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

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CJ Sansom wins with Dark Fire". 2005 CWA Dagger Awards. Archived from the original on 10 August 2007 . Retrieved 10 August 2007. I know he was worried about starting a war with Spain and France, but wouldn’t this all have been easier and saved a lot of hanging, beheading, burnings etc. if only Catherine of Aragon had say had an accident in the bath or had a bit of loose stone masonry fall on her head? Not that I wish ill on Catherine. She seems to be the one purity in this whole sordid mess, but would thousands of lives been spared? Ramachandran, Naman (31 March 2023). "Disney+ Sets Series Adaptation of C.J. Sansom's 'Shardlake' Murder Mystery Novels". Variety . Retrieved 24 May 2023.

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. Matthew Shardlake – main character and narrator of the series, a barrister of Lincoln's Inn and later Serjeant-at-law. Initially an adherent to the new Anglican faith, and ever a religious thinker, he was once refused as a candidate for the priesthood due to his infirmity. 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. This serves well as counterpoint to the somewhat out-of-his-depth character of Matthew Shardlake, the newly appointed King’s commissioner investigating the murder of the previous commissioner at the Monastery of St. Donatus the Ascendant. Shardlake is a moderately successful lawyer under the patronage of Lord Thomas Cromwell, now vicar general and responsible for the new Church of England. Not only is the king the head of the church, but he has been waging battles against those not to happy to be split from the Church of Rome. Sansom takes enough time to impress upon us the general perception that monasteries and other religious houses were seen both as sources of land and revenue for the king and his nobles and also an evil where the abbots, monks, novices, etc. were living a life of ease compared to the citizens. 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.’

The Matthew Shardlake Series in Order (7 Books)

As one character says, “Uncovering complicated truths is never easy.”, and in “Dissolution” Mr. Sansom makes such uncovering an enjoyable experience. I will continue on with reading the series. About the mystery part… one of Cromwell’s Commissioners, that is, the person sent to negotiate the surrender of Scarnsea monastery is found brutally murdered on its premises and Mr. Shardlake is sent to investigate together with his young protégé. The lawyer arrives in a hostile environment where each monk seems to hold a secret and could be the potential murderer. Under overwhelming time and secrecy pressure imposed by Cromwell, Shardlake begins a long set of interviews and immerses himself in the life of the monastery. I learned interesting details about the monastic life, most of them not showing the Catholic Church in the best of lights. Walter Scott historical fiction shortlist announced". BBC News. 1 April 2011 . Retrieved 12 June 2011. More than 15 years on and Disney+ will be looking for its own Shardlake as it hopes to bring the popular character to the screen for the first time. The books have been dramatised for radio by the BBC, with Jason Watkins ( The Crown) and Justin Salinger ( Alex Rider) both playing Shardlake.

Sean Bean has appeared in many of our favourite shows over the years, including Sharpe, Game of Thrones, and World on Fire. He is described as an intelligent and energetic guy who speaks very little. He is simple and a man of rules. He is a firm believer of social reforms and that is why he becomes the chosen aide for these secret missions. Though after his first mission he decided to take up simple cases where in the innocent is exempted from the clutches of law, He is again pulled into a high profile assignment by the King Henry VII. In this book Shardlake has to face more dangers and death threats as this time the destination is not simple. He and Barak the assistant appointed by Cromwell himself find themselves with lot many hurdles before they end up unravelling the mystery. In this book the humanitarian and compassionate side of Shardlake can be understood as he tries to help a small girl accused of killing her cousin. He puts his heart and soul in helping her just because he feels sorry for her and she is too young to be punished hard. Henry VIII – King of England 1509–1547, later Defender of the Faith and Head of the Church of England.I enjoyed reading this historical fiction book, recommended by GR friend Ingrid. The book is set in 1537 England. Henry VIII has left the Catholic church and the country is divided between those faithful to the new Church of England, with Henry VIII as its head, and the Catholic church. A royal commissioner is murdered in the monastery of Scarnsea on the southeast coast of England. Thomas Cromwell – principal counsellor to Henry VIII and holder of a number of high state offices 1533–1540. I have a special affinity for historical mysteries and Dissolution is one of the good examples of this genre, at least for me. 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] As colonization and the slave trade dominate world affairs, a group of English merchants, desperate to find new trading opportunities, sets up a Company of Merchant Adventurers to seek a north-east passage to the Far East. The destination of the projected voyage is kept strictly secret lest Spanish spies should learn of it. After the secretary of the Company suddenly dies, Shardlake is recruited to the post as a competent man who can be trusted to keep matters secret.

The first season of Shardlake will adapt the opening book in Sansom’s series as an “eerie whodunnit adventure.” I very rarely bother with crime novels. The genre feels overdone and, well, a little bit boring. To me it all looks like the same regurgitated story. I blame the terrible police dramas on television; they make me yawn when I see how stupid they are. I did a two year course in forensic science, and it never ceases to amaze me how the writers of these television shows think that wearing gloves will therefore mean that the crime scene is not contaminated by the otherwise exposed investigators. Never mind the fact that they are trampling over evidence, leaving their own hairs and jumping to ridiculous conclusions based upon preliminary testing. These things are horribly inaccurate to the professional field; they are always forensically inaccurate. So, regardless of how this is handled in modern crime books, I always avoid them to avoid similar annoyance. This, however, isn’t a modern crime book. Kanter, Jake (8 January 2023). "Disney+ Lines Up Series Adaptation Of CJ Sansom's Shardlake Tudor Detective Novels". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved 4 January 2023.Dissolution is set in England and the action takes place over a couple of extremely cold and snowy weeks in 1537. This is shortly after King Henry VIII has broken with the Catholic church and created the Church of England, with himself as the head of the church. At this point, of course, religious freedom is only a dim, distant dream, and all English people are required by law to follow Henry into the new Anglican church, whether they like it or not. El nuevo comisionado enviado a resolver este entuerto, es muestro protagonista, el abogado Shardlake. Disney+ UK scripted originals include Wedding Season, a wedding murder drama, and the upcoming Extraordinary, about a woman who lives in a world where everyone has a superpower except her.

As colonization and the slave trade dominate world affairs, a group of English merchants, desperate to find new trading opportunities, sets up a Company of Merchant Adventurers to seek a north-east passage to the Far East. The destination of the projected voyage is kept strictly secret lest Spanish spies should learn of it. After the secretary of the Company suddenly dies, Shardlake is recruited to the post as a competent man who can be trusted to keep matters secret. The plot of “Dissolution” is a great set up. A king’s commissioner has been murdered in a monastery, just as the dissolution of the monasteries is coming into full swing during the reign of Henry VIII. The plot also links to the execution of Anne Boleyn in a clever, and believable, manner. 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.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... Hibbs, James (31 March 2023). "Arthur Hughes and Sean Bean to lead Disney Plus Tudor mystery Shardlake". Radio Times . Retrieved 31 March 2023.