Sovereign (The Shardlake series, 3)

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Shardlake badly misjudges the motives and characters of Jennet Marlin and Giles Wrenne for much of the novel. What in his personal life made him so vulnerable to their deceits? This tale is set in the year AD 1541, and King Henry VIII heading for the North on his Progress accompanied by his new wife, Catherine Howard. Ramachandran, Naman (31 March 2023). "Disney+ Sets Series Adaptation of C.J. Sansom's 'Shardlake' Murder Mystery Novels". Variety . Retrieved 24 May 2023.

Even if heart-pounding suspense and stomach-tightening tension were all Sansom's writing brought to the table, few would feel short-changed. Added to these gifts is a superb approximation of the crucible of fear, treachery and mistrust that was Tudor England, and a memorably blood-swollen portrait of the ogreish Henry's inhumane kingship. A parchment-turner, and a regal one at that. * Sunday Times * A. The Tudor conflict is largely forgotten. It was largely a conflict between Christian factions; thankfully, most play relatively little role today in England. But the north of England has been far less prosperous than the south since Thatcher’s deindustrialization in the 1980s, and the relative prosperity of the south is resented. Shardlake, still haunted by events aboard the warship Mary Rose the year before, is working on the Cotterstoke Will case, a savage dispute between rival siblings. Then, unexpectedly, he is summoned to Whitehall Palace and asked for help by his old patron, the now beleaguered and desperate Queen. Set in the autumn of 1541, the novel describes fictional events surrounding Henry VIII's 'Progress' to the North (a state visit accompanied by the royal court and its attendants, the purpose of which was to accept the formal surrender from those who had rebelled during the Pilgrimage of Grace). Most of the novel is set in York though events in London and on the return journey via Hull are also depicted.

On top of being a fine mystery, this book also gives a very realistic representation of the Progress and all the work involved in preparing cities and towns for a Royal visit. I find I also have to forgive some glaring anachronisms in dialogue. I don’t know how I get past them, but I do, and I remain just as immersed in the story as before the jolt of a modern phrase (e.g. “the penny has dropped” – from the 1930s). The rest rings so true that it compensates for any lapses. It does mean I rounded down to 4 stars instead of up to 5, though. The Sovereign (a.k.a. Sovereign Apartments), residential skyscraper on the Upper East Side in Manhattan, New York City, USA. As with the other books there is a mix of fact and fiction with a significant amount of grey in between. The author has clearly researched well and has chosen to believe some historical accounts over others which is perfectly acceptable in historical fiction. Of course, when reading the story the reader can't help but think about what actually happened, what could have happened and what is completely impossible. SOVEREIGN was published in 2006 and was clearly influenced by the media attention and political conversation devoted to torture and its efficacy that was ubiquitous at the time. It fits in the context of the novel, but just occasionally a very modern sounding comment would be made that was jarring and yanked me from the world of 1541 England.

Q. Ford Madox Ford’s underappreciated trilogy, The Fifth Queen, focuses on roughly the same period in English history as you do in Sovereign. Have you read the trilogy and, if so, did it provide you with any help in fictionalizing the period? Catherine Howard, though not a major figure in your novel, is certainly not the tragic and moving queen of Ford’s trilogy. Does history reveal her to be a young and careless woman overwhelmed by the circumstances of her position or is she something greater than that? Thus, I can’t quite give it 5 stars. However, that is really a fairly minor quibble and some may even appreciate the stretching out of the narrative. Regardless, this is a superior series and the writing and plotting are top drawer and will make you see 16th century England when you close your eyes. Finally, Matthew Shardlake is an amazing character and acts as the perfect guide through these stories. Honorable, brilliant, determined, practical and very efficient. A GOOD MAN!! As the title alludes to, this book is about the King, Henry VIII. The thing that has hovered over the monarchy for years is still an issue. It was something that Shardlake was familiar with since his time with Thomas Cromwell. “Queen Catherine was in her forties, past child-bearing, and she had not given the King a male heir. Unless he could marry a younger woman who might provide an heir, the Tudor dynasty would die with him…And there were many of us who thought the only way to preserve true religion in England was for Queen Catherine to do what the Pope himself had suggested to her: go into a nunnery, allow the King to marry again…Foolish, obstinate woman. By insisting God intended her to be married to the King until death, she brought about the very revolution to religion she hated and feared.” Since this is a mystery series, you get what you paid the admission price for. Murder..or is it accidental death? I shall not tell. Aggravating antagonists. Miserable creatures. Miserable dungeons. And mystery abounding. Matthew Shardlake series is my favourite among the historical mystery genre. The author masterfully combines well researched historical facts with interesting characters, an intriguing mystery and good writing. The downside is that all those elements combined result in a voluminous book that became a bit boring at times. Still, it deserves 4*.

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La reforma religiosa, los escándalos maritales (el rey se acaba de casar con la 5ª, Catalina Howard), la escasa legitimidad de la dinastía, apuntalada en escasos y dudosos vínculos con las casas de York y de Lancaster, la crueldad del rey que reprime con gran dureza a los que se oponen a él tanto en política como en religión, han llevado al límite la estabilidad del trono. Para apuntalarla el rey decide hacer un viaje al norte el año de 1541 (una Jornada), para reprimir traiciones, recabar adhesiones, recibir pleitesías y derrochar su munificencia. When an old friend is horrifically murdered Shardlake promises his widow, for whom he has long had complicated feelings, to bring the killer to justice. His search leads him to both Cranmer and Catherine Parr –and with the dark prophecies of the Book of Revelation. SOVEREIGN, the third book (out of seven) in the Matthew Shardlake Tudor mystery series, is a good read, but the mystery the text centers on is not as strong as the first two in the series. As with its predecessors, author C.J. Sansom take a historical event and weaves a fictional plotline/mystery into events that feels like a plausible explanation for things that really happened. In this text the historical event the mystery is integrated into is Henry VIII’s Great Progress to York in 1541 and the subsequent downfall of Queen Catherine Howard. Q. A number of reviewers have compared your Shardlake novels with the work of Umberto Eco, especially The Name of the Rose. How do you feel about such comparisons? Is Eco an influence on your fiction?

Q. During the gruesome Tower episode, Shardlake screams out that “torture is illegal in England.” I think many readers will find this statement surprising in that it occurs in a novel set in a time of widespread religious persecution. What is the legal provision, if any, behind his statement? There is an amazing, vivid description of the arrival of the Progress in York - heralds, horses, courtiers, officials, all richly dressed, and conducting themselves in a courtly manner as respect for the all-powerful monarch and his queen, Catherine Howard (number 5). On the approach to York town, Henry VIII encounters Shardlake and insults him in public for his deformity. Not long after that, Shardlake narrowly escapes being killed by a metal spike deliberately launched at him by an unknown person. A. Sadly I think all religions go through periods of expansionist, fundamentalist brutality and this age is one when currents of dangerous fundamentalism seem to be expanding in all religions—Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, and not least Christianity. In Tudor times the conflict was between religious factions. Today it is between those who believe in an absolutist interpretation of the scriptures of the various religions and those who do not. My, how things have changed (not, sadly). Henry VIII’s England. C. J. Sansom drops you straight in it, stink and all. I love the Matthew Shardlake series, but I find I have to come up for air before diving into the next book.Things aren’t all they seem however and Matthew soon finds himself in the middle of a dangerous conspiracy, one against his King... Ellen Fettiplace – a woman who came originally from a small town in Sussex, she had been living in Bedlam, a lunatic asylum in London, for nearly two decades Sansom makes the arguments between religious factions come alive. The reformers are ascendent, but the papists not without hope. Men publicly had to take care what beliefs they seemed to espouse or face the horrors of the executions meted out to "traitors." Privately, thoughtful men like Shardlake realize the hopes of the reformers have turned into the kind of behaviors they sought to eradicate: greed, corruption, cruelty. Some good conversations between characters highlight these realities.