“‘We could have you dead in a minute,’ the voice continued. ‘Remember that and listen hard. You drop this case, you forget about it. There’s people who don’t want this matter taken further. Now tell me you understand.’ The pressure at my neck eased, though other hands still gripped my arms hard.
I coughed, managed to gasp a yes.
The hands released me, and I dropped to the muddy ground in a heap….”

Book Review:

Review by Eleanor Bukowsky  (FEB 26, 2011)

In his latest Tudor mystery, Heartstone, C. J. Sansom embroils his hero, lawyer and do-gooder Matthew Shardlake, in several intrigues that take him away from London for a large part of the novel. It is 1545, and the profligate King Henry VIII is squeezing his subjects dry in order to wage an expensive military campaign against France. The king has ordered English currency devalued, levied heavy taxes, conscripted every able-bodied Englishman, and even hired foreign mercenaries to wage war against the enemy.

Matthew, who is forty-three and hunchbacked, has never married but is a respected member of Lincoln’s Inn, in the Court of Requests. However, he frequently puts aside his professional interests to get personally involved in other people’s business. For instance, he visits Ellen Fettiplace, a woman who has been in Bedlam for nineteen years and has grown attached to Shardlake. Although he has no romantic feelings for Ellen, he is determined to find out who placed her in the institution and why. In another matter, Queen Catherine Parr asks Matthew to look into the case of Hugh Curtey, a ward of Sir Nicholas Hobbey. There is some suspicion that Hugh has been wronged and Catherine wants Matthew to investigate the allegation.

Along with his intrepid assistant, Jack Barak, Matthew takes to the road, and a long road it is. Not only will he end up in Portsmouth, where Henry’s huge militia is preparing to defend the English coast from invasion, but he will also tangle with ruthless and greedy men who are willing to kill in order to keep their secrets hidden. Barak would rather stay in London with his pregnant wife, Tamasin; however, in order to avoid military service, he accompanies Shardlake. Matthew is highly intelligent, compassionate, prone to melancholy, stubborn, and a bit obsessive. Even when threatened with bodily harm, he refuses to abandon his inquiries.

Heartstone is fluid, informative, entertaining, and a marvel of research. The author’s period detail and descriptive writing are impressive. He provides maps and background information that add realism to this complex tale. We inhabit sixteenth century England and experience what life was like for royalty, gentlemen, farmers, merchants, and soldiers (they sometimes ate rotten food, lived in flea-infested quarters, and took orders from arrogant and abusive commanders). Their reward? To get “ripped apart and slaughtered in battle.” We get glimpses of the powerful weaponry on a gigantic warship. In addition, the author points out the widespread corruption and favoritism at every level of government, and how bitter the enmity was between the affluent and those who lived from hand to mouth.

Each character is scrupulously depicted. Ellen at times appears to be mad, but she has moments of great calm and lucidity. What terrible memories have left her terrified of leaving the institution? Nicholas Hobbey and his wife, Abigail, are obviously keeping something from Matthew, but can he learn what it is in time to help Hugh? Among the villains is a familiar face, Sir Richard Rich, who is back to give Matthew even more grief. Some may balk at the story’s length (over six hundred pages), but those who enjoy high-quality British historical fiction will continue to welcome each new installment in this splendid series.

AMAZON READER RATING:	from 24 readers
PUBLISHER:	Viking Adult (January 20, 2011)
REVIEWER:	Eleanor Bukowsky
AVAILABLE AS A KINDLE BOOK?	YES! Start Reading Now!
AUTHOR WEBSITE:	Wikipedia page on C.J. Sansom
EXTRAS:	Reading Guide and Excerpt – none available
MORE ON MOSTLYFICTION:	Read our review of: Revelation Dark Fire

Bibliography:

Mathew Shardlake, hunchback lawyer, 16th Century:

• Dissolution (2003)
• Dark Fire (2004; January 2005 in US)
• Sovereign (February 2007)
• Revelation (February 2009)
• Heartstone (January 2011 in US)

Standalone:

• Winter in Madrid (January 2008)

“We are in a mad and furious world, Matthew. Mundus furiosis  Each side railing against the other, preaching full of rage and hatred.  The radicals foretelling the end of the world.  To the conversion of some and the confusion of many.”

Book Review:

Reviewed by Eleanor Bukowsky (APR 16, 2009)

C. J. Sansom’s Revelation takes place in 1543, a tumultuous year in English history. Religious fanaticism is on the rise among Protestants and Catholics alike; Henry VIII, who is ailing, has been urging Lady Catherine Parr to become his sixth wife, but she is reluctant to accept his proposal; the chasm between rich and poor is huge, with filthy, starving, and often mentally ill beggars crowding the thoroughfares. The homeless are everywhere, and “most people simply looked away, made the sufferers invisible.” The sick often die in the streets, since there is no hospital care for the destitute.

In this, the fourth installment in Sansom’s splendid series, the narrator, forty-year old lawyer Matthew Shardlake, seems to have finally found peace of mind. Although he has a humpback that still attracts stares and the occasional taunt, Matthew has secured a good position as one of two barristers appointed to plead before the Court of Requests. He enjoys his work and makes enough money to pay a housekeeper, eat well, and dress in fine robes. Although he has no wife, he does have many loyal friends whom he values. Unfortunately, trouble is brewing, and Matthew’s equanimity is about to be shattered.

One of Shardlake’s closest friends is found brutally slaughtered in a public place. Since the victim had no enemies, the killing appears to be a random act of violence. Soon, however, the authorities discover that there have been other similar crimes. Matthew joins forces with Archbishop Cranmer and his inner circle to identify and apprehend a serial killer who uses the book of Revelation as a blueprint for torturing and murdering his victims. Adding to Matthew’s worries, he has a new and troubling client, Adam Kite, a seventeen-year-old who prays obsessively, rails loudly “with strange moans and shrieks” in public, and has been placed in Bedlam, the infamous asylum, on the Privy Council’s orders. Shardlake is also concerned about his loyal assistant, Jack Barak. Jack married the lovely Tamasin and all seemed well until they lost their baby at birth. Since then, the couple has been quarreling incessantly, and Barak spends more time at the pubs than he does with his lonely and depressed wife.

Sansom has immersed himself in the geography, sociology, culture, politics, and theology of London in the sixteenth century and his writing is the richer for it. Revelation is more than five hundred pages long, and the story unfolds gradually; but the patient reader will be compensated for his perseverance. Matthew Shardlake is a marvelous and original creation. Although he is not handsome or physically powerful, he has keen intelligence, insight, compassion, loyalty, and great inner strength. He repeatedly puts himself at risk to track a madman who is as clever as he is sadistic. Another appealing character is Matthew’s close friend, Dr. Guy Malton, an excellent physician who uses his knowledge of medicines, herbs, and human anatomy to alleviate his patients’ suffering. Matthew would be lost without Guy’s able assistance. The secondary characters are, as usual, beautifully portrayed, including Ellen, an agoraphobic who, while confined to Bedlam, takes care of her fellow inmates; Dorothy Elliard, a sweet-natured and attractive woman whom Matthew has loved for years; Archbishop Cranmer, a commanding figure who must weigh his actions carefully, lest he find himself incurring the King’s displeasure; and Piers, Guy’s apprentice and protégé, a bright and calculating boy whom Matthew distrusts.

Revelation is a well-researched and complex novel that brings an unsettled era in London to brilliant life; it is a suspenseful and exciting murder mystery with an explosive ending; and it is an unflinching look at the evils of racial, religious, and class prejudice. The plot may be too busy for those who like their books lean, but the author balances his many subplots and large cast with Dickensian flair. With its lively dialogue, evocative setting, detailed descriptive passages, and engrossing themes,Revelation is a rich and rewarding work of historical fiction that shows why C. J. Sansom has garnered such a devoted following.

AMAZON READER RATING:	from 49  reviewers
PUBLISHER:	Viking Adult (February 2009)
REVIEWER:	Eleanor Bukowsky
AVAILABLE AS A KINDLE BOOK?	YES! Start Reading Now!
AUTHOR WEBSITE:	Wkipedia page on C.J. Sansom
EXTRAS:	none
MORE ON MOSTLYFICTION:	Read our review of: Dark Winter

Bibliography:

Mathew Shardlake, hunchback lawyer, 16th Century:

• Dissolution (2003)
• Dark Fire (2004; January 2005 in US)
• Sovereign (February 2007)
• Revelation (February 2009)
• Heartstone (January 2011 in US)

Standalone:

• Winter in Madrid (January 2008)