Quotes by Ken Follett

About Ken Follett:

Kenneth Martin "Ken" Follett is a Welsh author of thrillers and historical novels. He has sold more than 150 million copies of his works. Many of his books have reached the number 1 ranking on the New York Times best-seller list, including Edge of Eternity, Fall of Giants, The Key to Rebecca, Lie Down with Lions, Triple, Winter of the World, and World Without End.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

to him, money was like the toy bank notes in Monopoly: he wanted it, not for what it could buy, but because it was needed to play the game

Ken Follett

In the dynamics of the main family of the story, a rising socialist in England's postwar government expects his grandparents to be pleased that the local aristocrat's garden is commandeered to allow the people to get coal underneath. Instead, the gra...

Ken Follett

Americans talked about voters the same way Russians talked about Stalin. They had to be obeyed.

Ken Follett

Most rich people have a gangster in their ancestry somewhere.

Ken Follett

There had been a wonderful atmosphere of liberation and camaraderie. The Russians hated it.

Ken Follett

Why do you have to be the same as the others? ...Most of them are stupid.

Ken Follett

Why is it that those who want to destroy everything good about their country are the quickest to waive the national flag?

Ken Follett

politicians often had the knack of seeming to know everyone intimately. Either they had remarkable memories, or their secretaries reminded them efficiently.

Ken Follett

Well, for people who want to write best sellers, the best advice I can give is to say that the novel has to engage the reader emotionally.

Ken Follett

There is a real connection between Philosopy and fiction.

Ken Follett

There is no point in asking a man a question until you have established whether he has any reason to lie to you.

Ken Follett

The CIA's research program is described in a book called The Search for the Manchurian Candidate.

Ken Follett

The thriller is the most popular literary genre of the 20th century.

Ken Follett

The research is the easiest. The outline is the most fun. The first draft is the hardest, because every word of the outline has to be fleshed out. The rewrite is very satisfying.

Ken Follett

We all now tell stories by cutting from one dramatic scene to the next, whereas Victorian novelists felt free to write long passages of undramatic summary.

Ken Follett

I like to create imaginary characters and events around a real historical situation. I want readers to feel: OK, this probably didn't happen, but it might have.

Ken Follett

I wanted to be some kind of captain of industry. Then I wanted to be in advertising, and then I wanted to be a newspaper reporter.

Ken Follett

I wake up with the story in my head, so I really like to be at my desk about five minutes after I wake up. So I don't get dressed. I put on a bathrobe, I make tea and sit at my desk.

Ken Follett

Culture clash is terrific drama.

Ken Follett

I want to tell a story that makes the reader always want to see what will happen next.

Ken Follett

I aim to be translucent, so you don't notice the words, just their meaning. I haven't much insight into people's motivations.

Ken Follett

Author Bio

  • NameKen Follett
  • DescriptionBritish novelist
  • BornJune 5, 1949
  • CountryWales
  • ProfessionWriter; Novelist
  • WorksWinter Of The World; Fall Of Giants; Night Over Water; Lie Down With Lions; On Wings Of Eagles; The Man From St. Petersburg; The Key To Rebecca; A Place Called Freedom; The Pillars Of The Earth; Code To Zero; The Hammer Of Eden; World Without End; Hornet Flight
  • AwardsEdgar Award