C. J. Sansom (1952–2024)

Okay, I'm hooked. I started reading this book on Thursday and finished it on Sunday night Every minute I wasn't doing something else (and some of them when I was like when I was making strawberry jam) I was reading this book.

I've always been fascinated by the Tudor period in English history but most of what I have read has been centred on the royal family. This book showed the underpinnings of the Reformation that made sure the royal edicts were carried out. The nitty gritty of everyday show more life is shown from the clothing to the weather to sexual habits and even to the bathroom accomodations (something I've always wondered about).

I didn't always like Shardlake or even admire him but partly that's because Sansom made him realistic with failing and foibles that all of us have. I suspect that I will like Shardlake more now that he has started to question Cromwell and the reformist movement. I'm sorry that some of the characters from the monastery won't be in future books as I thought they were most interesting (or maybe they will pop up in the future?)

I had an inkling about the ending but that just made me want to read faster.

I'm looking forward to the other two books I have on Mt. TBR. There no greater satisfaction than finishing a good book and realizing there are more to come. show less

Dark Fire is C. J. Sansom's second novel after Dissolution and begins three years later. In this novel we find the hunchbacked lawyer Matthew Shardlake getting involved in a criminal case where Elizabeth Wentworth is accused of the murder of her cousin. The facts are vague but Matthew is convinced of her innocence. The only problem is Elizabeth refuses to speak. Unless she enters a plea, she will be pressed (cruelly crushed to death under a load of stone that is added to daily until she show more finally dies).

Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII's vicar general, has offered a stay of execution if Shardlake will promise to investigate the existence of "Dark Fire", a mythical weapon from ancient Greek history that would make the British navy unbeatable. Cromwell's political future is on the line as he has promised this weapon to his Henry. Cromwell's hold on power grows shakier as the novel progresses, as powerful traditionalists with Catholic views plot against him. If Cromwell cannot find a sample of dark fire to placate the king, he will likely lose his head.

With the help of one of Cromwell's trusted servants, Jack Barak, Shardlake finds himself traveling all over London tracking down clues and interviewing alchemists, aristocrats and lawyers. He also finds himself trying to avoid the assassins who seem intent on killing everyone who's ever heard of the elusive dark fire.

The interaction between the characters is very compelling. Matthew Shardlake believes in an established class system necessary in the order of society which clashes with his reformist views. Barak, his assistant, is very mistrustful of the class system but loyal to Cromwell. Guy Malton, the former monk turned apothecary, shows us the bigotry of 16th century England.

I love Sansom's mixture of culture, history, and mystery. Dark Fire, is set in the stagnant heat of a squalid and malodorous London summer. Sansom captures 16th century London in all its wretchedness. He also reveals the inequities of the classes. Petty thieves are hung for stealing anything worth more than a shilling. Women blackened their teeth on purpose to show that they mainly lived on fine sugar, which is a sign of high class and wealth.

With historical accuracy and flair for both action and details, Sansom takes the time to develop his characters with sharp distinction. His blend of historical events and the characters playing them out, both real and fictional, is well crafted and exciting. I look forward to the next volume featuring this fascinating character and his cohorts. show less

Matthew Shardlake has been asked to join the king's Progress to the North in his professional capacity as a lawyer, but feels obliged to do Archbishop Cranmer a favour: to ensure an important prisoner and conspirator reaches London in a fit state to be tortured for information. Whilst in York, he hears the last words of a glazier who has fallen off his ladder (or has he?) and stumbles head first into a conspiracy involving a jewelbox containing secret papers with the aim to discredit Henry show more VIII's claim to the throne of England.

The Shardlake series appears to be getting better and better, I absolutely loved this and could barely put it down, racing through the 650+ pages in a matter of days. The novel is mainly set in York, preparing for the arrival of the King's Progress, and conjures up quite a different atmosphere again compared to the two earlier novels (Dissolution, Dark Fire). It's the beginning of autumn and the weather is turning gloomy and cold, Shardlake and his assistant Jack Barak as southrons are facing hostility from the Yorkers, and all around preparations are in full swing to have everything ready for the king. Again Sansom manages to convey a whole world to the reader, creating a marvellous sense of place and atmosphere including various unpleasant smells; I could feel the excitement, the hustle and bustle prior to the progress entering the city, the anxiety of the officials, but also the barely concealed hostility of the Yorkers towards this great venture and their king. When Henry finally arrives it is rather an anticlimax, especially for Shardlake, who has to suffer a very public humiliation. There are several threads woven into the narrative, all coming to a satisfactory conclusion, with Shardlake having to endure a short, but nevertheless painful stay at the Tower of London. The descriptions of the Tower dungeons and the torture chamber are claustrophobic and terrifying, with a real sense of despair pervading everything. We also discover more facets to Shardlake's character, with Sansom taking the brave step to not always make him likeable, and yet we're with him every step of the way when he is publicly humiliated and faces torture, and so we forgive him that because of a recent family bereavement he may be unwilling or unable to admit to himself the true identity of the traitor until he's found concrete proof. I've already got the next volume lined up (Revelation), and with no advance first chapter at the end of the book it'll be a real surprise as to what comes next. I can't wait. show less

Although I devoured all the previous books in this series, the length of this one made me postpone reading it for a couple of years. So often of late it seems that successful authors become self-indulgent, extending and expanding their stories in ways that really don't make them any better, just longer. Perhaps their editors are cowed by the authors' previous successes and disinclined to suggest that shorter can be better?

Would that be the case with Tombland? Any series reader should go show more into this volume with a baseline anticipation of the rich details of religion, life and politics in the 16th century that underlie all the Shardlake books. But although each previous book was longer than the one before, none came close to 880 pages!

As it happens, in this book Sansom's goal is not only to write an intriguing mystery in a distinctive setting, but to share with readers his interpretation of the Robert Kett Rebellion of 1549. Not as well known as Wat Tyler's rebellion of 1381, in recent decades the events and causes of this uprising have been explored in new detail, much of which Sansom works into his story. In his typical fashion (fans of the series might be put in mind of the royal progress to York in [b:Sovereign|138684|Sovereign (Matthew Shardlake, #3)|C.J. Sansom|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1440215651l/138684._SY75_.jpg|1698960]) he imagines what daily life in the camp of thousands of impoverished and indignant rebels outside of Norwich might have been like. All this is rooted in meticulous research, which he recounts for us in an extended essay that follows the end of the book.

I'm happy to report that although I continuously assessed, as I read, whether the book could have been as good had this-or-that section been deleted, the answer was always "no". The interplay of characters and events was so complete that eliminating any would have diminished the texture or the plot - or both. Sansom also does a masterful job of integrating characters who remained in London with the events in Norwich; little detail, but occasional communications that, whether or not they were successful, kept the connections intact. Most importantly, the story continually moved forward, paralleling the real life events of that summer.

The story also resonated with me as a comparison with the contemporary American culture and economy. There are still so many reasons for those at the bottom of the ladder to cry foul. True, the parallels aren't exact. The yeoman class, situated between the landless laborers and the gentry, was actually growing during Tudor times, where our middle class is now stagnant. But the most affluent among us increase in wealth, often with the government's assistance, and the numbers of the poor have become even greater during the pandemic.

Oh, by the way, despite the fact that the murder mystery takes a back seat to the rebellion in [b:Tombland|40095725|Tombland (Matthew Shardlake, #7)|C.J. Sansom|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1526558444l/40095725._SY75_.jpg|62146274], it's still a worthy tale, replete with suspects and motivations. As always, Steven Crossley provides excellent narration. show less