The Deep and Secret Things

Bound by family and belief. Separated by greed and ambition. 1853, South Wales. Helena Bowen, a young noblewoman, longs to study science, a wish that society denies her. When Helena first meets the Llewellyns, she knows little about their Quaker beliefs. The Llewellyns run a successful wheelmaking business, but despite their financial achievements, their religion calls for a life of simplicity, truth and equality between all. Lloyd Lewellyn, the owner's son, epitomises all these values and his forward way of thinking deeply impresses Helena. But then she encounters Lloyd's cousin Johnnie, the beau of the clan, who - unlike Lloyd - is fiercely ambitious. His charming manner makes him irresistible to women and Helena also falls under his spell. But Johnnie is a risk taker. When a young teacher in the village falls pregnant with his child, and Johnnie makes an embarrassing and detrimental mistake in the company's accounts, he runs away to London, to start fresh and build the empire he's always longed for. At first, all goes according to plan, and on his way up Johnnie's path crosses again with Helena's. But Johnnie's insatiable greed for lust and money is the cause for another, unspeakable scandal which may lead to his ultimate downfall. The Deep and Secret Things tells the rise and fall of a young man and his legacy, set against the backdrop of the Victorian era, at a time of immense social and industrial change.

Ken Follett is one of the world's best-loved authors. More than 198 million copies of the thirty-eight books he has written have been sold in over eighty countries and in forty languages. He started his career as a reporter, first with his hometown newspaper, the South Wales Echo, and then with the London Evening News. Ken's first major success came with the publication of Eye of the Needle in 1978, which earned him the 1979 Edgar Award for Best Novel from the Mystery Writers of America. In 1989, The Pillars of the Earth, Ken's epic novel about the building of a medieval cathedral, reached number one on bestseller lists everywhere. It was turned into a major television series produced by Ridley Scott, which aired in 2010. Ken has been active in numerous literacy charities and was president of Dyslexia Action for ten years. He is also a past chair of the National Year of Reading, a joint initiative between government and business. He lives in Hertfordshire, England, with his wife Barbara. Between them they have five children, six grandchildren and two Labradors.