Awards

• Short-listed for CWA Goldsboro Gold Dagger 2007 (UK)

Overview

'C. J. Sansom's books are arguably the best Tudor novels going' - The Sunday Times Following on from Dissolution and Dark Fire, Sovereign is the third gripping historical novel in C. J. Sansom's number one bestselling Shardlake series, perfect for fans of Hilary Mantel and Philippa Gregory. England, 1541. King Henry VIII has set out on a spectacular Progress to the North to attend an extravagant submission by his rebellious subjects in York. Already in the city are lawyer Matthew Shardlake and his assistant Jack Barak, whom have reluctantly undertaken a special mission for Archbishop Thomas Cranmer - to ensure the welfare of an important but dangerous conspirator who is to be returned to London for interrogation. But the murder of a York glazier involves Shardlake in deeper mysteries, connected not only to the prisoner in York castle but to the royal family itself. And when Shardlake and Barak stumble upon a cache of secret documents which could threaten the Tudor throne, a chain of events unfolds that will lead Shardlake to face the most terrifying fate of the age . . . This is the third novel in C. J. Sansom's internationally bestselling Shardlake series. It is followed by Revelation, the fourth book in the series.

Full Product Details

9781035012329

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Reviews

I have enjoyed C. J. Sansom's series of historical novels set in Tudor England progressively more and more. Sovereign, following Dissolution and Dark Fire, is the best so far . . . Sansom has the perfect mixture of novelistic passion and historical detail -- Antonia Fraser, <i>The Sunday Telegraph</i> Books of the Year 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 * The Sunday Times * Not only a great detective novel but also a fabulous insight into the historical happenings of the Tudor period, this book is an absorbing read * Tesco Magazine * A dazzling conspiracy theory novel of the Tudor age * Nottingham Evening Post * [The] third volume of C. J. Sansom's deservedly popular Tudor detective series . . . Between them, Sansom and Starkey have the sixteenth century licked * Independent * A brilliant evocation of tyranny in Tudor England * Literary Review * A fine setting for crime fiction and C. J. Sansom exploits it superbly . . . Never mind the crime: this is a terrific novel -- Peter Green * TLS * I was enthralled by Sovereign by C. J. Sansom, a novel combining detection with a brilliant description of Henry VIII's spectacular Progress to the North and its terrifying aftermath -- P. D. James, <i>The Sunday Telegraph</i> Books of the Year A masterclass in suspense . . . an age of political and religious convulsion is conjured up with thrilling immediacy -- Peter Kemp * The Sunday Times * Both marvellously exciting to read and a totally convincing evocation of England in the reign of Henry VIII -- <i>The Spectator</i>, Books of the Year Sansom has a real knack for bringing the sights, sounds and smells of Tudor times to life and his evocation of a time when your fate could be decided on a whim and England was ruled by a bloated monster make you very glad indeed that, fascinating as it is, you'll never have to witness Shardlake's world first hand * Northern Echo * Sansom brings the colours, sights and sounds of Tudor England brilliantly into the imagination in this gripping historical novel -- <i>Choice </i>magazine The best detective story I've read since The Murder of Roger Ackroyd . . . [a] devilishly ingenious whodunit . . . Sansom's description of the brutality of Tudor life is strong stuff, but he is a master storyteller * The Guardian * Sansom is excellent on contemporary horrors. This is no herbs-and-frocks version of Tudor England, but a remorseless portrait of a violent, partly lawless country . . . You can lose yourself in this world -- Jane Jakeman * Independent * Dissolution by C. J. Sansom was an impressive start to a historical fiction series featuring stubborn, admirable Tudor lawyer Matthew Shardlake. Sovereign is the third outing, and this series just gets better and better * The Bookseller * Don't open this book if you have anything urgent pending. Its grip is so compulsive that, until you reach its final page, you'll have to be almost physically prised away from it. The latest in C. J. Sansom's increasingly thrilling series of sixteenth-century crime mysteries, it pulls you, like its predecessors, into a tortuous world of Tudor terror -- Peter Kemp * The Sunday Times * This is an atmospheric thriller where velvet and silk hide putrescence, and beyond the grandeur of a Court lies a world where people rot alive or choke in deep mud. Sansom does a nice line in irony and savage humour, as well as the simple affections which keep people going in nightmarish times -- Roz Kaveney, <i>Time Out</i> Book of the Week C. J. Sansom's new Matthew Shardlake adventure shows how far this series has developed since his first book. Sovereign is bigger in scope, more colourful, has a more complex plot and moves at a faster pace . . . This is a compelling read, vividly capturing the atmosphere of constant fear, as religious fervour and political ambition are expressed in cruelty and corruption * The Sunday Telegraph * C. J. Sansom's books are arguably the best Tudor novels going * The Sunday Times *

Author Information

C. J. Sansom was educated at Birmingham University, where he took a BA and then a PhD in history. After working in a variety of jobs, he retrained as a solicitor and practised in Sussex until becoming a full-time writer. Sansom is the bestselling author of the critically acclaimed Shardlake series, as well as Winter in Madrid and Dominion. He lives in Sussex.

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