Ken Follett jumps onto the bandwaggon

 

Quercus Publishing have just announced that they will publish a new novel about Stonehenge, written by Welsh author Ken Follett -- a man with a huge following of loyal readers.  The early announcement is all over the media today -- the book will be published in September of next year.

https://www.thebookseller.com/rights/ken-folletts-circle-of-days-kicks-off-his-hachette-global-deal#:~:text=Circle%20of%20Days%20examines%20the,an%20unmatched%20ability%20to%20lead%22

Here is the press release:

Hachette has revealed details of Ken Follett’s upcoming epic, Circle of Days, which is centred around the construction of one of the world’s most iconic monuments, Stonehenge. The announcement follows the new global deal with the publisher after Follett left his long-time publisher Pan Macmillan earlier this year.

Jon Butler, managing director at Quercus, and Ben Sevier, president and publisher of Hachette Book Group’s Grand Central Publishing, announced the global English-language publication details of the newly acquired author at Frankfurt Book Fair 2024. Quercus (UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada) and Grand Central (North American rights) will release the English-language edition on 23rd September 2025.

Circle of Days examines the mystery of the creation of Stonehenge, following three characters: Seft, "a flint miner with a gift"; the girl he loves, Neen; and Joia, Neen’s sister, a priestess "with a vision and an unmatched ability to lead".

Follett said: "Stonehenge is one of the world’s most iconic and recognisable monuments but, in reality, so little is known about it. How was it built? Why was it built? Who built it? I’ve written before about moments of great human achievement and I’ve always been drawn to stories of ordinary people doing seemingly impossible things, and what could be more extraordinary than the construction of this enormous monument?"

The book will also be published in foreign-language editions in different countries around the world, including the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. Follett has been sold in over 80 countries and in 40 languages.

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Of course the book will be read and judged as fiction, and nobody will be too concerned about accuracy or authenticity  -- but it is quite inevitable that it will contain an extended section dealing with the heroic finding and transport of the bluestones.  So the mythology will be developed and extended.........

No criticism of Ken Follett -- he sees an opportunity here, and he is just a poor Welsh author trying to make a living, like everybody else...........