Sovereign: A Novel from the Shardlake Series

C.J. Sansom's Sovereign is a must-read for historical mystery fans! This series is widely praised for its captivating plot and engaging characters. Plus, it's an excellent value for money, with quality bindings and pages that make it a pleasure to read. Get ready to be swept away into a thrilling adventure!

Key Features:

The Shardlake series by C. J. Sansom is a captivating set of historical fiction novels set in the 16th century during the reign of King Henry VIII. Through the eyes of lawyer Matthew Shardlake, readers are taken on a journey through Tudor England and its tumultuous political and religious landscape. Each book in the series is filled with intrigue, suspense, and vivid depictions of life in the Tudor era. With its gripping plotlines and compelling characters, the Shardlake series is a must-read for anyone interested in historical fiction.
87
B2B Rating
76 reviews

Review rating details

Value for money
82
Overall satisfaction
80
Genre
87
Easy to understand
79
Easy to read
79
Binding and pages quality
81

Details of Sovereign: A Novel from the Shardlake Series

  • Item Weight ‏ ‎: 1.05 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ ‎: 5.16 x 1.85 x 7.76 inches
  • Customer Reviews: 4.5/5 stars of 10,647 ratings
  • Language ‏ ‎: English
  • Publisher ‏ ‎: Pan Books
  • ISBN-13 ‏ ‎: 978-1447285854
  • Best Sellers Rank: #13,458 in Historical Mystery
  • ISBN-10 ‏ ‎: 1447285859
  • Historical Mystery: Historical Mystery

Comments

book mad: Good narration.

United Kingdom on Nov 13, 2023

Amazon Customer: Well written story.

United Kingdom on Oct 30, 2023

janilou: Another winner for c j Sansom. I really enjoyed this book although I would say that the first few chapters were a bit laborious but eventually as the plot unfolded it was hard to put the book down

United Kingdom on Oct 26, 2023

Mystery Fan: I have read three of this series. The books are well-written and appear to be well-researched. The author creates the atmosphere of the times, drawing the reader into the sights, smells and political intrigues of the times of Henry VIII through the narrative of the lawyer Matthew Shardlake.

The tales relay the brutality and corruption of the monarchy and nobility, sometimes difficult for me to read about. I usually prefer the less violent mysteries. However, the skill of the author and the apparently accurate historical narrative make these books hard to put down.

If you like good writing and have interest in historical mysteries, I recommend the books. Beware, however, there is brutality that is difficult to come to terms with. It haunts me because it is probably true.

United States on Oct 22, 2023

C J Callow: A great read, full of ifs, buts and maybes. Very descriptive writing too - medieval London and York in all their stinking glory

United Kingdom on Aug 28, 2023

moderatelymoderate: I enjoyed all the ingenious ways the author came up with for putting Shardlake in jeopardy. And I understand the common device of historical novelists to put their main characters into a bit too many pivotal places at the right (or wrong) times. The book also gave me a good feel for the time period, especially the sanitary (or lack thereof) conditions. The thought of all the manure that the king's Progress of 2000 people, 4000 horses and how vast trenches had to be dug all along the route will stick with me much too long.

However I cannot take seriously the idea that Edward IV had been illegitimate. His mother said so only after his death in order to support her son Richard III's claim to the throne and to put down the grasping Woodvilles. In fact, since the book was written, Richard's remains have been found and his DNA compared to a documented descendant of one of his sisters. Either he or his sister wasn't legitimate, and since he was said to look less like his siblings than they looked like each other, I'd assume he was the one with a different father. Note however that that has nothing to do with what kind of King he was.

And Edward's legitimacy or illegitimacy...

United States on Oct 16, 2021

Janie U: This is the third in this series and, with 658 pages split into 48 chapters, it is another brick of a book. You don't have to have read the other two first as back story is mentioned briefly, but I have read the previous books and love that Shardlake is now becoming a very familiar voice.
Here we are taken with Matthew Shardlake and his assistant to York where a progress of Henry VIII is about to hit the city. Shardlake is good at standing back and observing which is great for the reader as the narrative is visual, at the same time exploring all the other senses.
I was in York for a few nights last year and recognise many of the landmarks encountered which is particularly engaging but they are all described so well that anyone will be able to visualise what Shardlake and Barak experience.
It's great to see the preparations for the royal party and to compare it to today where the world build and decorates for the royal family to visit.
Shardlake is a plausible character who seems to handle everything thrown at him in a very practical way. He stands out physically but, at the same time, is able to merge into many situations as needed to progress his investigations. His...

United Kingdom on Feb 23, 2021

Rita Sydney: NOTE: To someone who is just discovering C. J. Sansom I strongly recommend you begin with the first book of the series, Dissolution, then go on to the second, Dark Fire, before reading Sovereign. All three books have good plots and strong characters and can stand alone but it is the atmosphere of the times that makes them, taken together, unique. I think I would have enjoyed the setting of Sovereign less, as well as the strivings among characters for wealth or position, had I not had the background provided by the first two books.

At one extreme is the bare bones of English history: Henry VIII wanted a new wife; the Pope said no; Henry left the Catholic Church and started his own Church of England.

At the other extreme is the cable series on Show Time, "The Tudors," which is beautiful to watch but sometimes a bit confusing in its detail on how the Reformation came to be and was carried out.

The C. J. Sansom Matthew Shardlake series brings the era to easily comprehensible life.

Sovereign, the third, is a long book and it's slow pace (note, not plodding or boring) contributes to the sense of immediacy I had when reading. Life was slow moving...

United States on Sep 21, 2009

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B2B Rating
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Total Reviews 76 reviews 590 reviews 868 reviews
Item Weight ‏ ‎ 1.05 pounds 9.6 ounces 12 ounces
Dimensions ‏ ‎ 5.16 x 1.85 x 7.76 inches 5.31 x 1.1 x 8.25 inches 5.5 x 1 x 8.25 inches
Customer Reviews 4.5/5 stars of 10,647 ratings 4.5/5 stars of 41,224 ratings 4.4/5 stars of 30,342 ratings
Language ‏ ‎ English English English
Publisher ‏ ‎ Pan Books Atria Books; Reprint edition Lake Union Publishing
ISBN-13 ‏ ‎ 978-1447285854 978-1451645859 978-1542008259
Best Sellers Rank #13,458 in Historical Mystery #10 in Historical Mystery#64 in Coming of Age Fiction #152 in Literary Fiction #421 in Historical British & Irish Literature#655 in Cozy Culinary Mysteries#896 in Historical Mystery
ISBN-10 ‏ ‎ 1447285859 1451645856 1542008255
Historical Mystery Historical Mystery Historical Mystery Historical Mystery
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