Sovereign (The Shardlake series, 3)

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Sansom shows a man still humbled by his hunchback when exploring Matthew Shardlake, taking some time to talk about a childhood that was tough, when seen through the lens of other children, less understanding of difference and wanting to carve out their own identity. He has expanded Shardlake’s world outside of London to show that England was not all united for the Tudors.

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.Of course, since this novel touches on the relationship between Henry VIII and Catherine Howard, Sansom had to include a way for Shardlake to meet these two, as well as confront figures like Lady Rochford, Culpepper, Dereham, and of course Sir Richard Rich. Sansom's description of the brutality of Tudor life is strong stuff, but he is a master storyteller. His quest to find the killer however not only leads him back to Bedlam, but also to Catherine Parr—and the shocking prophecies found in the Book of Revelation. In addition, the lawyer and his assistant Jack Barak are witnesses to a crime and they discover a cache of secret documents which could threaten the Tudor throne.

The story helped to open my eyes to some of the Tudor history, particularly that during the War of the Roses, with York at the centre of all. I’d rather her than Henry VIII as the British monarch (I’m an Aussie, and we’re still part of the Commonwealth), but I look forward to reading more of Matthew Shardlake’s adventures with that unpredictable, dangerous ruler. Still, Shardlake faces adversity in this new land—York—where many challenge his veracity and capability, as though his back is indicative of feeble mindedness. Sansom gives us many of the intimate details of this procession, through his character, Matthew Shardlake and his task which sends him from London to meet the Progress at York, the center for the previous rebellion. The sights , sounds and smells of Tudor England are brought to life as are the violent conflict in the England at the time between 'traditionalists' and 'reformers' in the church , the repercusions of which would continue for centuries to come , to rock England and cause wars and turmoil.They guide us through the rest of the drama, narrating offstage plot points, concealing key events to keep us in suspense and adding a collective female voice to what could otherwise be a male-dominated story. It’s a lot of bodies to choreograph, something that co-directors Juliet Forster, Mingyu Lin and John R Wilkinson do skilfully.