A Place Called Freedom
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4.3 • 1K Ratings
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • An oppressed young man longing for a better life must decide how much he is willing to sacrifice for true freedom—a “gripping” (Chicago Tribune) novel from the award-winning author of The Pillars of the Earth.
“An altogether entertaining reading experience.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune
Scotland, 1766. Sentenced to a life of misery in the brutal coal mines, twenty-one-year-old Mack McAsh hungers for escape. His only ally: the beautiful, highborn Lizzie Hallim, who is trapped in her own kind of hell. Though separated by politics and position, these two restless young people are bound by their passionate search for a place called freedom.
From the teeming streets of London to the infernal hold of a slave ship to a sprawling Virginia plantation, Ken Follett’s turbulent, unforgettable novel of liberty and revolution brings together a vivid cast of heroes and villains, lovers and rebels, hypocrites and hell-raisers—all propelled by destiny toward an epic struggle that will change their lives forever.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
The fight for liberty won’t be suppressed in this enthralling historical novel set in the late 18th century. Born into servitude, Mack McAsh has always learned to repress his rage. Lizzie Hallim was raised with wealth but hates the hopelessness of her gilded cage. As they both try to break free from their respective bonds, their paths intersect, taking them from the Scottish Highlands to London and, finally, to America. Best-selling author Ken Follett examines all manner of oppression—and gives us a heroine we really root for as she fights against the role carved out for women in a male-dominated society. Blending historical romance, social commentary, and thrilling danger, A Place Called Freedom speaks to the independent spirit in all of us.
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 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.
Customer Reviews
Loved it but it needs a sequel
Couldn't put it down but it ended abruptly. Needs a sequel. Or two. This story should be continued.
A Place Called Freedom
A ho-hum read about a Scottish coal miner who escapes his fate, flees to London and ends up in pre revolutionary Virginia
Excellent story
It’s hard to make a story this great it under 500 pages but this was an amazing book I highly recommend.