Sovereign (The Shardlake series, 3)

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Sansom exhibits a multifarious skill. Not only can he write well and build a believable world, he also knows how to incorporate his research into his books so that it does not feel like research. SOVEREIGN, the third book (out of seven) in the Matthew Shardlake Tudor mystery series, is a good read, but the mystery the text centers on is not as strong as the first two in the series. As with its predecessors, author C.J. Sansom take a historical event and weaves a fictional plotline/mystery into events that feels like a plausible explanation for things that really happened. In this text the historical event the mystery is integrated into is Henry VIII’s Great Progress to York in 1541 and the subsequent downfall of Queen Catherine Howard. It's like a cult. A cult devised to excuse divorce, and eventually excused everything. As Archbishop Cranmer says: He has also written Winter in Madrid, a thriller set in Spain in 1940 in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War.

One of the reasons I'm such a fan of the Matthew Shardlake series is the thoroughness of the research done by the author, which enriches the story in ways that stimulate the intellect while satisfying the emotions. Googling Sansom, I found he has had scholarly articles published in professional journals regarding the King's Northern Progress, because so little research has been done on this topic by history academics. Always in his Afterwords, Sansom indicates his references and suggests further reading for those interested in the issues. Things aren’t all they seem however and Matthew soon finds himself in the middle of a dangerous conspiracy, one against his King...I was enthralled by Sovereign by C. J. Sansom, a novel combining detection with a brilliant description of Henry VIII's spectacular Progress to the North and its terrifying aftermath. -- P.D. James * Sunday Telegraph Books of the Year *

Q. Some have suggested that the Islamic world is undergoing its own violent Reformation/Counter-Reformation, similar to what occurred in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Europe. Has your research in the period helped you to better understand certain religious conflicts today? Sansom has said that he plans to write further Shardlake novels taking the lawyer into the reign of Elizabeth I. [1] Description [ edit ] When an old friend is horrifically murdered Shardlake promises his widow, for whom he has long had complicated feelings, to bring the killer to justice. His search leads him to both Cranmer and Catherine Parr –and with the dark prophecies of the Book of Revelation. Maleverer’s smile turned into a cruel smirk. ‘Jesu, sir, you are a righteous prig. I wish I could afford your scruples.’”

Radwinter, for all his cruel madness, proves to be a rather interesting character. While Maleverer is cold and calculating, Radwinter is full of hot-blooded passion and zealotry. How do these two characters illustrate the zeitgeist of Henrician England? How do they represent the religious and political poles of the time? Since this is a mystery series, you get what you paid the admission price for. Murder..or is it accidental death? I shall not tell. Aggravating antagonists. Miserable creatures. Miserable dungeons. And mystery abounding. Henry VIII with his new queen (Catherine Howard, aged 18), their household and a cast of thousands are on a slow procession – a “progress” – to York and the North. It is promoted as a good-will trip, but it's really Henry's show of power. The peasants have to provide all the food, contribute to a stash of gold to be presented to the King, and put up with their fields being muddied and trashed by soldiers and others camping in them. As with the other books there is a mix of fact and fiction with a significant amount of grey in between. The author has clearly researched well and has chosen to believe some historical accounts over others which is perfectly acceptable in historical fiction. Of course, when reading the story the reader can't help but think about what actually happened, what could have happened and what is completely impossible.

Flood, Alison (10 March 2009). "Obama battles vampires for Galaxy prize". The Guardian. London . Retrieved 19 September 2010. In York, resentment of King Henry and all those associated with him runs high, and Shardlake finds himself hunted by an unknown assailant. Well, a murder occurring shortly after Matthew’s arrival points to a vast conspiracy that could lead to disaster for the King and his family. I will leave it there and just say that the intertwining plots and subplots are very well done and engrossing. This is easily my favorite historical mystery series and among my favorite mystery series period. Shortlisted for the Books Direct Crime Thriller of the Year 2009 [9] and the Crime Writers Association Ellis Peters Historical Dagger in 2008. [10] The magic of this series for me is not the who done it and the chasing rabbits down holes, although that helps of course, no the magic of this series for me is the atmosphere. Nobody gives the world Tudor England like C.J. Sansom. Except maybe Hilary Mantel, but then I have not read her books and can only surmise.

READERS GUIDE

Like I did with Dark Fire, I listened to portions of this via the audiobook. The audiobooks for this series are really well narrated and I loved that the narrator puts on different accents. It was nice hearing a Yorkshire/Northern accent and reminded me of home, as I was born in Yorkshire. Even in the physical copy of the book the accent came through in the way the words were written. So props to the author. By the time we get to the end much is already known and CJ Sansom is left with just one more part of the puzzle to reveal then to prepare the way for the next book. Shardlake is a plausible character who seems to handle everything thrown at him in a very practical way. He stands out physically but, at the same time, is able to merge into many situations as needed to progress his investigations. His prime motive is fairness and he wants to right wrongs but never forgets the importance of his self preservation. Regardless, he knows his period and he can depict the constant shimming between mind sets and loyalties/ trusts that was at its heart to stay eating and breathing.