Why Shardlake is a Brilliant Read (C J Sansoms best series)

[@jessicatvordi]

So sad to have heard of his death yesterday-so I immediately picked up Dissolution and started rereading. I'm also very excited to see the series!!! Thanks, Katja, for giving a recap of all the books.

[@PageTurnersWithKatja]

Absolutely, it’s always tough to hear such news. Revisiting *Dissolution* sounds perfect. I'm glad you're looking forward to the TV series adaptation, I mentioned it to a friend, and she'd never heard of the books. I convinced her to watch it, so I hope the adaptation's good! 😆 Funny thing, I totally lost track of time! When I heard Sean Bean was cast, I initially thought he’d be playing Shardlake and imagined him sticking around for potentially 7 seasons-quite a stretch for his characters, right? But then I realised he’s playing Cromwell, and it dawned on me that, oh right, it's 2024, and he’s a bit too seasoned for the role of Shardlake! 😂 Can’t wait to see how he embodies Cromwell though.

[@amyofhearthridge]

I just read the first two of these and really enjoyed them! ♥️

[@PageTurnersWithKatja]

That's great to hear 💛

[@MargaretPinard]

1688 pages?!?!?

[@mr.alaska2232]

A lot of people are hating on the series. I love the books and I love the television series and I hope they make a season for every book.

[@PageTurnersWithKatja]

I like the series, too. Here's hoping for S2 😊

[@ba-gg6jo]

What a shock to hear he has passed on. His series of books fleshed out my knowledge gained of the Tudor period through various non-fiction books. Your summing up of his books was excellent. Thank you.

[@PageTurnersWithKatja]

Thank you for commenting, and I agree. He was so knowledgeable, and it made his worldbuilding seem effortless..

[@madiantin]

I only just heard of his death today. I randomly picked up Dissolution to read just a month ago. I worked out that while I was reading it and becoming acquainted with Shardlake and Sansom as an author, he was dying. I was so shocked when I heard of his passing today. He was so young.

[@PageTurnersWithKatja]

It is shocking. I think he was 72 this year and had been living with a terminal diagnosis for more than ten years. I can't imagine that. I'm glad you discovered his work ✨️

[@robertnicholas9359]

I love historical fiction of this period. But after reading Sansom's Shardlake series, most other writers of this period pale by comparison. Their historical research seems sketchy and so their writing of Tudor England much less real. I am rereading Lamentation and am gripped again by its writing even though I know how it ends. Any writer that can satisfy a harsh critic like myself and induce a rereading is top drawer. After Tombland I wondered what would happen to Matthew, Jack and Nicholas. Now I won't know.😢

[@PageTurnersWithKatja]

You know what I love? When a book is so good that you can read it over and over again and it's still gripping. And I agree, I totally wish there could have been more books in the series. Future instalments to look forward to.

[@robertnicholas9359]

CJ Sansom was working on his next Shardlake novel called 'Ratcliff', set in 1552, when he passed. His process entailed lots of note-taking. So, there may be enough for another writer to finish it. Honestly, I'd rather they left it alone rather than someone else muck it up. But as with most successful fiction series, I just know they won't.

[@MargaretPinard]

PS I am appreciating the monochromatic --is that robin's egg blue? --in your backdrop!

[@PageTurnersWithKatja]

Thank you 😁

[@MargaretPinard]

I picked up the 4th one in the series and it was a lot to absorb, but I think I have good practice at that with my histfic reads...should i go back to read Dissolution? Or read the next one I see in a used bookshop? 🤔Loved hearing more about Sansom's life experiences, Katja, thank you ❣

[@PageTurnersWithKatja]

If you read them in chronology you better appreciate shardlakes growth. He seems much less mature in his outlook in book 1 and also less aware of the wider politics than he imagined. I think by book 4 you're expected to have a lot of his backstory in mind, so I'm sure it felt like a lot - even though in theory they are each separate stories that could standalone. I think their best read in order 😅

[@MargaretPinard]

@@PageTurnersWithKatja I checked, it was Dark Fire that I read, so only the 2nd, but still 😅

[@MarilynMayaMendoza]

Hi Katja, Shardlake sounds like something I would enjoy because of the mystery aspect. I'm sorry about Sanson's passing. He was younger than me. I will pick up "The Solution." Aloha friend

[@PageTurnersWithKatja]

I hope you enjoy it too. Thanks, Marilyn 💛

[@sterlingreads547]

I need to reread the first and continue on 😊

[@jelkel25]

I have the last book Tombland to read after steadily reading all the rest over the years. Have been to Norwich a few times but was always busy and didn't get the opportunity to really take in the whole historical "vibe" of the place (or any other for that matter). I saw Ely cathedral just down the road from Norwich yesterday, massive sat on top of a hill and wondered if it would be mentioned, if the book was about just the city or the wider county. Definitely got that "vibe" looking at that!!!!

[@PageTurnersWithKatja]

It went wider county but didn't touch on Ely, though a lot of the riots described happened in and around the Cambridgeshire areas too. You're in gor a treat 😊

[@jelkel25]

@@PageTurnersWithKatja Good stuff, I might go to Norwich still and have a good look for a change as a little homage to the guys last book. The last time I went to a place I was reading about was a book on Dartmoor legends just before my first wild camp there, I don't advise that!!!!

[@coffemuse]

I listened to the audiobook of Dissolution some time ago and was underwhelmed... but I'm becoming more and more suspicious that it must have been an abridged version. You've convinced me to try again, unabridged and in print format. I do hope the TV series doesn't disappoint (how sad for Sansom to have just missed it!). If you end up with a lot of thoughts about the series, please do a video about it!

[@PageTurnersWithKatja]

I hope he saw a preview, but that's just a hope or speculation. I don't tend to rate books, but if I had to: Dissolution would be 3.5, numbers 2-6 would be 4s, and the final one is a 5. I think the plots get progressively more complex and the character development more solid after Dissolution. Thanks for that feedback, I'll come back with my thoughts on the adaptation! 😊

[@josmith5992]

I’ve been deliberately slow rolling the series as I thought, because of his illness, that Tombland would be the last one. I don’t really read a lot of murder mysteries but when I do it’s the historical ones I turn to as the lack of technology makes it much more about the brains and footwork of the investigator. I’ve loved the four I’ve read and was so sad to hear of his passing but I’m sure his books will give pleasure for years to come.

[@PageTurnersWithKatja]

Since you enjoyed the first four, I think you'll love the last three. Shardlake just keeps growing in new ways, and the experiences he has in those books change some of his relationships.

[@PageTurnersWithKatja]

And yes, on the brains and footwork rather than tech, I'm currently watching episode one of the TV series and suddenly remembered I didn't say this in my earlier response. Delayed reaction 😆

[@tna-technutamateur8249]

I realy don't like that they act as if there where black people and pakistani in 1536 England 😂😂. Why don't they just use mobile phones as well.

[@PageTurnersWithKatja]

I don't mind since it's only a couple of decades off compared to a few 100 years for tech. Probably not in the position of Abbott but I listened to a British Museum series some years back, and they talked about an established community of black people in London in the late 1500s - separate to the people abandoned by the Spanish around 1600. When I read about the Mary Rose in his book Heartstone, it reminded me that the diver hired to locate the wreck - with the intention of salvaging the guns - was black and that was the 1540s. I actually thought there were no black people in England in the 1500s. Later, it made me think - Shakespeare's inspiration - and his anticipated interest from a 1600s London audience - for the character of Othello had to come from somewhere. I guess I didn't think of it sooner as it's set in Venice and Cyprus.

[@tna-technutamateur8249]

@@PageTurnersWithKatja They were not casted for the historical accuracy. Far from it. It's all dei-virus and nobody dares to speak up. No, there were no black people and Pakistanis in the streets of Londen up until 1960. And even then it was an exception. Acting that there where is erasing history. Nothing good ever happened from that.

[@MargaretPinard]

and a helpful pronunciation guide! lol much needed...