Tombland (The Shardlake Series, 7)

What I loved about this particular iteration in the series. The thing I loved the best Was the atmospheric conditions he manages to portray here. The times were so incredibly challenging...and difficult, and horrific in so many ways. The known world was in such a state for most of the population every day as it is today. This book reminded me so much of what is happening this very moment in our known world...plague, war, refugees, hatred, intolerance...yet filled with Good,and Great , people where you least expect to find them. The waiting for insanity to play itself out...the hope that justice WILL. win out when it appears that justice may no longer exist . To look for things to work takes so much patience and time...the way he writes is truly a you (and me) are there on the heath, in the lean to. In the mud, in the heat, in the dry, in the outdoors with all those gathered together to work toward and hope for a better life, fair treatment, equality, tolerance and justice. We wait still for that now, hundreds of years later. The repetition in the book seemed tedious and annoying ...at first...then I began to understand...the feeling is real. The tedium is real. The waiting is real. The anticipation, the Fear, the nervousness, the Hope is Real. The feeling he evokes is real. This writing is impeccable...as it is in alk his books. The tension builds. The atmosphere engenders life when huge change Might be possible. We all wait and wait and wait .hoping for this very thing...justice and fairness for alk. For four years in the U.S. it felt like all hope was gone..just...Gone. Now the hope is showing some sparks again and as in this book.. With all the horror and devastation that kept happening then.. And Now...will someday abate or end. Shard lake is a flawed and compelling character. As all his fully three dimensional characters do...this writer makes us feel like we know them. That we forgive them their faults and want them to forgive us ours and love us anyway! I love all the books in the series and will stick with this author as long as he writes and read his other books as well.I highly recommend this series to anyone with a true interest in history, mystery, suspense, some romance, fully developed characters, pathos, joy, satisfaction and a need for more. What a great experience, well worth the time....

This series keeps getting better. Sansom writes a gripping story that is well researched. With TOMBLAND, the author sets a high standard for a historical mystery, for that matter, for any type of historical novel. I think this is a wonderfully well-written mystery where the historical period is not simply background to a plot that could be set any time. The mystery has a number of characters who could have done it. The characters, major and secondary, partake in and are affected by the historical events and people. Instead of a plot that focuses on the upper class, the plot involves the lower classes with emphasis on the everyday lives of the common people. Sansom immerses the reader into Tudor England of 1549 with details of the period and a vividness of how the classes lived and clashed. I enjoyed how the story shifts the mystery from center stage to background as Kett's Rebellion takes over, then back again to complete the story. An interesting conflict in this story is the gentleman class versus the commoners. Through the characters of Shardlake and his assistant, Nicholas, this conflict is examined. Nicholas is a landless person raised with the viewpoint of the gentlemen or wealthy class. His interactions with the commoners and their suffering gives the reader insight to the class conflict. Shardlake, the main character, is also a member of the upper class, and the difference between the two characters in their dealings with the commoners sharpens the examination of the class divisions, including within one's class. Policies & practices of the governing class have consequences, and these consequences are at the heart of this book. This is one of the few novels that I have read that comes with a bibliography. The author's "Historical Essay" and "Bibliography" at the end of the story are highly recommended. I think the "Historical Essay" can be read before or after reading the book. I read it after completing the story, and I think I might have benefited by reading it first.

I have read the five previous novels in the Shardlake series, and found each one informative, fun, and never neglectful of a decent mystery. This sixth addition to the series is not quite as good as the first five. It demonstrates Sansom's firm grasp of history, and in this case illumines a nearly forgotten piece of English memory, namely a broadly-based series of peasant revolts that occurred in the middle of the 16th century. The quite lengthy end historical note will flesh that history out in exquisite detail, or in painful detail, depending on your appetite for history! Those who have written about the period have said that the main driver of the revolts was the introduction of Cranmer's English prayer book, but Sansom has decidedly different notions about that. Frankly, I found the novelistic recreation of these events rather too much of a good thing. The middle of the novel, typically long on Sansom's manner, dragged for me a bit; a found the time on the hills above the city nearly as exhausting as those who were actually there surely found it. That said, I welcome the character of Shardlake, ever interesting, ever inventive, ever subtly maneuvering his way through the Tudor world as he must do. I recommend Tombland to all lovers of Shardlake and his Tudor contexts.

I've always thought that a well-written historical novel should teach as well as entertain. And British author C J Sansom's book, "Tombland" certainly does both. The book - Sansom's seventh in her "Matthew Shardlake" series - is a long and involved look at a period of British history often skipped over by novelists. The series covers the reign of Edward VII - in between the reigns of Henry VIII and Mary Tudor. Matthew Shardlake is a solicitor/barrister, practicing from Lincoln's Inn, one of the four Inns of Court in London. He is a hunchback, a fact often commented on by friends and enemies alike ("political correctness" not being practiced in the 16th century), and he has worked for Henry's widow Catherine Parr and other Court officials. By 1549, Catherine has died in childbirth and Shardlake has been asked by the Lady Elizabeth to look into a certain legal matter for her in Norfolk. Shardlake goes to Norfolk with Jack Barak and his law partner, young Nicholas, to "advise" at a murder trial of a woman who was found dead after having disappeared for nine years. The defendant was the woman's estranged husband, one John Boleyn, a distant relative of Elizabeth. Okay, at almost 900 pages long, "Tombland" has a very complicated plot. We have murders most foul, a war with Scotland most people feel isn't worth fighting, as well as a rebellion - beginning in Norfolk but spreading around the country - against Edward and his Protector. Basically the economy and the weather were bad and the wealthy farmers and aristocrats had fenced in property for their own animals' grazing, leaving no where for the majority of the country's small farmers' animals to feed. The rebellion is a spontaneous uprising but begins to be led by two farmers named Kett. Shardlake finds himself involved in the legal aspects of the rebellion, helping the Kett Brothers. (Before reading the book, I’d advise looking up “Kett Rebellion” on Wikipedia”.) S J Sansom is a terrific writer and somehow she makes the book “work”. She describes the "tent city" that develops as the rebellion grows and thousands of disparate people come together to make a temporary home. (It sounded amazingly like Burning Man and the groups that gather there.) I probably wouldn’t recommend "Tombland" to someone unfamiliar with the previous Shardlake books, but for someone like me – or maybe you if you’ve come this far in the review – it’s a terrific read.

Great historical series. Not in any way a “romance”. Great story line. Author is unwell. Sadly this is probably the last.

First, there seems to be some confusion about the release dates of this book. I have it on Kindle (October, 2018) so no worries there. Perhaps I ought to have waited for the hardback to join all the other C.J. Sansoms on my shelves - because this is a keeper! Set in 1549, when Henry VIII's young son, Edward, has inherited his father's throne, it deals with an uprising against Edward's guardian, the Lord Protector Somerset. The rebellion is led by two brothers from Norfolk called Kett and the story centres on the city of Norwich, which at that time was England's second biggest. As with all of Sansom's Tudor novels it 'stars' the hunchback lawyer, Matthew Shardlake, and his sidekick, Jack Barak. They're sent by Edward's older step-sister, the Lady Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth I) to investigate a gruesome murder near Norwich when Kett's Rebelion erupts. In short, of all the Shardlake novels, I think this is Sansom's finest creation. I studied Tudor history at a school founded and named after Edward VI, just across the road from where Sansom himself studied at Birmingham University, but had no inkling of the extent of the rebellions of 1549. (We were founded in 1552.) But, more important, Shardlake as a character continues to develop and the plotting is truly excellent. It's a great yarn filled with superb historical insights and detail. Highly recommended. (And with a very intelligent, learned, yet easily readable coda reviewing the historical sources with Sansom's own well-informed comments.) Oh - did I say Highly recommended?

i've read the entire series so I have a bias to others I found better. This one is interesting but has acouple flaws. One, it takes 150 pages of 800 page book to get going. Way to much narrative is dedicated to the journey. While interesting to those in England living there, it was a lot of fluff up front. Second around page 600 the author relies on a rather cheap plot device for a crucial move forward --this is not a deal breaker but below expectations. Your vested so it moves forward....lastly, the ending is interesting and in keep ing with the book, its is not whoa it blew me away. Lets say it wraps things up. The historical essay is interesting and is foundation to the book. would make a great book club book with tangential references to issues today in society. Enjoy

C.J. Sansom writes historical crime investigations with scrupulous attention to historical detail, while creating riveting detection fiction. This is another C.J. Sansom triumph. This time Matthew Shardlake, lawyer and crime investigator, is caught up in Kett's Rebellion in Norfolk while in the employ of the child-king Edward's sister Elizabeth, age 15. Sansom describes Kett's camp of rebels, rural folk who oppose the new Prayer Book yet nevertheless swear allegiance to the young king, and whose motive is to be able to feed their families without having their sources of livelihood taken from them by the powerful land owners. The scenes are vivid, tangible and captivating, and the plotting is engaging. The author's aim is to present an analysis of the quest by commoners for justice from the pious and powerful; the optimism of the plaintiffs is palpable if naive. Shardlake is an empathetic character but one who enjoys his status in society. He comes to understand the cause the rebels represent, and slowly is drawn in--not always willingly--to assist them with his compassion. This is a long book, but every short chapter is rewarding.

An excellent read,

Produto chegou todo amassado, nítido que era oriundo de troca e foi mal embalado e acondicionado.

Mi tipo de libro es la no ficción histórica. Los hechos ocurrieron en Norwich, pero la no ficción ofrece perspectivas humanas reales de situaciones en las que no tienen más remedio que involucrarse.

Les 7 romans de la série sont passionnants : informatifs sur le plan historique, habiles sur le plan de l'intrigue, personnages attachants, très bien écrits... J'attends ardemment la suite des aventures de Shardlake sous le règne d'Elizabeth I !

Hunchbacked lawyer Matthew Shardlake is one of historical fiction’s greatest detectives. Already the hero of six prior novels set during Tudor times, in which he has had to solve numerous gruesome murders and unravel countless political and personal intrigues, in Tombland he is once again dispatched to face danger at the behest of a notable figure from English history. Having previously acted as an agent for Thomas Cromwell, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer and Queen Catherine Parr, and having had to face the displeasure of scores of folk from Henry VIII downwards, Shardlake has somehow managed to maintain his honesty and integrity when all those around him are plotting and planning. He has had to tackle seemingly impossible cases before, but perhaps never with the odds of success and survival stacked so heavily against him. As Tombland begins, Shardlake is in yet another precarious situation due to the machinations of his archenemy, Lord Richard Rich, who has been tasked with investigating the treasonous activities of Thomas Seymour. The year is 1549 and England is once more facing troubled times. The country is notionally ruled by the eleven-year-old King Edward VI, although power is really concentrated in the hands of Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset and Lord Protector of England. The Protector’s younger brother Thomas had sought to undermine his position with the king and to marry the Lady Elizabeth without the permission of the Privy Council in an effort to secure more power for himself. When Thomas Seymour’s plotting came to light, suspicion also fell on Elizabeth and those associated with her, including her legal advisor Matthew Shardlake, who knows that Rich will do everything in his power to prove him guilty of some crime or other. Getting in serious trouble due to his associations with various royal personages seems to be Shardlake’s lot in life. If it’s not Henry VIII, Catherine Howard or Catherine Parr, then it’s Lady Elizabeth causing him difficulty. In fact, no sooner does he manage to free himself of Rich’s scrutiny, than he is summoned to Hatfield Palace to assist Elizabeth with yet another thorny matter. It seems that about a month earlier a scrawny, raggedly dressed old woman turned up at the palace claiming to be Edith Boleyn, a recently widowed distant relative of the Lady Elizabeth who had fallen on hard times following the death of her husband and who sought Elizabeth’s assistance. Although the woman’s claims at first seemed legitimate, when closely questioned by Thomas Parry and Blanche apHarry, Elizabeth’s advisors/guardians, her story crumbled and, while she maintained that she was a distant relative in need of help, she was quickly shown the door. Such an attempt at fraud would not have been unusual, and it would certainly not have required the deductive skills of Matthew Shardlake to investigate the matter, but for one significant issue: Edith Boleyn was murdered in a particularly brutal fashion some eleven days after being turned away from Hatfield. While she was indeed a distant relative of Elizabeth’s, she was not a widow. Her husband, John Boleyn, was alive and well and living (with his mistress/new wife) at the family estate in Norfolk at the same time as Edith appeared to be destitute, having mysteriously abandoned both her family and her former life some years previously. When the murder was discovered, John Boleyn was arrested on suspicion of killing his wife, and that’s where Shardlake becomes involved. The Lady Elizabeth wants him to travel to Norwich to investigate the murder and see that justice is done. It is clearly not going to be a straightforward case, but things are even more complicated than normal since (i) the Lord Protector will not take kindly to hearing that Elizabeth is interfering in legal matters and (ii) rebellion is brewing in Norfolk as peasants and landowners clash over the enclosure of common lands. Like all of the Shardlake series, Tombland is richly packed with historical detail. C.J. Samson clearly knows his stuff – the descriptions of the sights and sounds of Norwich and its environs, both before and after the onset of the rebellion, are spot on, as are the language and behaviour of the various characters – and he is able to weave fact and fiction together in a wholly convincing fashion. Although Shardlake is initially concerned with simply checking that the case against John Boleyn is sound and that all potential avenues of investigation/suspects have be thoroughly examined, he soon realises that he will not be able to enquire into the circumstances of Edith’s death without considering the situation in Norwich as a whole. As elsewhere in England at the time, there is great unrest in Norfolk in general and in Norwich in particular as religious upheaval and divisions between rich and poor stir up tensions that eventually give rise to rebellion. In Shardlake’s case, his investigation is interrupted when he is caught up in Kett’s rebellion, effectively being taken hostage by the rebels and forced to assist with their show trials. Over time, however, he comes to sympathise with Kett and the aims of the rebels, which allows Sansom to consider in detail how ordinary people experienced the siege of Norwich and life in the rebel camp on Mousehold Heath. Matthew Shardlake is a great character and in Tombland he is every bit as astute and morally upright as he has been in previous books. He is not exactly keen to take on Elizabeth’s commission, knowing that interfering in the case could lead to significant danger for both of them, but once committed he does everything in his power to ensure that justice is done. Of course, as a respected sergeant-at-law and now rather aged “white-head” he rarely works alone and this time round he is assisted by both gentlemanly young lawyer Nicholas Overton and former assistant Jack Barak. It’s particularly nice to see Shardlake and Barak working together again after the enforced estrangement following the events of Lamentation, and it’s interesting to see the different ways in which Overton and Barak perceive both the murder case and the rebellion that surrounds it. There are plenty of new characters introduced in this book too, both real people and wholly fictional creations, nearly all of whom seem to have secrets to hide and ulterior motives to pursue. Tombland is an epic piece of historical fiction with a murder mystery at its heart. It’s a long book, but the story never drags. There’s plenty of action and excitement stemming from both Shardlake’s investigation and the rebellion, and there are many intrigues to be worked through. The story serves to both entertain and inform, shedding light on an often overlooked yet important part of English history at the same time as allowing readers to solve the murder alongside Shardlake. Sansom’s fifty-page essay on ‘Reimagining Kett’s Rebellion’ is included at the end of the book, as are the associated endnotes and a brief bibliography, which makes for interesting post-Shardlake reading and offers a number of avenues for further investigation by those keen to learn more about the period and personalities in question.