Place Called Freedom [Unabridged] [Paperback]

Ken Follett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 9, 1996

In a brutal world, charismatic rebel miner Mack McAsh - a slave by birth - is a man with the courage to stand up for what is right, and the strength to stick by his beliefs. Independent, rebellious Lizzie Hallim, meanwhile, is engaged to Jay Jamisson, the ruthless landlord's son and heir to an exploitative business empire. Born into separate worlds, Mack and Lizzie are thrown together when Mack becomes an enemy of the state and is forced to flee his homeland. Lizzie aids his escape, and it is not long before passions rage in the old world as well as the new ...Set in an era of turbulent social changes, "A Place Called Freedom" is a magnificent novel from the undisputed master of suspense and drama, Ken Follett. "A compulsive, sweeping adventure" - "Today". "Gripping historical narrative" - "San Francisco Chronicle".

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

With action that spans two countries on opposite sides of the Atlantic, making a credible audio version of this epic tale is no small feat. Victor Garber, the talented actor of stage and screen (Sleepless in Seattle, I'll Fly Away, The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd), does an admirable job. Garber presents the narrative passages in a clear, confident tone and uses his extensive acting experience to create believable voices for the many diverse characters. Follett has thrown in a confusing array of regional accents and disguised characters, but the range of Garber's voice helps keep things straight while heightening the considerable action and communicating the powerful emotions expressed by the very large cast that gives this drama its grand sweep.

This intriguing novel hinges on the courageous struggles of the hero, an indentured coal miner who declares, "I'll go anywhere that is not Scotland--anywhere a man can be free." Getting anywhere else is easier said than done, especially when he's caught up in an entanglement of familial responsibility, forbidden love, official deceit, trickery, and violence. Even though there are plenty of breathless moments when proper ladies are tempted by bare-chested hunks, this is much more than just another adventure-filled love story. It's also an intriguing journey into the social and political realities of the late 18th century, when the rising influence of the American colonies was first taking hold and the shining glory of the British Empire had begun its long, slow fade. (Running time: four hours, four cassettes) --George Laney --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

From Publishers Weekly

The key to Follett's absorbing new historical novel (after A Dangerous Fortune) lies in words that "made a slave of every Scottish miner's son" in the 1700s: "I pledge this child to work in [the laird's] mines, boy and man, for as long as he is able, or until he die." When young Malachi (Mack) McAsh challenges this practice, citing its illegality, he begins a pattern of rebelling against authority while pursuing justice. Mack's dangerous quest for freedom makes him a fugitive in High Glen, where he is brutally punished by Sir George Jamisson in retaliation for his intention to quit the mines. After escaping to London, Mack confronts injustice again when he tries to break the monopoly of "undertakers," who furnish crews to unload coal from ships; arrested and tried, he is transported to Virginia as an indentured servant. All this time, his fate is intertwined with that of Lizzie Hallim, daughter of the impoverished laird of High Glen, who is as spirited, independent-minded and daring as is Mack himself. (Readers may not quite believe her sexual aggressiveness, but Follett knows how to strike chords with feminists.) But Lizzie is gentry, so she must marry Jay, the younger Jamisson son. Follett adroitly escalates the suspense by mixing intrigue and danger, tinged with ironic complications. He also provides authoritative background detail, including specifics about the brutal working conditions of mine workers and coal heavers and the routine of an American tobacco plantation. History is served by references to real-life English liberal John Wilkes, who challenged the established view that the virtual enslavement of "common" men by aristocrats was God's will, and events in Virginia as the Colonies move toward rebellion. If the dialogue sometimes seems lifted from a bodice-ripper, and if far-fetched coincidences keep flinging Lizzie and Mack together, these flaws are redeemed by Follett's vigorous narrative drive and keen eye for character. BOMC and QPB main selections; Reader's Digest Condensed Book selection; simultaneous Random House audio and large-print editions; author tour.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Pan Books; Unabridged edition (August 9, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0330344838
• ISBN-13: 978-0330344838
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (85 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #345,725 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ken Follett was only twenty-seven when he wrote the award-winning EYE OF THE NEEDLE, which became an international bestseller. His celebrated PILLARS OF THE EARTH was voted into the top 100 of Britain's best-loved books in the BBC's the Big Read and the sequel, WORLD WITHOUT END, will be published in Autumn 2007. He has since written several equally successful novels including, most recently, WHITEOUT. He is also the author of non-fiction bestseller ON WINGS OF EAGLES. He lives with his family in London and Hertfordshire.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

97 of 102 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and exciting, March 9, 2002

By 

Beverley Strong (Australia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Place Called Freedom (Mass Market Paperback)

What a very fine writer Ken Follett is! Having read "The eye of the needle" many years ago, and more recently, "Pillars of the earth" and enjoyed them both very much,I just finished reading "A place called freedom".It took only 2 days as I couldn't put it down and for 2 nights, read into the small hours.An indentured Scottish coal miner, Mack McAsh, tries to force the hand of the mine owner into treating the down trodden miners with compassion and fairness. He is railroaded by the system and tranported as a convict to Virginia. This is a tale of a mans inhuman treatment and his fight fot freedom in the New World.It's a great read,well written,exciting and unputdownable.It could well have been made into an actioner movie

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent historical novel of the late 18th century, July 27, 1998

By 

Fred Camfield (Vicksburg, MS USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Place Called Freedom (Hardcover)

This book was a change of pace for Ken Follett who has carried out some outstanding research into conditions in late 18th century Scotland, England, and the American colonies. The main character, who's ambition is the freedom to go his own way, comes up against the class structure of the times and the limited rights of the working man. This develops into a superb tale as the hero encounters first the conditions of servitude and slavery in Scotland, then the conditions of repression in England, and finally the conditions of bondage in Virginia. While it is historical fiction, the book is especially recommended for readers delving into conditions that brought people to the American colonies. Readers should be forewarned that the book has significant sexual content and some violence that would give it at best a PG-13 rating.

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The Book That Never Ends, April 18, 2002

By 

John G. Hilliard (Toronto Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Place Called Freedom (Mass Market Paperback)

I am a bit disappointed in the author after reading this book. I think he was trying to build on the success that he had with Pillars of the Earth but this book falls far short of that classic. This book is more like a [$] mass-market teen-age Romance novel. There is nothing new hear except maybe the name, the plot is so predictable it is sad coming from such a good author. I knew how this book was going to end before it even started. He has written much better books, I would stay away from this book unless you are looking for a long love story.