A new book, new success for Ken Follett, prolific author with 190 million novels sold around the world! Weapons of Lightpublished in large format by Robert Laffont at the end of last year, even brought joy to its loyal readers since it was the fifth volume devoted to the fictional town of Kingsbridge. It was in 1990 that the French-speaking public discovered her for the first time, thanks to her cult novel The Pillars of the Earth which is among the 25 favorite books of the French. This time, this novel, now available in small format from Livre de Poche, was set at the very beginning of the industrial revolution, a real upheaval in particular for the city’s textile workers who had not used machines until then.
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Ken Follett, a British author who loves France
A great lover of France, the one who was invited to the dinner organized in honor of Charles III at the Château de Versailles in September 2023 made several donations for the benefit of the restoration of Saint-Samson Cathedral in Dol-de-Bretagne, thanks to the copyright of his book Notre Dame published in 2019. But its attraction for France and its culture does not stop at architecture: on the occasion of the initial release of Weapons of Lighthe had entrusted to the Cultura brandhaving recently fallen in love with a work dating back to the mid-19th century. Its title? Cousin Bette by Honoré de Balzac, first presented in serial form in the press of the time.
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Ken Follett under the spell of a Balzac classic: “We find a terrible and fascinating heroine there…”
In this classic of French literature and the realist movement, we followed the odious Lisbeth Fischer, an embittered spinster determined to sow discord in the family of her poor cousin Adeline Hulot, whom she is jealous of just like her daughter Hortense. “ It features a terrible and fascinating heroine, a gang of completely unscrupulous Parisian crooks, a few charming prostitutes, and decent people whose stories generally end badly.describes Ken Follett. It’s a cruel tale, about intelligent and remorseless revenge – a dish best served here very cold. I really like Balzac because he doesn’t blink in the face of the cruelty of the world.. » In 1998, this detestable character, to say the least, was played on the big screen by Jessica Lange, alongside Hugh Laurie in particular.
