Both Merthin and Caris have several conflicts with Godwyn as he strives to impose his will on the town of Kingsbridge. He believes that lies, theft, even murder are justified as long as they are in the service of God. As a young woman, she shrewdly helps her father with his business, developing a prosperous new way of making cloth when circumstances conspire against her forcing her to become a nun, she becomes adept at the art of healing and a leader in the convent.Ĭaris’s cousin Godwyn is a self-righteous young man determined to become prior of the monastery of Kingsbridge.

Though she loves Merthin and has a sexual relationship with him, Caris is unwilling to give up her own independence. Merthin spends most of his life trying to marry Caris, the daughter of a wealthy wool merchant. Merthin is intelligent and kindhearted Ralph is proud and cruel, reminiscent of the evil William Hamleigh from the previous book. While Merthin aspires to be a master builder (and eventually to remodel the Kingsbridge cathedral), Ralph tries to regain the family position by serving the Lord of Shiring and becoming a knight. Merthin and Ralph, the two sons of a disgraced knight, have very different personalities and ambitions. The story centers around the lives of several young people. World without End is set in the same fictional medieval town of Kingsbridge, and although the main characters are all descendants from those in the previous novel, it’s not really necessary to have the background of the first novel to enjoy the second. When I posted about Ken Follett’s historical novel The Pillars of the Earth a few weeks ago, I mentioned that I would soon be reading World without End, the sequel set in fourteenth century England.

World without end ken follet