Dissolution (The Shardlake series, 1)

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The action is set in the time of (in)famous king Henry VIII and it has as main character a hunchback lawyer under the service of the equally famous and controversial figure, Thomas Cromwell. He questions everything, which left me in a continuous state of suspense until he found his answers. I think the Devil works in the world through men’s evil, their greed and cruelty and ambition, rather than possessing them and driving them stark mad.

Already weary in soul and feeling the physical toil of the past few years the last thing Shardlake wants to do is to be dispatched to the St. The reason is because initially it reminded me (in terms of plot points) of “The Name of the Rose”, a novel I detest! Once establishing himself as head of the English church, Henry conveniently grants himself a divorce from his wife, Catherine of Aragon, so that he can marry Ann Boleyn. A solicitor by trade, Shardlake is known less for his legal mind that the significant hunchback he possesses. Good lord, all so a king can bed a particularly crafty young lady who would settle for nothing less than the crown on her head before she ministered to the Kingly “crown”.Left to his own devices as a sleuth, I suspect that Shardlake might have found one "nave", but not the "knave" that Cromwell was insisting upon. Set during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII, this novel brings this episode in history to life through the character Matthew Shardlake. He has also written Winter in Madrid, a thriller set in Spain in 1940 in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War and Dominion, an alternate history novel set in a Britain following a fictional Axis victory in World War II. It will not surprise you to know that the original murder is not the only one in the book, and other crimes appear. en plena ruptura con Roma, el Rey y el todopoderoso vicario general, Thomas Cromwell, intentan implantar a toda costa el anglicanismo y llevar a cabo la reforma de la iglesia.

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. The copy of Dissolution that I read was subtitled ‘10th Anniversary Edition’ and was published in 2008, so this author has been writing for some time and this book is the first in a series featuring the same protagonist, a lawyer by the name of Matthew Shardlake. Robin Singleton, a commissioner charged with securing the peaceable surrender of the Monastery of St Donatus in Scarnsea, has been brutally murdered and Cromwell realizes that his agenda will be jeopardized if the evidence of this opposition is allowed to see the light of day.His principal ally in this effort was his vicar general, Thomas Cromwell, who was much feared by Henry's opponents.

Shardlake is a brilliant central character providing that astonishing logic that makes this novel intriguing and captivating as he delicately investigates the murder at the monastery. Though the setting was a religious house and each person revealed their thoughts on God, the book never overdoes the Christian theme or becomes preachy.I am a bit if a history buff and I was drawn to this story because it is set during the English Reformation, a period I was interested to learn more about. I think most major characters are either parts of oneself or parts of people that have made an impact on you, for good or ill.

To make things even more irritating for him he finds himself competing with his young assistant for the affections of a young lass who works in the infirmary of the monastery. Shardlake is very dismissive of Catholicism, a true believer in the Reformation, but at the same time he is sickened by the lives that are being ruined needlessly. It is set in a time of great upheaval; Henry VIII has declared himself head of the English church, and his ministers are looking at ways of dismantling the power of the priesthood. Cromwell has carried out a thorough survey of all monasteries and religious houses, and is waiting for an opportunity to dissolve them. The cast includes civilians in the kitchen and on the grounds, and our intrepid fellows both fall for the same bright, pretty girl in the kitchen, which causes some anguish and awkwardness, but she is kind to our hunchbacked hero in spite of obviously favouring handsome, younger Mark.I hadn’t heard of C J Sansom before, somehow he had passed me by but, as an author, he was recommended to me by a golfing buddie, so I thought I’d give him a go and I’m glad I did. Shardlake must also come to terms with the means by which Singleton was killed, decapitation by sword, and stifle the memories of seeing young Anne Boleyn executed not long before in that manner. His jaw held thus made me think of a great trap that at any moment might open and swallow one whole with a casual gulp. Dr Matthew Shardlake, a reformer and one of the sharpest lawyers in England, is dispatched to solve the murder at all costs and complete the dissolution of the monastery as planned.