The shardlake series collection C. J. Sansom 6 books set ( Dissolution , Dark Fire , Sovereign , Revelation , Heartstone , Lamentation)

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The papists will use every means to present us from building the christian commonwealth, and so God’s blood I will use every means to overcome them.’ They confirmed that Arthur Hughes would be joined by Sean Bean, who will be playing the role of Thomas Cromwell, King Henry VIII's dangerous right-hand man, who Shardlake works for. And, again, Sean Bean is rather more dashing than the typical image of Thomas Cromwell! The four-part series is written by The Last Kingdom's Stephen Butchard and produced by The Forge and Runaway Fridge. Shardlake’s sheltered life as a lawyer is turned upside down when Cromwell instructs him to investigate the murder of one of his commissioners at a monastery in the remote town of Scarnsea,” reveals the official synopsis. When I worked at Waterstones, this series was one that consistently sold well, and now I know why. I'm looking forward to catching up with the rest of Shardlake's adventures soon...

And with a brutal gulp, Cromwell dissolved and swallowed the monasteries across England, beginning with smaller ones in 1536 and completing the dissolution of even the largest old ones by 1540, pensioning off a few monks but turning everyone else loose into the poor neighbouring townships. I did question the phrase “runcible peas”, (as in Edward Lear's The Owl and the Pussycat poem which mentioned a “runcible spoon” many years later. (I also discovered that a runcible spoon sounds similar to my favourite piece of multi-purpose cutlery, the splade or spork, depending on your preference. But I digress.) Stephen Bealknap – Shardlake's nemesis in the law courts of London; also a barrister of Lincoln's Inn. Autumn, 1552. England is, uneasily, at peace. King Edward VI, now fifteen and mature beyond his years, is already beginning to play an active part in politics. His sister, the Lady Elizabeth, now nineteen, is a prominent figure at court. Edward’s heir, however, is his elder sister Mary. Having refused to renounce her Catholicism in Edward’s increasingly strident Protestant England, she lives in Essex, an unseen but worrying presence.

The Matthew Shardlake Series in Order (7 Books)

Many of them don't like it. They remain true to the Catholic church and continue to give their religious allegiance to the Pope. Many of these people will be persecuted for their beliefs and not a few will be executed. In many respects, these are not the sunniest of times. After Dark Fire was published, a Sunday Times review made this comment: "Historical crime fiction is sometimes little more than a modern adventure in fancy dress. Not so the novels of CJ Sansom, whose magnificent books set in the reign of Henry VIII bring to life the sounds and smells of Tudor England..." [3] Tombland, the seventh novel in the series, finds Shardlake in 1549, working for the 15-year-old Lady Elizabeth, two years after her father Henry VIII’s death. Elizabeth sends Shardlake to Norwich to investigate a murder case involving a distant relative, John Boleyn, and his estranged wife, who had disappeared and been declared dead years before unexpectedly returning to be killed for real.

Love, Catherine (20 July 2023). "Sovereign review – CJ Sansom's historical doorstopper comes home to York". The Guardian . Retrieved 21 September 2023. Originally published in April, 2003, this was to be the book that began the Matthew Shardlake series. Setting up the environment for this collection of historical mystery novels, it helped establish the tone and the period. In 2012 it also saw a radio dramatization on BBC4, as it was adapted for a well received radio-play.This was a time of uneasy alliances with Catholics swearing allegiance to the new church not because they necessary believed, but because they wished to keep their property and to keep their heads attached to the rest of their bodies. People used the new laws to settle old grievances, turning their enemies in for Catholic devotion that reminds me of neighbors turning on neighbors in Germany under the Third Reich. En este ambiente de miedo y corrupción desatada, uno de los enviados de Cromwell, es asesinado en uno de los monasterios benedictinos a los que ha sido enviado para convencer, forzar o hacer lo que hiciera falta, para conseguir la cesión del monasterio a la corona. It’s a wonderful who-dunnit with a colourful cast of very different characters, well identified in welcome, subtle ways by Sansom as they appear and reappear in the story. Ramachandran, Naman (31 March 2023). "Disney+ Sets Series Adaptation of C.J. Sansom's 'Shardlake' Murder Mystery Novels". Variety . Retrieved 31 March 2023. Dissolution is a book that perfectly captures the atmosphere and instability of England during the time Henry VIII broke away from the Catholic Church, creating not just religious uncertainty but also Political instability, but at the centre of this book is a murder mystery with all the intrigue and thrill from a great crime/ thriller.

Shortlisted at The British Book Awards 2019 for Fiction Book of the Year and Marketing Strategy of the Year [12]

Schoolboy rivalries in the Spanish civil war A review of Winter in Madrid, in Telegraph, 26 February 2006