This is a set of epic novels set in 12th and then the 14th Century in England, smack in the middle of the Anarchy (PoTE)and spans quite a few decades...from the sinking of the White Ship to the murder of Thomas Becket and it does NOT have much to do with the royalty of the time, except as peripheral personae. Stephen is king at the time of this novel; the entire story is centered on the building of an English cathedral, and the trials and tribulations that the clergy and townsfolk encounter during this process, and the situations and events that take place on the larger world stage reverberate throughout the countryside, Kingsbridge in particular.
What is noteworthy about this book (and its sequel, World Without End) is that it deals with the common man, rather than nobility or royalty...the common man's perception and understanding of his betters, his situation and the world he lives in, all of it told in such detail as to transport you TO the 12 Century almost. I was so absorbed in this book (and I'd found it quite by accident) that I spent about a week getting only 3-4 hours of sleep because I couldn't put the damn thing down!
As with all truly good books, I was compelled to read it again immediately after I'd finished it; same with the sequel, which I couldn't get at first because it hadn't yet been published, but finally came 18 years later and is set some 200 years after the first one, during the reign of Edward III. The characterizations of the principle players in these books are very well wrought; believable, sympathetic, antagonistic, petty, cruel, gritty, self-serving, as well as some who are morally and realistically upright, honest...there's a lot in the way of intrigue and drama and the action, when it occurs is very brutal, visceral- yet another way that lends a sense of realism to the book.
If you've never read these, I exhort you wholeheartedly to acquire a copy and read it soon, if not today. No magic, none at all, no real mysticism (with the exception of one 'wild' woman, whose apothecary skills aren't always met with the approval of the townsfolk) just gritty life in medieval England. I wish I hadn't loaned them to my sister, I want them back to read them yet again.
