Spain Snaps Up Follett Novel

Published New York Times: December 31, 2007

Who may be bigger in Spain than J. K. Rowling? None other than Ken Follett, best known for his thrillers. About 525,000 copies of the Spanish translation of his new historical novel, “World Without End,” sold out within hours of being put on sale on Friday, Agence France-Presse reported. The daily newspaper El Mundo said Mondadori, the publisher, had ordered a rush reprint of 175,000.

The publisher said that the single-day sales were unsurpassed, even by Ms. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” books. The publisher said that “The Pillars of the Earth,” a 1989 prequel to “World Without End,” had sold 5.5 million copies as the novel most read by Spaniards in the last 20 years.