The eagerly anticipated Shardlake novel from the number one bestselling author.
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 acclaimed Shardlake series, the Spanish Civil War thriller Winter in Madrid and the number one bestseller Dominion. in 2023, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Edinburgh. He lives in Sussex.
This gripping new novel by the inventive C. J. Sansom shows that,
when it comes to intriguing Tudor-based narratives, Hilary Mantel
has a serious rival . . . Lamentation is sure to give Sansom's many
fans further cause for jubilation.
*Sunday Times*
Shardlake's back and better than ever . . . The plot and pacing
make this the best Shardlake yet . . . it is a vision of how
individuals find the moral courage to fight injustice which links
the Shardlake novels to Sansom's other fictions, Winter in Madrid
and Dominion. Lamentation, like its predecessors, is a triumph both
as detective fiction and as a novel . . . Sansom's deep feeling for
the psychology of religious faith and for the defenceless, makes
him, in my view superior to Hilary Mantel.
*Independent on Sunday*
Sansom is highly skilled at weaving together the threads of his
plot with the real and riveting history . . . Lamentation is a
wonderful, engaging read. The atmosphere of fear and suspicion is
brilliantly rendered.
*The Times*
As always, Sansom conjures the atmosphere, costumes and smells of
Tudor London with vigour, from the gilded halls of Whitehall Palace
to the dungeons of the Tower . . . once Shardlake finds himself in
real jeopardy [the novel] quickly picks up pace, all the way to a
shocking climax that promises to mark a new chapter for Shardlake,
and for England.
*Observer*
Sansom brilliantly conveys the uncertainty of the time when a frail
young prince would ascend the throne with different factions
fighting for regency . . . Sansom has the gift of plunging us into
the different worlds of the period.
*Independent*
So engrossing is the tale that I didn't pause long enough to take a
note. Even when judged by the high standards of the earlier
Shardlake novels, this one stands out - not least because it
successfully maintains suspense for over 600 pages . . . It is a
mark of authorial self-discipline that Sansom wears his
considerable historical research lightly, subordinating it to
character and action. As in the earlier volumes, historical figures
such as Richard Rich and the young William Cecil are successfully
evoked without typecasting or self-indulgence disguised as empathy.
There are also some memorable minor characters, such as the tragic
and vexatious litigant, Isabel Slanning, who contribute to the
sinuously-unfolding story in often unexpected ways. The
orchestration of plot over 600 pages, and the final twist, is
literary craft of a high order. Historical fiction - especially
historical crime fiction - has often been regarded as a literary
branchline, interesting and picturesque but not quite the real
thing. This now is changing, and rightly, since the qualities
required to evoke imagined historical worlds are precisely those
involved in rendering the present. With the Shardlake series, and
with this volume in particular, Sansom has surely established
himself as one of the best novelists around.
*Spectator*
This is a terrific book . . . It is a convincing account of a cruel
and fascinating period and a very exciting read.
*Literary Review*
...the Tudor Holmes finds himself plunged into crisis at the
English Court...Sansom
recreates a fascinating era as he carries the reader along with
Shardlake on his diligent and
perilous quest, criss-crossing medieval London from the luxury of
the royal palaces at
Whitehall to the filthy backstreets of the city.
*Daily Mail*
...a dark and atmospheric story... Shardlake deserves his wide and
rapturous readership.
*The Times*
Sansom has an extraordinary gift for atmosphere: he immerses the
reader in the sights, sounds, smells and dreadful paranoia of life
in the last days of Henry VIII . . . Utterly gripping
*Irish Times, Books of the Year*
Chosen as one of Antonia Fraser's Books of the Year.
*Antonia Fraser*
This, the sixth of CJ Sansom's Shardlake novels, unsurprisingly
went straight to the top of the bestseller list as soon as it was
published. Such is their reputation. Every book is a delight, and
each one that little bit better than the last... Sansom's skill as
a writer , coupled with his exhaustive research, makes readers feel
as if they are living in the period he is writing about. Hilary
Mantel may gobble up the big literary prizes for her explorations
of the complex mind of Shardlake's old boss, Thomas Cromwell, but
when it comes to recreating the authentic atmosphere of 500 years
ago Sansom wins hands down.
*Tribune*
Packed with accurate and atmospheric historical detail... In a
crowded Tudor field, this novel finds Sansom again at the top of
his game.
*Daily Telegraph*
Sansom's inventive Tudor fiction sequence combines a scholarly
intelligence with the suspense and surprises of the detective
genre... Lamentation is sure to give Sansom's many fans further
cause for jubilation.
*Sunday Times*
Highly intelligent historical fiction and a guaranteed
chart-topper
*Daily Express*
Sansom cleverly keeps the king just off stage for most of the novel
but we can sense his monstrously obese and malevolent presence
lurking in the shadows. The threads of Sansom's plot are skilfully
woven together with real and riveting history
*The Times*
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