About the Author
CJ Sansom was educated at Birmingham University, where he tool a BA then a PhD in History. After working in a variety of jobs , he retrained as a solicitor and practised in Sussex until becoming a full time writer. Dissoloution is the first novel in the Shardlake series and his standa-alone thriller Winter in MAdrid was a top five Best Seller. He lives in Sussex.
The Story
Set in 1537 at the time of the dissolution of the manasteries, when Henry VIII proclaimed himself as Supreme Head of the Church, under orders form Thomas Cromwell, a team of commissioners were tasked in overseeing the de-commissioning of the monastries. One such monastery at Scarnsea, events had spiralled out fo control with the previous commissioners, Robin Singleton was found dead. From this the story wound its way through the historic references linked to Anne Boyleyn, the reader was taken through a journey of suspicion and intrigue as Shardlake uncovered the truth about the death of Robin Singleton.
The Review
The revieweres consdiderd thebook to be an easy and interesting read - a good holiday book. It was a teasing detective novel told in the context of strong resonnance of real events in history. The detailed description were vivid and evocative - almost smelling the putrid air in some scenes, the habits of the time were portrayed in great detail and placing the reader in a voyeurisrtic reltionship to the main characters as they tackeled every day living and routines.
Reading the book gave us a better understanding of the history of the time, you got a real sense of what it must have been like to live through this period of history, the lack of sanitation, travelling on horseback and boat both of which would have been quite dangerous. One member commented on the time everything took, for example to travel from Sussex to London took two days involving boats and horses. Now with our reliance on instant communication it is difficult to imagine having to wait two days for a messenger to arrive. It came as no surprise that Sansom is a historian he gives a very detailed account of the times.
A clear theme through the book was the corruption of the times, the greed and constant striving for power. The real winners of the time were the new class of gentry who, either bought the land from the King at bargain basement prices or were given the land free as a reward for nefarious deeds. One member identified a reference to Thomas Cromwell's own activites in Peter Ackroyds - London a Biography, where he extended his poperty and commandeered some neighbours land for an extended garden to his house.
The principal character Shardlake is portrayed as a humanist with strong reformist beliefs that are constantly challenged by the evidence including the blatant admission from Lord Cromwell that certain confessions have been falsely obtained. As an interesting aside Shardlake is presented as a hunchback and his imperfection is seen in direct conflict with the monasteries religious belief of spiritual perfection.
The book was well balanced and even contained some humour when the head of the victim was felt rolling around in the coffin during the burial.
Overall the group felt that it engaged everyone as a good read, it was felt that there was historical accuracy. No-one fell for the market ploy of introducing a whole chapter of the next book and for some it was off putting.
The books that were offered for the next read were:
After You'd Gone by Maggie O'Farrell
The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter
Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones
Set in 1537 at the time of the dissolution of the manasteries, when Henry VIII proclaimed himself as Supreme Head of the Church, under orders form Thomas Cromwell, a team of commissioners were tasked in overseeing the de-commissioning of the monastries. One such monastery at Scarnsea, events had spiralled out fo control with the previous commissioners, Robin Singleton was found dead. From this the story wound its way through the historic references linked to Anne Boyleyn, the reader was taken through a journey of suspicion and intrigue as Shardlake uncovered the truth about the death of Robin Singleton.
The Review
The revieweres consdiderd thebook to be an easy and interesting read - a good holiday book. It was a teasing detective novel told in the context of strong resonnance of real events in history. The detailed description were vivid and evocative - almost smelling the putrid air in some scenes, the habits of the time were portrayed in great detail and placing the reader in a voyeurisrtic reltionship to the main characters as they tackeled every day living and routines.
Reading the book gave us a better understanding of the history of the time, you got a real sense of what it must have been like to live through this period of history, the lack of sanitation, travelling on horseback and boat both of which would have been quite dangerous. One member commented on the time everything took, for example to travel from Sussex to London took two days involving boats and horses. Now with our reliance on instant communication it is difficult to imagine having to wait two days for a messenger to arrive. It came as no surprise that Sansom is a historian he gives a very detailed account of the times.
A clear theme through the book was the corruption of the times, the greed and constant striving for power. The real winners of the time were the new class of gentry who, either bought the land from the King at bargain basement prices or were given the land free as a reward for nefarious deeds. One member identified a reference to Thomas Cromwell's own activites in Peter Ackroyds - London a Biography, where he extended his poperty and commandeered some neighbours land for an extended garden to his house.
The principal character Shardlake is portrayed as a humanist with strong reformist beliefs that are constantly challenged by the evidence including the blatant admission from Lord Cromwell that certain confessions have been falsely obtained. As an interesting aside Shardlake is presented as a hunchback and his imperfection is seen in direct conflict with the monasteries religious belief of spiritual perfection.
The book was well balanced and even contained some humour when the head of the victim was felt rolling around in the coffin during the burial.
Overall the group felt that it engaged everyone as a good read, it was felt that there was historical accuracy. No-one fell for the market ploy of introducing a whole chapter of the next book and for some it was off putting.
The books that were offered for the next read were:
After You'd Gone by Maggie O'Farrell
The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter
Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones
Holes by Louis Sachar
The one with the most votes is Holes by Louis Sachar.
The one with the most votes is Holes by Louis Sachar.
