A Place Called Freedom

The novel initially deals with subject of the Payment of Arles, a form of serfdom for miners in the 18th century which meant that once a miner started work in a coal mine he was bound to the mine for the rest of his life.[1] It was a custom for the master or landowner of the mine to give a gift to parents at the time of a child's baptism. The gift would then bind the child to work alongside the parents when they came of age.[2]

In London the novel places McAsh at the center of the discontent of 1768 which saw working people become dissatisfied with a higher cost of living and poor wages. McAsh had become the leader of a gang of coal heavers, one of many such gangs of men who had the job of physically unloading the coal barges when they came into the city. The discontent eventually led to riots and unrest across the city.[3][4]

After being caught in the middle of a riot, McAsh is captured and sentenced to transportation to America, a form of punishment which was often seen as an effective alternative to the death penalty during that period.[5] Once arriving in the Colony of Virginia, McAsh is sold into slavery and made to work as a field hand before escaping to the western frontier and eventually finding his freedom.

John Wilkes – A British politician and agitator from the period. Wilkes is often referred to throughout the book, very frequently in the disparaging tones members of the gentry use, who are concerned about his politics.[6]

George Washington – The man who would become the first president of the United States. Washington is introduced briefly near the end of the book as a speaker in a meeting held in the Hall of Burgesses. Washington suggests to the meeting that Virginia should consider no longer importing British goods.[7]

• "A Place Called Freedom". Ken Follett: My Novels. Archived from the original on 19 July 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2014.