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Matthew Shardlake #1-3
C J Sansom 3-book set
The first three Matthew Shardlake novels from master storyteller, and number one bestselling author, C. J. Sansom. Set in Tudor London and combining engrossing historical detail with first-rate murder mystery, this three book collection Dissolution, Dark Fire and Sovereign. Dissolution Henry VIII has proclaimed himself Supreme Head of the Church and the country is waking up to savage new laws, rigged trials and the greatest network of informers ever seen. Under the order of Thomas Cromwell, a team of commissioners is sent through the country to investigate the monasteries. There can only be one the monasteries are to be dissolved. But on the Sussex coast, at the monastery of Scarnsea, events have spiralled out of control. Cromwell's Commissioner Robin Singleton, has been found dead, his head severed from his body. His horrific murder is accompanied by equally sinister acts of sacrilege - a black cockerel sacrificed on the alter, and the disappearance of Scarnsea's Great Relic. Dr Matthew Shardlake, lawyer and long-time supporter of Reform, has been sent by Cromwell into this atmosphere of treachery and death. But Shardlake's investigation soon forces him to question everything he hears, and everything that he intrinsically believes . . . Dark Fire It is 1540 and the hottest summer of the sixteenth century. Matthew Shardlake, believing himself out of favour with Thomas Cromwell, is busy trying to maintain his legal practice and keep a low profile. But his involvement with a murder case, defending a girl accused of brutally murdering her young cousin, brings him once again into contact with the king's chief minister - and a new assignment . . . The secret of Greek Fire, the legendary substance with which the Byzantines destroyed the Arab navies, has been lost for centuries. Now an official of the Court of Augmentations has discovered the formula in the library of a dissolved London monastery. When Shardlake is sent to recover it, he finds the official and his alchemist brother brutally murdered - the formula has disappeared. Sovereign Autumn, 1541. King Henry VIII has set out on a spectacular Progress to the North to attend an extravagant submission of his rebellious subjects in York. Already in the city are lawyer Matthew Shardlake and his assistant Jack Barak. As well as assisting with legal work processing petitions to the King, Shardlake has reluctantly undertaken a special mission - to ensure the welfare of an important but dangerous conspirator being returned to London for interrogation. But the murder of a local glazier involves Shardlake in deeper mysteries, connected not only to the prisoner in York Castle but to the royal family itself. And when Shardlake and Barak stumble upon a cache of secret papers which could threaten the Tudor throne, a chain of events unfolds that will lead Shardlake facing the most terrifying fate of the age . . .
- GenresHistorical Fiction
1467 pages, Paperback
First published November 21, 2014
14 people are currently reading
642 people want to read
About the author
C.J. Sansom
63 books3,942 followersChristopher John "C.J." Sansom was an English writer of crime novels.
Sansom was educated at the University of Birmingham, where he took a BA and then a PhD in history. After working in a variety of jobs, he decided to retrain as a solicitor. He practised for a while in Sussex as a lawyer for the disadvantaged, before quitting in order to work full-time as a writer.
He came to prominence with his series set in the reign of Henry VIII in the 16th century, whose main character is the hunchbacked lawyer Matthew Shardlake. Shardlake works on commission, initially from Thomas Cromwell in Dissolution and Dark Fire and then Thomas Cranmer in Sovereign and Revelation.
He has also written Winter in Madrid, a thriller set in Spain in 1940 in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War.
Dark Fire won the 2005 Ellis Peters Historical Dagger, awarded by the Crime Writers' Association (CWA). Sansom himself was "Very Highly Commended" in the 2007 CWA Dagger in the Library award, for the Shardlake series.
The television series "Shardlake" was adapted from the books and released by Disney+ on 1st May 2024, just 4 days after Samson's death.
(from Wikipedia®)
Sansom was educated at the University of Birmingham, where he took a BA and then a PhD in history. After working in a variety of jobs, he decided to retrain as a solicitor. He practised for a while in Sussex as a lawyer for the disadvantaged, before quitting in order to work full-time as a writer.
He came to prominence with his series set in the reign of Henry VIII in the 16th century, whose main character is the hunchbacked lawyer Matthew Shardlake. Shardlake works on commission, initially from Thomas Cromwell in Dissolution and Dark Fire and then Thomas Cranmer in Sovereign and Revelation.
He has also written Winter in Madrid, a thriller set in Spain in 1940 in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War.
Dark Fire won the 2005 Ellis Peters Historical Dagger, awarded by the Crime Writers' Association (CWA). Sansom himself was "Very Highly Commended" in the 2007 CWA Dagger in the Library award, for the Shardlake series.
The television series "Shardlake" was adapted from the books and released by Disney+ on 1st May 2024, just 4 days after Samson's death.
(from Wikipedia®)
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
February 11, 2017
Amazing, thrilling, super engaging!
Combines my two biggest loves -detective stories and medieval tales- in such a skillful and enchanting manner that once you read the first 1 or 2 pages, it's impossible to stop.
Combines my two biggest loves -detective stories and medieval tales- in such a skillful and enchanting manner that once you read the first 1 or 2 pages, it's impossible to stop.
February 5, 2021
I have actually read the whole series. Such wonderful characters especially Master Shardlake! Why can't they make history in schools this exciting and relevant? I envy anyone who has not read these books.
May 17, 2018
I'm obsessed with this series and urge HARD any fan of the genre to read these books!
May 27, 2020
I'd like to give between 3 and 4 stars. Very enjoyable but with flaws.
The evocation of Tudor England and the historical detail are both excellent and the pace - as a mystery/who dunnit - is good enough. His use of language is also very good - just enough contemporary words for authenticity. All good stuff.
But . . . but . . . the writing of the main character, Matthew Shardlake, is, to me, less convincing. Rather than being a believable personality, he seems to be like a row of character traits which are randomly selected at any one time. He is gentle, he is jealous, he is kind, he is cold, he is thoughtful, he hurts with words, he hates injustice, he is petty. And it may be sacrilege to say so but as a character he might be better without his 'crooked back' which again is like an occasional inclusion rather than a part of a whole personality. Interestingly, i think the character of Barak better drawn - with a lot fewer words - than Shardlake is.
I also started to notice too how often Samsom uses how people look with their eyes as a vehicle: 'the sharpness back in his eyes'; 'a scared angry look'; 'a fierce look in his eyes'; 'his eyes burned'; a calculating look in his eyes'. Maybe a small thing but when you become aware of the mechanics of the author's writing rather than the characters themselves it's not so good.
And did the whole population of England at that time all speak from the same very small lexicon of curses!? God's blood/throat/death/body!!
So yes, a good read but with limitations.
The evocation of Tudor England and the historical detail are both excellent and the pace - as a mystery/who dunnit - is good enough. His use of language is also very good - just enough contemporary words for authenticity. All good stuff.
But . . . but . . . the writing of the main character, Matthew Shardlake, is, to me, less convincing. Rather than being a believable personality, he seems to be like a row of character traits which are randomly selected at any one time. He is gentle, he is jealous, he is kind, he is cold, he is thoughtful, he hurts with words, he hates injustice, he is petty. And it may be sacrilege to say so but as a character he might be better without his 'crooked back' which again is like an occasional inclusion rather than a part of a whole personality. Interestingly, i think the character of Barak better drawn - with a lot fewer words - than Shardlake is.
I also started to notice too how often Samsom uses how people look with their eyes as a vehicle: 'the sharpness back in his eyes'; 'a scared angry look'; 'a fierce look in his eyes'; 'his eyes burned'; a calculating look in his eyes'. Maybe a small thing but when you become aware of the mechanics of the author's writing rather than the characters themselves it's not so good.
And did the whole population of England at that time all speak from the same very small lexicon of curses!? God's blood/throat/death/body!!
So yes, a good read but with limitations.
October 20, 2020
I’ve just completed all six of this wonderful series, including the final three, Revelation, Heartstone, and Lamentation. They’ve been a respite during our own time of lamentation, this pandemic, and I’m sad to have completed them. Escape into the fascinating, equally difficult world of London in the 1540’s has been such a relief from our own. Also interesting to note how very painful life was at that time, with so many similar problems: always on the verge of plague, war and death, vicious political intrigue, a despotic, crazed ruler, and hordes of starving homeless, while the ruling class lived in unimaginable luxury and excess. And we thought we’d come so far.
The series protagonist, Matthew Shardlake, a lawyer, is a character who’s found his way in a life made difficult by his disability. He forms relationships, but then gets into trouble, endangering himself and others as he becomes involved with intrigues at the highest level. Fascinatingly complex, he functions from the highest of motives, but then ends by not always caring for the ones to whom he is closest. He is a romantic, dreaming of, devoted to, the exquisite perfect woman, although women are depicted in depth and are quite real characters in these volumes. Mens’ characters, too, are richly depicted, against the religious fanaticism of the time, as Henry VIII veers back and forth in his ego-driven relationship with Catholicism. I highly recommend reading these books in order, as they form a long and entertaining narrative.
The series protagonist, Matthew Shardlake, a lawyer, is a character who’s found his way in a life made difficult by his disability. He forms relationships, but then gets into trouble, endangering himself and others as he becomes involved with intrigues at the highest level. Fascinatingly complex, he functions from the highest of motives, but then ends by not always caring for the ones to whom he is closest. He is a romantic, dreaming of, devoted to, the exquisite perfect woman, although women are depicted in depth and are quite real characters in these volumes. Mens’ characters, too, are richly depicted, against the religious fanaticism of the time, as Henry VIII veers back and forth in his ego-driven relationship with Catholicism. I highly recommend reading these books in order, as they form a long and entertaining narrative.
January 7, 2020
Read all of these books about 5 years ago. All of them are good reads and worth a 5 star rating. A great main character, flawed and imperfect.
The stories give great insight into the period. The plots have great twists, and kept me entertained.
The stories give great insight into the period. The plots have great twists, and kept me entertained.
July 4, 2024
A LAWYER FOR THE CROWN IN THE TIME OF HENRY VIII
Matthew Shardlake practices law in London in the shadow of King Henry VIII’s court, and from time to time Thomas Cromwell, the Crown’s chief minister, had drafted him with an unwelcome assignment. But it’s now 1541, and Cromwell is dead. Instead, Archbishop Cranmer, the king’s most trusted adviser, orders Matthew to York to accompany a high-value prisoner on his transfer to the Tower. There, jailers skilled in torture will drag the truth of a recent rebellion from the obstinate renegade. Thus, in C. J. Sansom’s fourth Matthew Shardlake mystery, we find the hunchback barrister and his trusted Jewish clerk Jack Barak rushing to the fractious north in advance of the king’s progress there.
THE NORTH SEETHES WITH REBELLION
Henry VIII, now fifty years of age, is obese and suffering mightily from a wound to his leg caused by a jousting accident five years earlier. He and his pretty seventeen-year-old fifth wife, Catherine Howard, are leading a massive procession to the north in a show of royal force. Thousands of courtiers, attorneys, soldiers, clerks, caterers, and whores accompany them on the road. And when they arrive they encounter what Matthew and Jack have already discovered. Everyone in the north despises them. To the put-upon people of Yorkshire, overtaxed and oppressed, they’re all “sovereigns.” To them, the word is an insult. And the king must count himself lucky, or prescient, to have brought such a large and powerful force on his progress. Otherwise, who knows what malcontent might step from a crowd with intent to murder the king?
DOCUMENTS THAT QUESTION THE TUDORS’ LEGITIMACY
Soon after arriving in York, Matthew stumbles onto the murder of a workman. The victim soon proves to have been involved in the recent rebellion—and he had hidden a jeweled box in his home containing documents that question the legitimacy of the Tudor line. The threat to Henry’s rule is grave. But when Matthew uncovers the box and sets off to deliver it into safe hands, someone clubs him on the head and makes away with the papers. And that’s just the first of many attacks from which he barely escapes with his life. For Matthew, the trip to York has proven to be life-threatening, not once but four times. But for Jack, it’s a delight. He has taken up with a saucy laid-in-waiting in the queen’s court. And, who knows? They may even marry.
A STORY GROUNDED ON HISTORICAL FACT
Sansom is a consummate researcher. The king and queen’s relationship, the progress to York, the continuing religious conflict between papists and reformers, the high-stakes political intrigue, the corruption close to the Crown—Sansom gets it all right. And Sovereign, like all the preceding books in this brilliant series, is crammed with homely period details. The sights, sounds, and smells, the manner of dress, the patterns of speech, the food and drink of the time—it’s all there. The Matthew Shardlake mysteries are among the very best historical fiction and quite possibly the best series in the field.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
C. J. Sansom (1952-2024) died earlier this year in a hospice near his home in Brighton, England. He was born in Edinburgh but educated in England at the University of Birmingham, where he earned both a BA and a PhD in history. Later he trained as a solicitor and practiced as a lawyer for the disadvantaged in Sussex, where he lived for the rest of his life. Sansom turned to writing full-time in his forties, shortly before the turn of the century.
Critics celebrated the Matthew Shardlake series, which gained Sansom renown as one of England’s leading historical novelists. All told, he wrote nine historical novels, including seven in the Matthew Shardlake series.
For Sansom’s obituary in the Guardian, see “CJ Sansom, author of the Shardlake novels, dies aged 71” (April 29, 2024).
Matthew Shardlake practices law in London in the shadow of King Henry VIII’s court, and from time to time Thomas Cromwell, the Crown’s chief minister, had drafted him with an unwelcome assignment. But it’s now 1541, and Cromwell is dead. Instead, Archbishop Cranmer, the king’s most trusted adviser, orders Matthew to York to accompany a high-value prisoner on his transfer to the Tower. There, jailers skilled in torture will drag the truth of a recent rebellion from the obstinate renegade. Thus, in C. J. Sansom’s fourth Matthew Shardlake mystery, we find the hunchback barrister and his trusted Jewish clerk Jack Barak rushing to the fractious north in advance of the king’s progress there.
THE NORTH SEETHES WITH REBELLION
Henry VIII, now fifty years of age, is obese and suffering mightily from a wound to his leg caused by a jousting accident five years earlier. He and his pretty seventeen-year-old fifth wife, Catherine Howard, are leading a massive procession to the north in a show of royal force. Thousands of courtiers, attorneys, soldiers, clerks, caterers, and whores accompany them on the road. And when they arrive they encounter what Matthew and Jack have already discovered. Everyone in the north despises them. To the put-upon people of Yorkshire, overtaxed and oppressed, they’re all “sovereigns.” To them, the word is an insult. And the king must count himself lucky, or prescient, to have brought such a large and powerful force on his progress. Otherwise, who knows what malcontent might step from a crowd with intent to murder the king?
DOCUMENTS THAT QUESTION THE TUDORS’ LEGITIMACY
Soon after arriving in York, Matthew stumbles onto the murder of a workman. The victim soon proves to have been involved in the recent rebellion—and he had hidden a jeweled box in his home containing documents that question the legitimacy of the Tudor line. The threat to Henry’s rule is grave. But when Matthew uncovers the box and sets off to deliver it into safe hands, someone clubs him on the head and makes away with the papers. And that’s just the first of many attacks from which he barely escapes with his life. For Matthew, the trip to York has proven to be life-threatening, not once but four times. But for Jack, it’s a delight. He has taken up with a saucy laid-in-waiting in the queen’s court. And, who knows? They may even marry.
A STORY GROUNDED ON HISTORICAL FACT
Sansom is a consummate researcher. The king and queen’s relationship, the progress to York, the continuing religious conflict between papists and reformers, the high-stakes political intrigue, the corruption close to the Crown—Sansom gets it all right. And Sovereign, like all the preceding books in this brilliant series, is crammed with homely period details. The sights, sounds, and smells, the manner of dress, the patterns of speech, the food and drink of the time—it’s all there. The Matthew Shardlake mysteries are among the very best historical fiction and quite possibly the best series in the field.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
C. J. Sansom (1952-2024) died earlier this year in a hospice near his home in Brighton, England. He was born in Edinburgh but educated in England at the University of Birmingham, where he earned both a BA and a PhD in history. Later he trained as a solicitor and practiced as a lawyer for the disadvantaged in Sussex, where he lived for the rest of his life. Sansom turned to writing full-time in his forties, shortly before the turn of the century.
Critics celebrated the Matthew Shardlake series, which gained Sansom renown as one of England’s leading historical novelists. All told, he wrote nine historical novels, including seven in the Matthew Shardlake series.
For Sansom’s obituary in the Guardian, see “CJ Sansom, author of the Shardlake novels, dies aged 71” (April 29, 2024).
January 28, 2024
This book stayed in my 'to read' pile for a long time. It had been recommended by a friend but I don't normally go for historical fiction, hence it's time in the pile.
However, once I got into it I realised that it is basically just a murder/mystery story and a really good one at that!
I have heard that the second book in this series is also good so I might need to get that added to my pile now ... and maybe that wouldn't languish there for so long.
However, once I got into it I realised that it is basically just a murder/mystery story and a really good one at that!
I have heard that the second book in this series is also good so I might need to get that added to my pile now ... and maybe that wouldn't languish there for so long.
December 17, 2022
I always find the poor unfortunate shardlake to be a magnet for ill luck and bad humours. There are however few books I've read that make me feel like I'm there. My imagination doesn't need to fill in many gaps to be living in this turbulent history. Will read on.
February 3, 2018
Luostarin varjot / C. J. Sansom ; suomentanut Katariina Kaila
Sansom, C. J., kirjoittaja | Otava | 2011
Sansom, C. J., kirjoittaja | Otava | 2011
March 13, 2019
Brilliant series
May 14, 2020
Fantastic, the detail In the books is incredible I fine it very hard to put these books down a must read for me and these are books that I will read again
June 15, 2020
The history seeps out the pages, you feel like your actually there experiencing it all with Shardlake.
July 12, 2020
Great stories mixing fact with fiction. Love the historical aspects to the stories
January 3, 2021
Excellent combination of Tutor history and thriller mysteries. One of the great historical fiction collections.
January 13, 2021
I read Dissolution only, very good read, reminded me of The Name of The Rose by Umberto Eco
Read
June 10, 2021I've read all the Shardlake series -- so well written! Suspenseful and intelligent, I highly recommend if you're interested in law, history and mystery.
July 18, 2021
Excellent crime novels, set during tudor times. Detail from that period is brilliant.
December 24, 2021
I must admit, after a few pages Matthew felt like a true friend.
Fantastically written and thrilling to read
Fantastically written and thrilling to read
April 25, 2024
I really enjoyed these books. Well written, good plots and seemingly well researched historical backgrounds, which gave a real feeling to mediaeval London and England.
marlene
August 25, 2024Só o primeiro e segundo
March 31, 2015
I'd give this two and a half stars if possible. I listened to the audio book, which may or may not have tainted my review. The historical time period was interesting (dissolution of the monasteries under England's Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell) but I felt that the pace was slow and I just didn't care that much about the characters.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews