You end up learning quite a lot but it never turns into a long boring history lesson. It’s clear a humongous amount of research goes into these books. I love crime fiction and I love historical fiction, especially set in Tudor times, and in this case I get both. To me, the Shardlake series offers the best of both worlds. Matthew may not be at court, but he’s close enough and with unpredictable people around him at all times, you just never know where the danger will be coming from.
But the Tudor times were turbulent, in case you didn’t know and although Matthew is richer and more privileged than most people, he is still powerless in the midst of the political schemers like Thomas Cromwell and Richie Rich. His disability will not stop him from getting to the truth, no matter who tries to block his way. He struggles with his beliefs, he is often in pain and vulnerable, but he’s also incredibly intelligent and astute. As a hunchback, Matthew is often not taken seriously, somewhat underestimated.
Sansom has created a wonderful protagonist. Matthew and his assistant are sent to Scarnsea to investigate. At one of the monasteries, all hell breaks loose and a commissioner is found murdered. King Henry VIII has ordered the dissolution of the monasteries. Matthew is a lawyer, working out of Lincoln’s Inn in London in Tudor times, in the service of Thomas Cromwell.
We first meet Matthew Shardlake in Dissolution.
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