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Dissolution (Matthew Shardlake, #1)

C.J. Sansom

Start date: January 15, 2023

Finish date: February 7, 2023

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Why we're reading this: First book in this popular historical mystery series.
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Sep 18, 2018 Lady Clementina ffinch-ffarowmore rated it really liked it

Shelves: matthew-shardlake, series, british, mystery, historical-fiction, tudor, murder

This is the first book* in the excellent Matthew Shardlake series by Sansom, which I am reading slightly out of order, having started with book 2 (which I really enjoyed). In this, we are first introduced to Shardlake, a confidant of Cromwell, who is given a commission by the latter to investigate a murder committed at a monastery in Scarnsea. It is 1537, Henry VIII has declared himself head of the church of England and the process of dissolving all the monasteries in the country, now the larger This is the first book* in the excellent Matthew Shardlake series by Sansom, which I am reading slightly out of order, having started with book 2 (which I really enjoyed). In this, we are first introduced to Shardlake, a confidant of Cromwell, who is given a commission by the latter to investigate a murder committed at a monastery in Scarnsea. It is 1537, Henry VIII has declared himself head of the church of England and the process of dissolving all the monasteries in the country, now the larger and wealthier ones (after some smaller ones earlier on) is on, and Cromwell has appointed commissioners to see to it that this is accomplished. When Cromwell’s commissioner to Scarnsea Robert Singleton is brutally murdered, Shardlake charged with finding the murderer heads there with his assistant Mark Poer, only to find that things are very very murky in the monastery though on the surface, everything seems fine. The matter is further complicated when other deaths occur. Not only that, the people he encounters and the stories he hears begin to make him question all he that has believed so far.

Shardlake’s first outing was not perhaps as complicated in terms of the mystery threads in the story as the later ones, which is not to say by any means that it was an easy case—there were many threads to this as well, and the answers when they are revealed are not quite what one expected (incidentally, I did successfully guess one part of it, so the surprise element was definitely there). The atmosphere of the country at that point in time, the uncertainty, the turmoil, with the shape of religion changing alongside the changing scope of power, is something that the author I felt has captured really well, as he does the details of everyday life in Tudor England. Shardlake himself, I felt from the beginning came across as too idealistic and naïve compared to the later books, and while Mark Poer was an interesting enough character, “seeing” things much more clearly in some ways than Shardlake, having become used to Jack Barrack from the later titles, somehow, one doesn’t get the same kind of feeling about him. I enjoyed seeing how Shardlake meets Gut of Molton, though. This was a well written and very enjoyable entry in the series, though I probably think I would have enjoyed it far more had I read it before the later ones.

* The seventh book in the series will be out in about a month, and I am very much looking forward to reading that.
...more

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Jan 17, 2012 Susan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

First published in 2003, this is the first novel in the Matthew Shardlake series, and introduces us to our unlikely hero; lovelorn, hunchbacked, a reformist lawyer who begins the book as utterly loyal to Cromwell’s ideals and ends it plagued with doubts about his role and mission.

Shardlake is sent by Cromwell to the Monastery of St Donatus the Ascendant at Scarnsea, Sussex. It is 1537 and the dissolution of the monasteries is underway. Cromwell had sent Commissioner Robin Singleton there with l First published in 2003, this is the first novel in the Matthew Shardlake series, and introduces us to our unlikely hero; lovelorn, hunchbacked, a reformist lawyer who begins the book as utterly loyal to Cromwell’s ideals and ends it plagued with doubts about his role and mission.

Shardlake is sent by Cromwell to the Monastery of St Donatus the Ascendant at Scarnsea, Sussex. It is 1537 and the dissolution of the monasteries is underway. Cromwell had sent Commissioner Robin Singleton there with lawyer, Lawrence Goodhaps. Now Singleton has been found murdered and Shardlake is sent to investigate. He is accompanied by Mark Poer, a young man he had taken into his household as a family obligation. Mark has been in disgrace for his dalliance with a knight’s daughter and Shardlake hopes that success in their mission will plead Poer’s case for rehabilitation, while putting him in Cromwell’s favour. However, once they arrive they find Goodhaps terrified and the monks suspicious and concerned about their future. Snow begins to fall, making travel difficult, and the monastery is isolated, with dangerous marshland outside the gates and the possibility of smugglers. Before long, Shardlake is embroiled in an investigation of murder, which reaches back to the trial and beheading of Ann Boleyn – an event which Shardlake attended on Cromwell’s orders.

Although this is the first novel in the series, and there are bumps along the way, the character of Shardlake himself already seems like an old friend. The setting – the isolated monastery with a fixed group of suspects– works very well. Mark Poer is not the greatest foil to Shardlake, but the novel introduces other characters who appear in later books. Overall, even re-reading this, it is an assured and excellent debut to a series which has to be my favourite historical mystery series in print. The next books in the series are: Dark Fire, Sovereign, Revelation, Heartstone, with Lamentation due out in 2014. A new Shardlake is an event but, until then, it is wonderful to revisit these books and rediscover how great they are. ...more

22 likes · Like · see review

Jun 08, 2018 Susan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

First published in 2003, this is the first novel in the Matthew Shardlake series, and introduces us to our unlikely hero; lovelorn, hunchbacked, a reformist lawyer who begins the book as utterly loyal to Cromwell’s ideals and ends it plagued with doubts about his role and mission.

Shardlake is sent by Cromwell to the Monastery of St Donatus the Ascendant at Scarnsea, Sussex. It is 1537 and the dissolution of the monasteries is underway. Cromwell had sent Commissioner Robin Singleton there with l First published in 2003, this is the first novel in the Matthew Shardlake series, and introduces us to our unlikely hero; lovelorn, hunchbacked, a reformist lawyer who begins the book as utterly loyal to Cromwell’s ideals and ends it plagued with doubts about his role and mission.

Shardlake is sent by Cromwell to the Monastery of St Donatus the Ascendant at Scarnsea, Sussex. It is 1537 and the dissolution of the monasteries is underway. Cromwell had sent Commissioner Robin Singleton there with lawyer, Lawrence Goodhaps. Now Singleton has been found murdered and Shardlake is sent to investigate. He is accompanied by Mark Poer, a young man he had taken into his household as a family obligation. Mark has been in disgrace for his dalliance with a knight’s daughter and Shardlake hopes that success in their mission will plead Poer’s case for rehabilitation, while putting him in Cromwell’s favour. However, once they arrive they find Goodhaps terrified and the monks suspicious and concerned about their future. Snow begins to fall, making travel difficult, and the monastery is isolated, with dangerous marshland outside the gates and the possibility of smugglers. Before long, Shardlake is embroiled in an investigation of murder, which reaches back to the trial and beheading of Ann Boleyn – an event which Shardlake attended on Cromwell’s orders.

Although this is the first novel in the series, and there are bumps along the way, the character of Shardlake himself already seems like an old friend. The setting – the isolated monastery with a fixed group of suspects– works very well. Mark Poer is not the greatest foil to Shardlake, but the novel introduces other characters who appear in later books. Overall, even re-reading this, it is an assured and excellent debut to a series which has to be my favourite historical mystery series in print (even if Bernie Gunther is such a close second he is virtually joint first...). The next books in the series are: Dark Fire, Sovereign, Revelation, Heartstone, Lamentation, with Tombland due out later this year. A new Shardlake is an event but, until then, it is wonderful to revisit these books and rediscover how great they are. ...more

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Mar 27, 2012 Jill rated it really liked it

Shelves: c-j-sansom

Very good. Glad I went back and read this first book

2 likes · Like · see review

Jan 12, 2023 Roger Pettit rated it really liked it

I have read many novels that fail to live up to the praiseworthy comments and quotations with which their covers and inside front pages are festooned. Thankfully, ‘Dissolution’ is not one of them. In this instance, the many laudatory observations and remarks emblazoned on the paperback edition of this wonderful story - ‘Terrific’, ‘Remarkable’, ‘…..clever and enthralling…..’, and suchlike - are no exaggeration. C J Sansom’s Tudor England whodunnit is a wonderfully readable, gripping and entertai I have read many novels that fail to live up to the praiseworthy comments and quotations with which their covers and inside front pages are festooned. Thankfully, ‘Dissolution’ is not one of them. In this instance, the many laudatory observations and remarks emblazoned on the paperback edition of this wonderful story - ‘Terrific’, ‘Remarkable’, ‘…..clever and enthralling…..’, and suchlike - are no exaggeration. C J Sansom’s Tudor England whodunnit is a wonderfully readable, gripping and entertaining novel.

It is 1537. Henry VIII has declared himself Supreme Head of the Church. Thomas Cromwell, his chief minister, has plans to bring down the pre-Reformation monasteries. He sends his trusted lawyer-detective Matthew Shardlake to investigate the gruesome killing (by decapitation) of Robin Singleton, a King’s Commissioner, at a monastery in Scarnsea, on the south coast of Kent. Was his murder committed by one of the monks opposed to the new religious order or by an intruder from the nearby town? That is the conundrum facing Shardlake and his young assistant, Mark Poer. Shardlake is under pressure from Cromwell to resolve the matter quickly but further suspicious goings-on make his task more onerous.

What I particularly like about this novel is that while it’s a very readable murder mystery with an absorbing and plausible plot it’s also very much more than that. Sansom’s prose brings vividly to life the sounds, the smells, the politics and the Machiavellian plotting and manoeuvring that were evidently features of life in the Tudor court and the brutality of the day-to-day existence for people more generally in that era. Shardlake is a very engaging character. He has his faults but he has a good heart and everything he does is well-intentioned. Towards the end of the story you are likely to find yourself rooting for him, desperately hoping that he will solve the murder and that the gap in his romantic life, which is an integral part of the story, is satisfactorily plugged.

Sansom writes in a page-turning style. His characterisation is excellent. This very accomplished novel is, in terms of readability, vastly superior to anything written by the overrated Hilary Mantel, whose Wolf Hall books I find ponderous and impenetrable. It is the first in a series. There are five or six others, I believe. I am eagerly looking forward to spending more time with the wonderful Matthew Shardlake. ...more

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May 28, 2012 Ellie M rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2012

Really wanting to Hilary Mantel's lastest instalment of the Thomas Cromwell story - Bring Up the Bodies - but haven't got round to buying it yet. But with that in mind I got drawn to the Shardlake Tudor crime / mystery novels by CJ Samson.

Dissolution is the first novel (of 5 so far) and was set in the time of the dissolution of the Tudor monasteries. Shardlake, the main character, is sent to investigate the murder of one of Thomas Cromwell's men sent to dissolve the monasteries. The story is ful ...more

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Apr 19, 2016 Kat rated it really liked it

Lots of great historical facts with the suspense!

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Nov 19, 2017 Melanie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction

Loved this book! It was great to "meet" Matthew Shardlake and travel on the journey with him. I love the fact that they created him to be different. ...more

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Oct 10, 2011 Zsa Zsa marked it as to-read

Nov 07, 2011 Jane marked it as to-read

Dec 23, 2011 Diane rated it it was amazing

Feb 26, 2012 Karen rated it liked it

Jul 12, 2012 Francesca rated it it was amazing

1 like · Like

Dec 25, 2012 Carolien marked it as to-read

Aug 31, 2013 Lesley rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-mystery

1 like · Like

Oct 05, 2013 Miss M rated it really liked it

Shelves: freebies, books-i-own, x, first-in-series, crime_histmyst, some-highlights-along-the-way, possible-kindle-re-read, epub, whole-series, priorities

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