Ken Follett is ready to wrap up his epic fictional chronicle of Western civilization.

Viking announced Wednesday that the British author鈥檚 鈥淭he Armor of Light鈥� will be published Sept. 26, concluding an eight-volume series that began in 1989 with 鈥淭he Pillars of the Earth鈥� and spans 1,000 years. The new book is set in the late 18th-early 19th centuries, the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, and centers on the conflicts between Britain and France.

鈥淚鈥檓 fascinated by how people have struggled for freedom 鈥� and won,鈥� Follett said in a statement. 鈥淢ost of my stories are about just that. The issue underlying 鈥楾he Armor of Light鈥� is freedom of speech.鈥�

Follett鈥檚 historical novels, which also include 鈥淲orld Without End鈥� and 鈥淎 Column of Fire,鈥� have sold more than 75 million copies worldwide.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 plan it this way,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 just scoured the past for exciting stories that showed ordinary people coping with the changing tides of history. And then I began to see that the novels stand together as a body of work.鈥�