C. J. Sansom

This third Shardlake novel is set in the autumn of 1541, during the reign of Henry VIII. This time Matthew Shardlake is faced with the most terrifying fate of the age: imprisonment in the Tower of London.

Sovereign

A Matthew Shardlake Mystery

Luke Harkness

You can't help but love this series

Another tale filled with real people and real struggles. C.J. Sansom really knows how to write real-feeling characters in his book whilst also making you genuinely care about the plot and the politics behind it all. I've found out more about this time period in the first three books of this series than I did during my whole history GCSE. I thoroughly enjoy reading this series and will most certainly continue.

Sarah Escorsa

This is such a fantastic series! Each book I read is better than the previous one:)I've always loved historical novels and Sansom does a fantastic job of mixing history and intrigue. He really makes the 16th century come alive and I can't wait to read the fourth instalment in the series, Revelation!

Following on from Dissolution and Dark Fire, Sovereign is the third gripping historical novel in C. J. Sansom's number one bestselling Shardlake series, for fans of Hilary Mantel and Philippa Gregory. 'When it comes to intriguing Tudor-based narratives, Hilary Mantel has a serious rival' - Sunday Times ‘Sansom has the trick of writing an enthralling narrative. Like Hilary Mantel, he produces densely textured historical novels that absorb their readers in another time’ - Andrew Taylor, Spectator Autumn, 1541: King Henry VIII has set out on a spectacular Progress to the North to attend an extravagant submission of his rebellious subjects in York. Already in the city are lawyer Matthew Shardlake and his assistant Jack Barak. As well as assisting with legal work processing petitions to the King, Shardlake has reluctantly undertaken a special mission for the Archbishop Cranmer – to ensure the welfare of an important but dangerous conspirator being returned to London for interrogation. But the murder of a local 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 papers which could threaten the Tudor throne, a chain of events unfolds that will lead to Shardlake facing the most terrifying fate of the age . . . Continue the number one bestselling historical series with Revelation, Heartstone, Lamentation and Tombland.

Sovereign

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