Audiobook
$0.00
with membership trial

Hardcover
$706.88

Paperback
from $29.99

Select delivery location

See All Buying Options

Follow the author

C. J. Sansom

+ Follow

More books from this author

Dissolution: A Matthew Shardlake Tudor Mystery Paperback – April 27, 2004

by C. J. Sansom (Author)

4.3 14,980 ratings

Book 1 of 7: Matthew Shardlake Mysteries

See all formats and editions

The first novel in the Matthew Shardlake Tudor Mystery series—the inspiration for the Hulu original series Shardlake!

Dissolution is an utterly riveting portrayal of Tudor England. The year is 1537, and the country is divided between those faithful to the Catholic Church and those loyal to the king and the newly established Church of England. When a royal commissioner is brutally murdered in a monastery on the south coast of England, Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s feared vicar general, summons fellow reformer Matthew Shardlake to lead the inquiry. Shardlake and his young protégé uncover evidence of sexual misconduct, embezzlement, and treason, and when two other murders are revealed, they must move quickly to prevent the killer from striking again.

A “remarkable debut” (P. D. James), Dissolution introduces a thrilling historical series that is not to be missed by fans of Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies.

Awarded the CWA Diamond Dagger – the highest honor in British crime writing

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Dissolution

“The sights, the voices, the very smell of this turbulent age seem to rise from the page. With his remarkable debut, C. J. Sansom can lay claim to a place among the most distinguished of modern historical novelists.”—P. D. James

“Sansom seems to have been born with, or instinctively acquired, that precious balance of creativity and research that lets a mystery set in another time walk a delicate line between history and humanity.”—Chicago Tribune

“With this cunningly plotted and darkly atmospheric effort, Sansom proves himself to be a promising newcomer.”—Publishers Weekly

“This is a humdinger of a whodunnit. Read it!”—Colin Dexter

About the Author

C. J. Sansom, the internationally bestselling author of the novels Winter in Madrid and Dominion and the Matthew Shardlake Tudor Mystery series, earned a Ph.D. in history and was a lawyer before becoming a full-time writer.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books; Reprint edition (April 27, 2004)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 416 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0142004308
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0142004302
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 0.7 x 5.09 x 7.71 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #6,641 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #56 in Historical British & Irish Literature
- #78 in Historical Mystery
- #86 in Historical Thrillers (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.3 14,980 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

C. J. Sansom

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

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 critically acclaimed Shardlake series, as well as Winter in Madrid and Dominion. He lives in Sussex.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

14,980 global ratings

How customer reviews and ratings work

Reviews with images

See all photos

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Jane Wiseman

really fascinating

Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2024

Verified Purchase

I’m not normally a mystery reader, but I love historical fiction. The characters in this novel are very compelling and complex, not cookie-cutter embodiments of mystery tropes, and the writing is very good. One big hurdle I had to get over early: the connection with Thomas Cromwell made me constantly aware that this book is not Hilary Mantel, not by a long sight. What can ever compete with that? But it’s not this author’s fault he covers some of the same ground. Eventually I relaxed and was able to enjoy this book, realizing how unfair a comparison with Mantel must be. In spite of being set in the same times with some of the same characters, Sansom’s is a very different type of book than Mantel’s great trilogy. In its own completely different way, Sansom’s novel is very interesting, a fascinating read. It seems carefully researched, too.

Helpful

Timy

It's gripping, makes you sit on the edge of your seat

Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2018

Verified Purchase

The story sets off right after Anne Boleyn is executed. Reformists are going strong, and the Catholic Church lost its power, monasteries are forced to accept the King's supremacy, that they have to keep masses in english and generally bow down to reforms. Those who refuse are executed, their lands and wealth are taken, their buildings are brought down. But it's not enough. Lord Cromwell wants to see all the monasteries gone and nothing can keep him from reaching that goal. He is cunning, ruthless, and uses the reforms to gain his own personal interests - namely to stay in the good will of King Henry VIII. When he realises force won't work anymore to close down the monasteries, he sends his agents to inspect every little detail of the monks' life, their finances, and if they follow the laws. Their goal is to find anything incriminating which would make the abbots sign their doom so those loyal to the King could get even more rich.

Things are going well, until, that is, one of the agents, Singleton is murdered in Scarnsea. Cromwell needs someone who can solve the mystery fast and quietly, so he sends one of his loyal friends and follower, the lawyer Matthew Shardlake. He is a clever, quick thinking man, who sincerely believes in the reforms and the men holding power over the government. He is also an unconventional protagonist - he is a hunchback. Feared, looked down and mocked in his whole life, although that doesn't stop him to be a respectable, humble man who is good in his chosen profession. He and his protégé has to solve the mystery shrouding Scarnsea, but the monks and the killer doesn't make it easy for them. Which starts as a single murder case, turns into several murder cases while they have to deal with the monks petty fights, their own survival and their clash of views.

The story takes place mostly in the monastery, a closed, full-of-secrets world, where almost everyone has a reason to commit such crimes in hope they could keep up their secluded, luxury lives the monastery provides them with. Shardlake has to figure out which leads are right and which take him to the wrong path. He also learns some uncomfortable truths about people he believed in blindly, which shakes his world. Does Cromwell truly believe in the reforms or they just want to please his king? Can he keep a straight head when his emotions are conflicted? Will his judgement be clouded by friendship or prejudice?

Dissolution is a masterfully woven mystery, which keeps you guessing until the end. The characters are alive and very real, you almost feel like they would walk off the pages anytime. They are not perfect. They have flaws, they make mistakes, they fight, they love. And underneath it all there is an insane amount of research to make not only the characters, but the whole era seem so real. You can smell the filth of London, feel the touch of the cold pew of the church underneath you, taste the cold november air. C. J. Sansom knows how to sneak in bits of information about the political state of England, how the gears work in the background even though it doesn't play such an important part in the story itself. But it all adds to it, it helps to understand better why it is so important for the monasteries to go, it gives a legitimate historical background to the story to make it feel more real. And this all is being covered by a blanket called religion. This book (and the whole series) shows why religion is so important when it comes to history. How it can influence not only the life of common people, but the fate of a whole country, depending on who is in power and what his beliefs are. It shows what powerful men can do in the name of religion, of belief, of God. It can make a hypocrite out of anyone.

If you enjoy mystery, with a historical background, especially the Tudor era of England, then I strongly recommend giving a shot at Dissolution. It's gripping, makes you sit on the edge of your seat, even though it's not exactly fast paced. It will held your interest until the end, and you'll find yourself totally engrossed and waiting when you can continue reading on. Oh, and did I say it also adds a tiny twist to Anne Boleyn's story? Yeah, it has many, many layers you'll enjoy discovering. I also recommend listening to the audiobook, Steven Crossley did a really good job narrating it!

15 people found this helpful

Helpful

M. Villanueva

Opiate for the Masses

Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2010

Verified Purchase

Set amidst the English Reformation era of the 16th Century, C. Sansom crafts a tale of mystery and murder in a monastery in the port town of Scarnsea. Matthew Shardlake, the hunchbacked lawyer and emissary of Lord Cromwell, investigates the murder of the Cromwell's previous emissary, sent to the Benedictine monastery to negotiate the "voluntary" dissolution of the monastery. Accompanied by his young charge, a recently disgraced but extremely handsome young clerk named Mark Poer, the lawyer-turned-detective and his assistant/protector travel to Scarnsea only to find more murder and mayhem in the wake of their investigation.

Expertly researched and brilliantly crafted, Sansom transports readers with his vivid rendering of monastic life in the 16th century. Told from the slightly skewed perspective of Master Shardlake, every nuance of the era is captured and preserved in his melodic, if not slightly stilted, language. There is a Dickensian rhythm and feel to Sansom's prose. He easily evokes the filth and poverty of 16th century London in his colorful descriptions of its sights and smells. More fascinating than the setting however, is his discourse on Reformation politics. Knowing very little about the history of England, I was still intrigued, and I think educated, by Sansom's account of the forced dissolution of monasteries. That I have never heard of it in any of my history courses seems amazing. Lands seized and given to nobility and favored subjects, churches destroyed to pen sheeps, monks executed and tortured for refusing to denounce the Pope - it seems too incredible that no one had yet to make a movie out of it, let alone include it in the annals of history books to liven up the reading. And yes, I did a quick internet check to see if these actual things happened (since Scarnsea seems to be a fictional town and the monastery mentioned, a fictional monastery). Those interested can check out [...] to see a list of surviving monasteries. Lists of dissolved monasteries can be found at [...] Battle Abbey in East Sussex bears a disconcerting resemblance to the Scarnsea monastery and with our author being from Sussex, may be a close enough model for the Scarnsea monastery.

As educational and instructional as Samson's first novel is, however, those averse to historical fiction will do well to know that in spite of all the history lessons, the story itself is entertaining and masterfully delivered. It is first and foremost, a detective mystery novel in the tradition of Sherlock Holmes meets The Name of the Rose (Umberto Eco), but more digestable. Though one can sometimes become annoyed by Shardlake's singular and unwavering Reformist point of view and his naive devotion to Lord Cromwell (hey, Hitler had his fans, too!), it becomes useful to the author in slowly teasing out the plot. We are kept in suspense because we can only see the world from Shardlake's perspective. We come to accept his voice as our guide to 16th century England, and slowly we receive news from other characters that the world we see is simply a fraction of the world that is out there. As Shardlake's conviction is challenged, so is ours - and who we champion as heroes (or heroines), can change when we begin to receive all the facts.

16 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English

M. E. Fish

Very good read

Reviewed in Canada on March 2, 2024

Verified Purchase

Intriging. Historically sound

Asilabeth

Wonderful book!

Reviewed in Germany on November 16, 2023

Verified Purchase

Interested in English history and lover of mystery novels I bought this book and I was not disappointed. It is excellently written by someone who knows history and has the gift of creating suspense. I could hardly but it down.

Farhad Shawkat

Murder in a Monastery - Faster, easier read than Name of the Rose

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 2, 2023

Verified Purchase

If you’re a fan of medieval monastery murder mysteries, and either loved The Name of the Rose, or just couldn’t plough through it, this is the book for you. The Name of the Rose, I am embarrassed to say, was a DNF for me (the only book I started but didn’t finish in the last five years or so). I would love to go back to it someday, as the setting in particular fascinated me, but I couldn’t connect with the writing style. Dissolution, the first book in the Matthew Shardlake series, was a fast and cosy whodunit which helped to scratch that itch in the meantime.

I say cosy, though at times it was anything but. It is set in the time of Henry VIII, after the execution of his first wife, and Thomas Cromwell’s assault on the Catholic Church. One of his agents has been murdered at a monastery. Enter Matthew Shardlake, lawyer / investigator with a hunch. On his back.
There’s mention of dungeons and racks and torture, but nothing too graphic. Religious discussions that never got overwhelming. Overall, an engaging plot, interestingly written characters, and as I mentioned, an intriguing setting.

If you loved The Name of the Rose, give this a try. If you hated it, give this a try. I know I’m looking forward to continuing with the series. Apparently there’s a TV series coming up soon.

8 people found this helpful

Lynne M. Vicinanza

Leggete i primi sei libri prima

Reviewed in Italy on September 15, 2021

Verified Purchase

Tutto mi è piaciuto. Ho letto tutti e 7 questa serie di libri - ti riportano nei regni di Enrico VIII e poi suo figlio Eduardo VI con la crudeltà, squallore e fatti storici di quel periodo. L'avvocato Matthew Shardlake diventerà un amico, lo conosci, soffri con lui, senti le sue paure in un periodo storico dove la giustizia non regna supremo, la medicina come la conosciamo noi non esiste … consiglio la lettura partendo dal primo libro - L'Enigma del Gallo Nero poi La scomparsa del Fuoco Greco e poi gli altri 5. Provare per credere ma preparati a sentire la mancanza di Matthew Shardlake quando arrivi alla fine della serie. Speriamo che C J Sanson scriva ancora qualche libro seguendo il suo eroe nel regno di Elizabetta I.

Translate review to English

WesFig

Excelente

Reviewed in Brazil on September 2, 2019

Verified Purchase

Very good by any measure. I really look forward to the next ones... a lot if fun in a fast paced reading

See more reviews