The third Matthew Shardlake Tudor Mystery by C. J. Sansom, the bestselling author of Winter in Madrid and DominionC. J . Sansom has garnered a wider audience and increased critical praise with each new novel published. His first book in the Matthew Shardlake series, Dissolution, was selected by P. D. James in The Wall Street Journal as one of her top five all-time favorite books. Now in Sovereign… five all-time favorite books. Now in Sovereign, Shardlake faces the most terrifying threat in the age of Tudor England: imprisonment int he Tower of London.
Shardlake and his loyal assistant, Jack Barak, find themselves embroiled in royal intrigue when a plot against King Henry VIII is uncovered in York and a dangerous conspirator they’ve been charged with transporting to London is connected to the death of a local glazer.
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The Matthew Shardlake series is a new-to-me historical fiction series. I have thoroughly loved all three of the titles I have read, and while I knew this time was quite vicious and deadly, I found this story difficult to read. Knowing the fate of the Henry’s wives does not prepare me any better for how Sansom artfully writes of their deaths. Having visited the Tower of London, the White Castle, and seeing the area where the royal beheadings occurred, I understand this was a brutal time, but Shardlake’s discussing how Anne Boleyn’s head had shot out upon its severing, how the block was still dripping with Catherine Howard’s blood when Lady Rochester must place her head on the block, was personally difficult to read. I found the overall cruelty and brutality in this novel so frustrating, which helps readers understand how the people of York felt, that I was so glad of Giles Wrenne’s friendship with Shardlake. However, I had to skip Shardlake’s trip to the torture cell, once that wretched torturer and his sadistic son began to met out torture on Shardlake. I just couldn’t read it. I love Barak and never appreciated him more than when he went to work rescuing Shardlake.
This was an extremely sad story on so many levels, but I think Sansom captures the tempo of the time period well. I’m looking forward to reading the fourth installment, and I really hope that Shardlake stays away from politics and that Rich gets his comeuppance soon! However, I do have to mull things over in my mind and balance ideas proposed by Sansom in this title and Josephine Tey’s theory on King Richard III before I start the next Shardlake.
I’ve read two of the books in this series and will be reading more. Feel like I’m learning something about life in the UK in the period while being entertained. Think Cadfael.
Good information of a period in time many are familiar with but don’t know some of the details.
Great series, well written and holds the reader’s interest.
All of C. J. Samson’s books are good reads. Just try one and you’ll be hooked. Highly entertaining.
I love all of CJ Sansome’s books. They are a wonderful history lesson as well as diversion…
C.J Sansom has done it again!
Another outstanding piece of writing.
Love the series. Waiting for more.
I love the history in these books. Makes Tudor England come alive.
Excedllent plot
The only problem with C.J. Sansom is he doesn’t write fast enough. I’m always anxious for the next one.
Well-researched historical novel with mystery thrown in.
at times witty but always informative. Loved the main character with his humped back.
I’ve read all of the series and I’ve enjoyed them all.
Pretty good reading. King Henry VIII was a terrible man!
This was an excellent book highly entertaining well drawn characters and I think very accurate historically. If you are interested in Cromwell and the Tudor dynasty this book is for you
I really wanted to like this book. I love all things Tudor, and was hoping this would add to my passion. Alas, the narration did me in. Monotone, bordering on boring. Because of that, I couldn’t connect with the plot. I got 3 chapters in, and when I realized I was blanking out, I quit.
Love reading Brit lit. Very interesting and love the use of words which I had to use the dictionary to look up many archaic words. Have read other books with the same main character and also enjoyed them. Always kept you guessing. Could not put it down!
I think this is one of Sansom’s best, featuring his hunchback lawyer in the midst of Henry VIII’s tumultuous reign. How quickly mores changed in England depending on what Henry needed to prove politically to get the wife he wanted at any given moment. And God help anyone who got them wrong! While I was familiar with the idea of ‘religious freedom’ as a motivation for immigration to America, way back when, this historical mystery helped me understand the impact of not having that. The message wasn’t delivered with a lengthy discourse on the history of the issue, but rather very vividly through the experiences of Sansom’s characters and through his story, so well told. I recommend all of Sansom’s mysteries based in Tudor England, but also especially liked ‘Dissolution’, the first book in the series.
This book is one in a series written by CJ Sansom, that was recommended to me several years ago. I read the entire series and was very much satisfied with the author and the books. It was filled with drama, mystery, intrigue, murder, and infused with a bit of the Tudor period when Henry VIII was king. I love reading history about the Tudor period, it’s very fascinating and somewhat confusing at the same time. If you like reading about this era, you will enjoy reading these books.