Dissolution
A Darkly Atmospheric Murder Mystery from the Bestselling Historical Series
Published on 4. September 2008
480 pages
978-0-330-50366-2 (ISBN)
Description
Now a major Disney+ original series, Shardlake - also airing on ITV.
'A fiendish puzzle and a slice of gritty historical fiction, with a brilliantly unconventional detective at its heart' - Richard Osman, bestselling author of We Solve Murders
Dissolution is the first novel in C. J. Sansom's phenomenally bestselling Shardlake series. After one of Cromwell's commissioners is brutally murdered, Matthew Shardlake is drawn into an investigation that becomes darker than he could have ever imagined . . .
England, 1537. It is a time of revolution that sees the greatest changes in England since 1066. Henry VIII has proclaimed himself Supreme Head of the Church. The country is waking up to savage new laws, rigged trials and the greatest network of informers it has ever seen. And under the orders of Thomas Cromwell, a team of commissioners is sent throughout the country to investigate the monasteries. There can only be one outcome: dissolution.
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 accompanied by equally sinister acts of sacrilege.
Matthew Shardlake, lawyer and long-time supporter of Reform, has been sent by Cromwell to uncover the truth behind the dark happenings at Scarnsea. But Shardlake's investigation soon forces him to question everything that he hears, and everything that he intrinsically believes . . .
Follow Shardlake into the dark heart of Tudor England with the next book in the series, Dark Fire.
Praise for the series:
'A remarkable, imaginative feat' - Mail on Sunday
'His narrative's tingling intrigues will have you hooked from first page to last' - Sunday Times
'The perfect mixture of novelistic passion and historical detail' - Antonia Fraser, Sunday Telegraph
'Extraordinarily impressive' - Colin Dexter, author of the Inspector Morse series
'An utterly convincing world' - Philippa Gregory, author of The Other Boleyn Girl
'Utterly gripping' - Marian Keyes, author of Rachel's Holiday
'A fiendish puzzle and a slice of gritty historical fiction, with a brilliantly unconventional detective at its heart' - Richard Osman, bestselling author of We Solve Murders
Dissolution is the first novel in C. J. Sansom's phenomenally bestselling Shardlake series. After one of Cromwell's commissioners is brutally murdered, Matthew Shardlake is drawn into an investigation that becomes darker than he could have ever imagined . . .
England, 1537. It is a time of revolution that sees the greatest changes in England since 1066. Henry VIII has proclaimed himself Supreme Head of the Church. The country is waking up to savage new laws, rigged trials and the greatest network of informers it has ever seen. And under the orders of Thomas Cromwell, a team of commissioners is sent throughout the country to investigate the monasteries. There can only be one outcome: dissolution.
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 accompanied by equally sinister acts of sacrilege.
Matthew Shardlake, lawyer and long-time supporter of Reform, has been sent by Cromwell to uncover the truth behind the dark happenings at Scarnsea. But Shardlake's investigation soon forces him to question everything that he hears, and everything that he intrinsically believes . . .
Follow Shardlake into the dark heart of Tudor England with the next book in the series, Dark Fire.
Praise for the series:
'A remarkable, imaginative feat' - Mail on Sunday
'His narrative's tingling intrigues will have you hooked from first page to last' - Sunday Times
'The perfect mixture of novelistic passion and historical detail' - Antonia Fraser, Sunday Telegraph
'Extraordinarily impressive' - Colin Dexter, author of the Inspector Morse series
'An utterly convincing world' - Philippa Gregory, author of The Other Boleyn Girl
'Utterly gripping' - Marian Keyes, author of Rachel's Holiday
Reviews / Votes
Dissolution by the late, great C. J. Sansom is our introduction to Matthew Shardlake: a disabled barrister with a keen legal mind, whose criminal investigations during the reign of Henry VIII bring Tudor England to vivid life . . . The turmoil of the time - religious and social - adds a layer of peril to this twisty murder mystery . . . Dissolution is at once a fiendish puzzle and a slice of gritty historical fiction, with a brilliantly unconventional detective at its heart -- Richard Osman, bestselling author of <i>We Solve Murders</i> * WSJ * Remarkable . . . The sights, the voices, the very smell of this turbulent age seem to rise from the page -- P. D. James, author of the Inspector Adam Dalgliesh series Extraordinarily impressive. The best crime novel I have read this year -- Colin Dexter, author of the Inspector Morse series Terrific. Historical fiction at its finest -- Peter Robinson, author of the Inspector Alan Banks series Terrific . . . a remarkable, imaginative feat. It is a first-rate murder mystery and one of the most atmospheric historical novels I've read in years * Mail on Sunday * Dissolution is not just a fascinating detective story, but a convincing portrait of a turbulent period * Sunday Telegraph * Matthew Shardlake combines engrossing historical detail with a first-rate murder mystery. A really satisfying page-turner * Independent * Sansom has a greater talent for animating period details than most of his contemporaries; his rendering of the Tudor winter in the first of the Shardlake series makes you reach for thick fleece blankets * The Guardian * I don't read historical novels any more - it's a busman's holiday - but I make an exception for C. J. Sansom's Shardlake books, which are set amid the uncertainties of the sixteenth-century Henrician Reformation -- Bernard Cornwell, <i>The Times</i>, 'The 25 books you must read' CJ Sansom's books are arguably the best Tudor novels going * Sunday Times *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Pan Macmillan
Target group
Interest Age: From 18 years
File size
3,05 MB
ISBN-13
978-0-330-50366-2 (9780330503662)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
05/2024
Pan Books
€14.00
Available immediately
Person
C. J. Sansom was educated at Birmingham University, where he took a BA and 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. Sansom is the bestselling author of the acclaimed Shardlake series, the Spanish Civil War thriller Winter in Madrid and the number one bestseller Dominion. In 2023, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Edinburgh. He lived in Sussex until his death in 2024.
