Since I was a child, I’ve been interested in the Tudor
period. This can be partly attributed to learning about the Tudors in primary
school, but mostly thanks to Terry Deary’s Horrible
Histories: The Terrible Tudors.
So when I found the Matthew Shardlake books by author C.J. Sansom, I was dead pleased!
To my knowledge there are five books in the series:
1. Dissolution
2. Dark Fire
3. Sovereign
4. Revelation
5. Heartstone
The hero of these historical detective stories is Matthew
Shardlake, a lawyer practising from Lincoln’s Inn, London. The books are set in
Tudor England, during the reign of the infamous Henry VIII, beginning with the
dissolution of the monasteries and continuing through to the sinking of the
Mary Rose. Each tale is filled with mystery and drama along with an insight
into the life of the era.
When I first started reading these stories, I disliked the
fact that the author had made Shardlake a hunchback, as it seemed like he was
trying too hard to make an unusual character.
But I stuck at it, because I liked how the story was
written.
As the story progressed, I realised what a clever idea it was to give the main
character an obvious deformity.
Shardlake isn’t young, nor immensely handsome, and whilst
the state of his finances is comfortable he’s hardly rolling in money; nor is
he a man of title.
What Shardlake is, however, is incredibly clever--a Tudor
era Poirot or Sherlock Holmes.
Each of these books has a little map at the front, to depict
the area in which the story is set. I think this is rather cool :)
Dissolution
The first of the Shardlake books is set during the
Dissolution of the monasteries. Working under Cromwell, Shardlake and his
assistant Mark Poer are dispatched to Scarnsea, Sussex, to investigate the
strange murder of a royal commissioner.
As Shardlake and Poer investigate, two more murders come to
light, along with evidence of treason and corruption. Little by little, they
come closer to the truth--and the murderer.
An interesting story that sheds light on the Dissolution.
I’m a little biased in the favour of this book as it’s set in my county :)
Dark Fire
This second book is set in 1540, three years after Dissolution. Shardlake is once again on
a case, this time of a girl charged with murder. Just as it seems he’ll lose
the case, Cromwell steps in and offers him a deal: the proceedings against the
girl will be delayed by two weeks if Shardlake will do some work for Cromwell.
His task is to find the Dark Fire, a liquid with the power to catch fire and
burn with epically destructive results. Following Henry VIII’s marriage to Anne
of Cleves, Cromwell is in poor favour with the king and looking to Shardlake to
provide the means for him to get back into Henry’s good books.
Once again Shardlake is sent headlong into danger and
intrigue, this time on the trail with one of Cromwell’s men, Jack Barak.
This tale truly strikes home the corruption within the royal
court. Ulterior motives, treachery--people will stop at nothing to see the
intentions realised.
Sovereign
In this book, Shardlake and Barak have been sent north into
York. Following a conspiracy against the king, Henry VIII is has set off on a
great ‘progress’ in attempt to squash any chance of rebellion. With him is
Catherine Howard, his fifth wife, select nobles, and thousands of soldiers.
Working with aged local lawyer Giles Wrenne, Shardlake is processing petitions
to the king, which will be ceremoniously handed to Henry VIII on his arrival in
York.
But there’s a second reason for Shardlake’s presence in
York: he has been charged to protect a dangerous conspirator, imprisoned in
York to be transported to London. Shardlake must ensure the prisoner’s
wellbeing so the man can be interrogated in the Tower, something that gives him
a little crisis of conscience.
The plot deepens when a local glazier is murdered, and
Shardlake discovers a box of secret papers, some of which threaten Henry’s
claim to the throne. This discovery thrusts Shardlake even further into danger
and with unknown enemies working against him, the threat of being thrown into
the tower himself becomes all the more real.
For most of the second part of this book, I was torn between
two possible ‘baddies’ behind the main plot, but didn’t completely figure it
out until the truth was revealed.
Revelation
It’s 1543. England is in the midst of religious unrest, with
an impending mass-burning of all those considered ‘heretical’.
Shardlake has a new mystery to solve: that of a religious
teenage boy, held in the Bedlam for his own safety. The boy has been imprisoned
for religious mania, spouting out heretical and treasonous words that could
lead to his execution.
Meanwhile, one of Shardlake’s oldest friends is brutally
murdered. Shardlake promises the man’s widow that he’ll find the murderer and
bring them to justice. As he investigates, he discovers other murders have
taken place--gruesome interpretations of the book of Revelation. Throughout the
investigation, the serial killer is always one step ahead of Shardlake, with
his victims already planned...and one of them could be Shardlake himself.
This was a fantastic book! I usually struggle a little with
works involving religion, but this was so full of intrigue that I couldn’t put
it down.
Heartstone
It’s 1545 and Henry VIII’s warships are gathering at Portsmouth,
to be joined by a huge army conscripted from the people of England. Henry
VIII’s invasion of France has been unsuccessful, and now a fleet of French
ships is due to leave for the English coast.
Shardlake has been given a case from a servant of Catherine
Parr: to investigate alleged wrongdoings against a ward of the court, Hugh
Curtey. At the same time, Shardlake becomes interested in another matter: the
mystery surrounding Ellen Fettiplace, a woman in the Bedlam, whose past is full
of secrets.
Whilst investigating the matter of Hugh Curtey, Shardlake
takes it upon himself to also look into Ellen Fettiplace’s past, wanting to
answer the question of how she ended up in the Bedlam.
Shardlake and Barak’s investigations take them into
Portsmouth, where they find themselves at the very heart of the war
preparations, and once more thrown into danger.
Another gripping, page-turner of a novel. Even knowing how
some parts of the story (historical fact) were going to turn out didn’t ruin
it. The tale isn’t without its surprises, either!
If you only read one
of these books, read: Revelation.
