Ken Follett was the first child of Martin Follett, a tax inspector, and Lavinia Follett, who went on to have two more children, Hannah and James.
13 Facts About Ken Follett
Ken Follett won admission in 1967 to University College London, where he studied philosophy and became involved in centre-left politics.
Ken Follett married Mary, in 1968, and their son Emanuele was born in the same year.
Ken Follett began writing fiction during evenings and weekends as a hobby.
Ken Follett's novels, Fall of Giants, Winter of the World and Edge of Eternity, make up the Century Trilogy.
Ken Follett had cameo roles as the valet in The Third Twin and later as a merchant in The Pillars of the Earth.
Ken Follett is a member of various organisations that promote literacy and writing, and is actively involved in various organisations in his home town of Stevenage.
Ken Follett is active in numerous Stevenage charities and was a governor of Roebuck Primary School for ten years, serving as the Chair of Governors for four of those years.
Ken Follett became involved, during the late 1970s, in the activities of Britain's Labour Party.
Ken Follett was elected as a Member of Parliament in 1997, representing Stevenage.
Ken Follett was re-elected in both 2001 and 2005, but did not stand in the 2010 general election.
Ken Follett himself remains a prominent Labour supporter and fundraiser as well as a prominent Blairite.
Ken Follett is an amateur musician playing bass guitar for Damn Right I Got the Blues, and appears occasionally with the folk group Clog Iron playing a bass balalaika.