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Dissolution (Shardlake)
 
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Dissolution (Shardlake) (Paperback)

by C. J. Sansom (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (124 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
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Product details

  • Paperback: 300 pages
  • Publisher: Pan (18 May 2007)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0330450794
  • ISBN-13: 978-0330450799
  • Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 13 x 3.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (124 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 199 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #1 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > S > Sansom, C.J.
    #3 in  Books > Crime, Thrillers & Mystery > Thrillers
    #9 in  Books > Crime, Thrillers & Mystery > Mystery

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Product Description

The Guardian

'A mix of serious history and its political contect, together with first-rate murder mystery.' --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.


Product Description

Henry VIII has proclaimed himself Supreme Head of the Church and the country is waking up to savage new laws, rigged trials and the greatest network of informers ever seen. Under the order of Thomas Cromwell, a team of commissioners is sent through the country to investigate the monasteries. There can only be one outcome: the monasteries are to be dissolved.

But on the Sussex coast, at the monastery of Scarnsea, events have spiralled out of control. Cromwell's Commissioner Robin Singleton, has been found dead, his head severed from his body. His horrific murder is accompanied by equally sinister acts of sacrilege – a black cockerel sacrificed on the alter, and the disappearance of Scarnsea's Great Relic.

Dr Matthew Shardlake, lawyer and long-time supporter of Reform, has been sent by Cromwell into this atmosphere of treachery and death. But Shardlake's investigation soon forces him to question everything he hears, and everything that he intrinsically believes . . .

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Dissolution (Shardlake)
85% buy the item featured on this page:
Dissolution (Shardlake) 4.3 out of 5 stars (124)
£3.98
Dark Fire (Shardlake)
4% buy
Dark Fire (Shardlake) 4.6 out of 5 stars (81)
£3.99
Sovereign (Shardlake)
4% buy
Sovereign (Shardlake) 4.4 out of 5 stars (107)
£3.99
Revelation (Shardlake)
4% buy
Revelation (Shardlake) 4.5 out of 5 stars (103)
£3.99
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Customer Reviews

124 Reviews
5 star:
 (76)
4 star:
 (26)
3 star:
 (12)
2 star:
 (7)
1 star:
 (3)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (124 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
101 of 104 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Historically rooted, gripping story, a whodunnit with real verve, 12 April 2007
By Mark Meynell "quaesitor" (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)      
This review is from: Dissolution (Shardlake) (Paperback)
To begin with i thought this was just a pastiche of Eco's Name of the Rose: Monastery in winter, dodgy monks, murders and a beautiful young girl with an unusual detective plus honourable apprentice (even Aristotle's lost work On Comedy makes an appearance). But this is set a few centuries later and is firmly rooted in the Tudor terrors at the time of Dissolution of the Monasteries. National politics and the reformation are the sword of Damocles that hang over the monastery throughout. What is so exciting and satisfying is the way (rather like Eco did) that national politics and scandals are interwoven naturally into the goings on in this remote monastery on the South Coast. Henry VIII exists as an invisible presence throughout; the nearest we get to him is his ruthless and foul henchman, Thomas Cromwell. But his lethal authority and whims are stamped on every page.

The hero of the piece is Matthew Shardlake who finds himself having to do Cromwell's bidding. He is a believable character, idealistic but flawed, given to blindspots and jealousies - but he acknowledges all these, especially as he recognises that to have remained neutral could have helped find the culprits sooner and thus prevented more deaths.

This is a great read - and brings a dark chapter of England's history to life. There are no easy answers - and the rights and wrongs of the period are not so categorically stated that the reader is drawn inevitably to either 'papists' or 'reformers'. A tour de force.
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49 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Muder in the Monastary, 3 Mar 2005
By Mrs. D. J. Smith "eowyngreenleaf" (Luton, England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
This review is from: Dissolution (Shardlake) (Paperback)
I'd had this book for a while, it was one I'd picked up in a publishers clearance shop. I thought it looked as if it might be OK to amuse myself for a few hours at some point. Now I have finally got around to reading it, I'm sorry I didn't read it before! It's well written, feels historically authentic and there are excellent characters and a really gripping mystery to boot! It's interesting that the 'hero', Commissioner Matthew Shardlake, is a hunchback and is sent to investigate the brutal murder of an official in a monastery, around about the time Henry VIII and Cromwell are starting to dissolve the monasteries, with the lesser ones already having gone. At this period, any physical impairment was seen as a judgement from God on that individual, so our hero has prejudice to struggle against on top of everything else! A really good read it put me a little in mind of Sharon Penman's Justin de Quincy books - highly recommended! Probably not for the squeamish though - it's a bit graphic in places.
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Absorbing, exciting - a great book, 5 Oct 2004
By C. Winston (London) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Dissolution (Shardlake) (Paperback)
I also bought this book on a whim in an airport - and was delighted to find a new author I hope to read much more of. The book itself is a great murder mystery - plenty of twists, without losing its credibility, and simply a superb story.

On top of this though, it's a great picture of a time of enormous change in England - although I knew the basics of the dissolution of the monasteries, this really brings everything to life, and although there is plenty of detail for those who like their history, it never becomes dry or boring.

Quite simply, this is one of the most gripping and readable books I've picked up for quite a while, and I'll be recommending it far and wide.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars More, More, More
Someone please tell me that this charector has more in store for us all.

I cannot put the books down.
Published 18 days ago by John Jackson

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Read
I actually picked this book up as a sort of 'well it looks ok I might give it a go' type of novel. I love historical fiction and whodunnits so I thought this might be worth a... Read more
Published 25 days ago by Raegan E. Brady

4.0 out of 5 stars Fact and fiction cleverly intertwined
CJ Sansom has cleverly intertwined fact with fiction in this tudor period novel featuring commissioner Matthew Shardlake. Read more
Published 1 month ago by gjb

3.0 out of 5 stars Dissolution, C.J. Sansom - A decent read, and a promising start for a new series
Dissolution, the first of C.J. Sansom's Matthew Shardlake series, is a good read and well worth the effort. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Victor Tugelbend

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping, historically accurate, great from start to finish
It is the winter of 1537 and England is divided into those faithful to the Catholic Church and those loyal to the King and the newly established Church of England... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Catwoman

5.0 out of 5 stars Dissolution
Great Great Great what can I say , just the best book I have read in a very long time .
Published 2 months ago by Phyl

5.0 out of 5 stars FANTASTIC !!
I cannot say enough good things about the Shardlake collection by C J Sansom. Anyone with an interest in Tudor History & a passion for a real plot should read these books. Read more
Published 2 months ago by K. Alldis

4.0 out of 5 stars Easy read, clearly evoking the period
I enjoyed this book. It was easy to get into and the story carried me along with it. The historical period is recreated beautifully but without being overdone. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Steve P

3.0 out of 5 stars Good holiday read.
This is a good light hearted fiction read, which has a lot of basis on historical fact of the time - Henry VIII dissolution. Read more
Published 2 months ago by S. Glossop

1.0 out of 5 stars Missing Pages
There's a review on the US site that says the last chapter was missing from the reader's copy. In the case of my own copy, pages 133 - 180 have been replaced by a duplication of... Read more
Published 2 months ago by K. B. Parker

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