early novels and his one nonfiction work, On the Wings of Eagles. A genre chapter examines Follett's use of historical settings and his use of the genres of spy thriller, saga, and historical romance in his novels. The rest of the study is devoted to an individual examination of each of his novels in turn, with subsections on plot, character, theme, point of view, and literary devices. Turner also offers an alternative critical approach to reading each novel, such as psychoanalytical, Marxist, or reader response, to give the reader another perspective from which to read and discuss it. A complete bibliography of Follett's fiction, general criticism and biographical sources, and listings of reviews of all the novels examined in the study completes the work. The only study of one of the best-selling writers today, who appeals to adults and young adults alike, this is a key purchase for schools and public libraries.
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The Life and Career of Ken Follett
Early Writings and On Wings of Eagles 1983
Eye of the Needle 1978
The Key to Rebecca 1980
action adventure Afghan American aristocratic Augusta becomes beginning Big Needle British Carstairs cathedral chapter Character Development Charlotte chase commitment complex conflicts create Critical Companion culture Dangerous Fortune Dickstein Elene Ellis engaged Faber father feelings feminist Feminist literary criticism fiction focus focuses Follett novels forces genre German Godliman Hamleigh hero heroic historical important interest introduces Jamisson Jane Jean-Pierre Jeffrey Archer Ken Follett Key to Rebecca Kschessinsky Lions Lizzie Lucy Mack Maisie Margaret Mervyn Micky mission Nancy Lenehan narrator Night over Water offers Perot person perspective Petersburg Pilaster Pillars Place Called Freedom plane Plot Development point of view political Reader-response criticism reading reveals role Ross Perot Rostov Russian saga sense sexual social society spy novel spy thrillers story success suggests suspense Suza takes theme throughout the novel Triple values Vandam Walden Wings of Eagles Wolff women writing