Dissolution (The Shardlake series, 1)

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Whenever it appears, you can be sure of one thing: it won’t look anything like The Tudors, which Sansom has called “infantile”. The best that can be said of that series, he once remarked drily, is: “Nice costumes – though they’re not in them for very long.” THE SANSOM FILE The ruins of Glastonbury Abbey dissolved in 1539, following the execution of the Abbot on charges of treason. Not without critical acclaim as well, he’s also managed to garner his fair share of awards over the years too. Winning the 2005 Ellis Peters Historical Dagger for his novel ‘Dark Fire’, he has continued to attract the attention of the critics. His Shardlake series have also been recommended highly as well, winning the ‘Dagger in the Library’ award in 2007. Moving on, he continues to progress as a writer as he hones his craft always adapting and improving. With more books on the horizon he is sure to carry on this success as his audience expands further and further. This looks as if it will carry on from now on into the foreseeable future. Dissolution What I enjoyed most about this book was the atmosphere that Sansom creates. He vividly recreates the turmoil of the period along with the sights, sounds and smells of the era. The reader feels the chill in his or her own bones as the characters struggle to stay warm in the middle of the freezing cold weather. This historical detail is engrossing and the story is a compelling one. The Shardlake series is a series of historical mystery novels by C. J. Sansom, set in 16th century Tudor England. The series features barrister Matthew Shardlake, who, while navigating the religious reforms of Henry VIII, solves crime and tries to avoid getting caught up in political intrigue.

The townsfolk are desperately poor and starving (and cold!) while the brothers eat well. These are real people, not just theatre props, and I loved it all.Any non-mystery subplot? - life in that culture Crime Thriller - Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) - Yes Main Character Gender - Male Shardlake works on commission, initially from Thomas Cromwell in Dissolution [2] and Dark Fire, [3] then archbishop Thomas Cranmer in Sovereign and Revelation, [4] queen Catherine Parr in Heartstone and Lamentation, and lately princess Elizabeth in Tombland. The seventh book, Tombland, was published in October 2018. [5] [6] The historical nature and tone of the story are fabulously written and the attention to detail in dialogue and descriptions provides a wonderful atmosphere to enjoy this historical whodunit. Shardlake is a brilliant central character providing that astonishing logic that makes this novel intriguing and captivating as he delicately investigates the murder at the monastery. He knows only success will placate Cromwell and the dynamics of the political and religious tensions are palpable. Writer of crime novels, Scottish and British author C.J. Sansom is a well established author within his particular field. With a large number of academic achievements under his belt, he’s also managed to gain a certain degree of expertise which greatly informs his work. This has led to becoming a highly respected an influential artist within his area. Early and Personal Life No, full ones. The monastery brewhouse has a monopoly in supplying the town’s beer. They can set the price. It’s in the founding charter.’”

The author's depiction of Tudor times is second to none. Daily living and all its struggles are injected into this story without becoming info-dumps or narrations of boring detail. Cromwell makes a couple of brief appearances, and he is realistically written, if not as sympathetically as in Mantel's novels.

The Sound of Tudor England - C. J. Sansom on Audio CD

A view eastwards along the chancel of the church at the Cistercian monastery of Rievaulx Abbey in the Yorkshire Wolds. The monastery was founded in the 12th century and abandoned during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The six first books are set during the reign of Henry VIII, while the seventh, Tombland, takes place two years after the king's demise. Sansom has said that he plans to write further Shardlake novels taking the lawyer into the reign of Elizabeth I. [1] Description [ edit ] Spanish Civil War, stripped of Hemingway's romance A review of Winter in Madrid, by Katherine Bailey, in The Philadelphia Inquirer, 20 January 2008 I have a special affinity for historical mysteries and Dissolution is one of the good examples of this genre, at least for me. Thomas Cromwell – principal counsellor to Henry VIII and holder of a number of high state offices 1533–1540.

The books cover several historical events, such as the Dissolution of the monasteries (1536–1541), the Royal Progress to York (1541), the Battle of the Solent and the sinking of the Mary Rose (1545), the burning at the stake of Anne Askew (1546), the publication of The Lamentation of a Sinner (1547) , Kett's Rebellion (1549), and the several marriages of king Henry VIII. This is not Thomas More’s Utopia, a nation of innocent savages waiting only for God’s word to complete their happiness. This is a violent realm, stewed in the corruption of a decadent church.’ Henry VIII – King of England 1509–1547, later Defender of the Faith and Head of the Church of England. This is a murder mystery set in the political upheaval of Tudor England. The churches are undergoing dissolution, hence the title of the book. This, to me, sounded utterly fantastic. I mean, at last, a crime book that I want to read. I have a real interest in the Tudor period of history. It was a reign that changed the face of England. I mean, imagine how different the country would be today if King Henry VIII never broke with Rome, and with the Pope. Arguments between branches of Christianity may never have become so heated. King Charles I may never have been executed for his Catholic sympathies, amongst other things. The Dissolution with the Catholic Church changed the face of England forever along with its sequential history. Thomas Cromwell, Henry's vicar general, calls a lawyer, Matthew Shardlake, to his office and tells him to go to the monastery, find the murderer and persuade the monastery to surrender its property to the king.Needless to say, Shardlake does have to flash his credentials a few times when insisting he can demand access to everything. Every single thing. Every desk drawer, every cupboard, every cell. He’s as nervous about failing Cromwell as he is about being murdered. (Oh, yes, there are a couple more deaths! Did I forget to mention that?) This is not Thomas More’s Utopia, a nation of innocent savages waiting only for God’s word to complete their happiness. This is a violent realm, stewed in the corruption of a decadent church." Set in 1537 during the dissolution of the monasteries, the book follows the lawyer Shardlake in his attempts to solve the murder of one of Thomas Cromwell's commissioners in the monastery at the fictional town of Scarnsea on the south coast of England.

Ellen Fettiplace – a woman who came originally from a small town in Sussex, she had been living in Bedlam, a lunatic asylum in London, for nearly two decades. Born Christopher John Sansom, Edinburgh, 1952. Studied history at Birmingham University, where his PhD thesis looked at Labour policy toward South Africa. Then retrained in law and practised as a solicitor, until a legacy allowed him to take time off to write. Publishing his first book in 2003 titled ‘Dissolution’, he leaped onto the literary scene with the first in his ‘Matthew Shardlake’ series of novels. Set within the historical mystery genre, he started to gain attention thanks to his keen eye for detail and accuracy. With that he started to gain more prominence within his field as his career began to take off. The commissioner was gathering evidence to close the monastery and it is now imperative for Cromwell's own political survival that Shardlake both solves the murder and closes the monastery.

Success!

A BBC commission of an adaptation of the first Sansom novel, Dissolution, is expected to be followed by more of the Shardlake books. Sansom, a former solicitor who lives in Sussex, is working on a fourth Shardlake story and has been consulted on the TV series. And then there are the murders! I loved this book for the great character development and visualization of Tudor England, but it is also a great mystery. Shardlake is sent to Scarnsea to investigate the murder of his fellow commissioner and discovers a much more tangled web than he expected. The historical setting of the churches, the towns and the people are brought to life. The turmoil the age is captured along with the skulduggery of its inhabitants. Thomas Cromwell is portrayed as a mean old brute which is quite interesting after reading Hilary Mantel’s version of him in which he is sympathised with, greatly. The scenario in this book kept me questioning everything. At one point there were at least seven suspects. Each had a strong motive. As the focus of the suspicion changed, so did the plausibility of each motive. I am proud to say, that my initial guess was half right. I’ll say no more on that regard, other than this had a really intense ending. It's a great read.