Dissolution (The Shardlake Series) by C. J.…

Dissolution (The Shardlake Series) (original 2003; edition 2015)

by C. J. Sansom (Author)

Series: Matthew Shardlake (1)

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
4,348	199	2,893	(3.92)	555
Fiction. Mystery. Thriller. Historical Fiction. HTML:*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 prot�g� 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.… (more)

▾Book information

Member:	Tim-Morrison
Title:	Dissolution (The Shardlake Series)
Authors:	C. J. Sansom (Author)
Info:	Pan (2015), Edition: New edition, 480 pages
Collections:	Your library
Rating:
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Work Information

Dissolution by C. J. Sansom (2003)

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182
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco (Caramellunacy)
Caramellunacy: Both feature ghastly murders in a monastery in a time of religious conflict and turmoil. The Name of the Rose (medieval Italy) is more philosophical, while Dissolution (Tudor England) is more of a straight-forward historical mystery. Both offer interesting insights into the political and religious issues of the times.… (more)
90
Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin (wandering_star)
wandering_star: Both these series are excellent mysteries set in well-drawn medieval England.
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English (188) French (4) Dutch (4) Spanish (2) Norwegian (1) All languages (199)

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Showing 1-5 of 188 (next | show all)

OK, I'm a fan. Wonderful writing, and amazing craft. The descriptions were so well-chosen for their purpose - like when Sansom shows us the monastery church ("A promise of prayers for a loved one in purgatory, or a miraculous cure from a relic, would carry a hundred times more weight in that setting"), or when she mentions the practice of indulgences ("pick-penny purgatory, we reformers called it"). I especially appreciate her skill in choosing a great character for sequels - my own keep dying on me!! (

)

jawertman | Dec 23, 2024 |

The year is 1537, Henry VIII has just buried his third wife, Jane Seymour, and is actively looking to dissolve the monasteries, take their lands and riches, and pension off the monks. Cromwell has done so with the small monasteries and is looking for ways to take the large ones. When a Commissioner sent to investigate possible wrong doing at the monastery at Scarnsea is murdered, Cromwell sends fellow Reformer, Matthew Shardlake to investigate. It is more complicated than he at first assumed, with more questions than answers. This is a detailed historical mystery. It is not a period I have read much in and I can't say that I will pursue the series. The mystery and writing was good, just not a period I want to read about. (

)

Linda-C1 | Sep 26, 2024 |

4.5/5 #ShardlakeSeriesBR

Not only did I forget "whodunnit", but I forgot a LOT in this novel! My rereading is in honor of C.J. Sansom, the brilliant creator of this series, who passed away recently from cancer. Matthew Shardlake is not only our brilliant "detective," but he is a gloriously flawed man whose Reformation beliefs bring him to his knees in this compelling Tudor-time mystery. I did remember how much I love these books! (

)

crabbyabbe | Jul 24, 2024 |

Always nice to start a new series with lots of subsequent installments, especially when the first one is as well done as this! (

)

JBD1 | Jun 1, 2024 |

Dissolution, C.J. Sansom. 2003. This is the first of a series set in Tudor England. HenryVIII has declared himself head of the Church in England. Thomas Cromwell has been charged with closing the monasteries and claiming their wealth for the crown. Matthew Shardlake, a hunchbacked lawyer and a supporter of the “new religion” is sent a monastery to investigate the murder of one of Crowell’s commissioners. Neither the Catholics nor the Protestants shine in this mystery, but if you enjoy reading about Tudor history, this may turn out to be a good series. (

)

judithrs | Apr 17, 2024 |

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▾Published reviews

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A well-written historical mystery, unique for both its characters and setting. A definite winner for fans of historical mystery.

added by thelitwitch | editThe Lit Witch, Jennifer Palombi

▾Other authors

» Add other authors (5 possible)

Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Sansom, C. J.	—	primary author	all editions	confirmed
Balducci, Giulia	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Johansen, Knut	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Jones, Simon	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Lesser, Anton	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

▾Series and work relationships

Belongs to Series

Matthew Shardlake (1)

Is contained in

Dissolution / Dark Fire by C J Sansom

Dissolution / Dark Fire / Sovereign / Revelation by C. J. Sansom

Shardlake Series Collection, Books 1-5 by C. J. Sansom

C. J. Sansom: The Collection by C. J. Sansom

Shardlake Series Collection, Books 1-6 by C. J. Sansom

Shardlake Series Collection, Books 1-7 by C. J. Sansom

Has the adaptation

Shardlake: Dissolution: BBC Radio 4 Full-Cast Dramatisation by C. J. Sansom

▾Awards and Honors

Awards

Crime Writers' Association Awards (Shortlist – Endeavour Historical Dagger – 2003)

Waverton Good Read Award (Shortlist – 2003)

Distinctions

World Book Night selection (2011)

Notable Lists

The Guardian 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read (Crime)

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▾Common Knowledge

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For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.

Canonical title

Dissolution

Original title

Dissolution

Alternative titles

Original publication date

2003

People/Characters

Important places

Scarnsea monastery, Scarnsea, England, UK (fictional)

Romney Marsh, Kent, England, UK

London, England, UK

Important events

Reign of Henry VIII (1509-04-21 | 1547-01-28)

Dissolution of the Monasteries (1536 | 1541)

Related movies

Epigraph

Dedication

To the writers' group:
Jan, Luke, Mary, Mike B, Mike H, Roz, William
and especially Tony, our inspiration. The crucible.

And to Caroline

First words

I was down in Surrey, on business for Lord Cromwell's office, when the summons came.

Quotations

You untangle a knot with slow teasing, not sharp pulling, and believe me we have here a knot such as I have never seen.

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Blurbers

Original language

Canonical DDC/MDS

Canonical LCC

▾References

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (3)

C. J. Sansom

Dissolution (Sansom novel)

Shardlake series

▾Book descriptions

Fiction. Mystery. Thriller. Historical Fiction. HTML: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 prot�g� 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.

▾Library descriptions

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▾LibraryThing members' description

Book description

Haiku summary

Matthew Shardlake, a
Lawyer, investigates crimes in
Tudor monastery.
(passion4reading)