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At the end of April, 2024, sitting in a tea room in Cambridge, I was impressed by an article in the "Daily Telegraph" praising an historical crime fiction series set in Tudor Times, written by C.J. Sansom and featuring a hunchback lawyer Matthew Shardlake. This article had been prompted by the author's sad death a few days earlier. I still had the Telegraph obituary at home and read it later. Anyway, in Cambridge, I thought I would give the series a go, and about an hour later, by pure good fortune, I found the first 3 books in the series in a charity shop, each priced at 95p.
Christopher John Sansom was an award winning writer whose books have sold in millions. He was born in Edinburgh in 1952, an only child, the son of an English father and a Scottish mother. He had a poor experience of early education in Edinburgh at George Watson's College. He was bullied, and he left with no qualifications. Later he made amends at Birmingham University getting first a BA degree, and then a Ph.D in History. He later trained as a solicitor and practised in Sussex. Helped by an inheritance when his dad died, Sansom took a year off to write, and happily the early success of his Shardlake series allowed him to become a full time writer. This series featured Matthew Shardlake, a hunchback lawyer. It was set in Tudor times, in the 16th century reign of Henry VIII. How appropriate for a practising solicitor with a PhD. in history.
Sansom was diagnosed with a treatable bone marrow cancer in 2012. He eventually died at the age of 71. This was in a hospice near Brighton, in April, 2024. He had never married.
The House of Tudor comprised 5 monarchs, 6 including Lady Jane Grey (9 days):
Henry VII 1485-1509
Henry VIII 1509-1547
Edward VI 1547-1553
Lady Jane Grey 1553-1553 (9 days)
Mary I 1553-1558
Elizabeth I 1558-1603
Following the Black Death of 1348, the population of England roughly doubled in Tudor times from about 2 million to 4 million. This helped economic growth in agriculture, the production and export of the wool trade, and the growth of London. It was a period of social upheaval with the gap between the rich and the poor widening, and the enclosure of manorial land previously village lands open to all.
In 1500, England was devoutly Catholic. The Reformation changed the religion from Catholic to Protestant mostly through widespread dissatisfaction and disgust at the corruption of the established Church, it's wealth was not used for charitable purposes, their heirarchies lived off the fat of the land, they worshiped preposterous relics, and all the deceits galore were abhorrent . Reformers included John Wycliffe, Martin Luther, and John Calvin.
Henry VII became King after defeating Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field (1485), thus ending the Wars of the Roses .
King Henry VIII is the most famous of the Tudors, excluding Elizabeth I. He married 6 times in an effort to produce a male heir :
1 Catherine of Aragon - 1509 to 1533, annuled, died 1536, was the mother of Queen Mary I
2 Anne Bolyn - 1533 to 1536, beheaded in the Tower of London, was the mother of Elizabeth I.
3 Jane Seymour - 1536 to 1537, died in childbirth, was the mother of King Edward VI
4 Anne of Cleeves - 1540 to 1540, annuled, died 1557.
5 Catherine Howard - 1540 to 1542, beheaded in the Tower of London.
6 Catherine Parr - 1543 to 1547, died in 1548. She had remarried to Thomas Seymour, brother of Queen Jane Seymour.
Henry VIII ruthlessly executed many top officials and aristocrats. When the Pope refused to annul his first marriage to Catherine of Aragon, Henry broke from Rome and installed himself as Head of the Church. National sovereignty required the absolure supremacy of the King. Parliament supported this, with little dissent. Decisions were taken by the King himself, or by top aids such as Cardinal Wolsey and Thomas Cromwell. The decisive move was the Act of Supremacy of 1534. Some opposition came from Bishop Fisher and Thomas More, but both were executed. Monasteries were siezed, monks and nuns pensioned off, and Church valuable lands sold to the King's friends. However there was little change to the Church theology and ritual - this was not Lutherism.
Henry organised the navy as a permanent force, and built and launched many new ships. Between 1515 and 1529 Cardinal Wolsey was the most powerful man in the land, but for the King. Wolsey did much good, but eventually he conspired with Henry's enemies. He died of natural causes before he could be beheaded. Thomas Cromwell (1485 -1540) was then the King's chief minister from 1532 to 1540, and instigated many far reaching reforms. However he picked the wrong bride for the King, and was beheaded in 1540 for treason. These were indeed savage times !
The Dissolution of the Monasteries took place 1536 to 1545. The King desperately needed money. His annual income was about £100k, but the Church revenues were about £300k. Taking ownership of Church lands and selling them off cheaply brought the King over £1 million. The huge influx of money had to be managed by Cromwell. He set up the Court of Augmentation, later incorporateed into the Exchequer in 1554.
Henry's health deteriorated in his fifties, and he died in 1547. His successor was a 9 year old boy Edward VI. Somerset, elder brother of the late Queen Jane Seymour was Edward's uncle and became Lord Protector, ruling from 1547 to 1549. However his wars were costly, and he was overthrown by his former ally John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland whose top aid was William Cecil. The King died suddenly in 1553. Dudley tried to make his daughter-in-law Lady Jane Grey Queen, but this attempt failed after 9 days when Queen Mary I took over the throne, had Dudley beheaded, and Jane Grey too, after a period of imprisonment.
Mary I was the daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, his first wife. Mary tried to restore Catholicism, but this was later reversed by her younger sister and successor, Elizabeth I. On the continent the Jesuits lead the Catholic Counter Reformation, but Mary's chief religious advisor Cardinal Pole refused to allow the Jesuits into England. Mary's marriage to King Philip II of Spain was deeply unpopular. They had no children.
Elizabeth I ruled 1558 to 1603. She returned the country to become Protestant once again. Her half sister Mary, Queen of Scots 1542 to 1587, was a devout Catholic and was next in line to the English throne. Mary had many troubles and dalliances, and was forced to abdicate the Scottish throne in favour of her infant son James VI . Mary fled to England where she was held in captivity for the next 19 years. She was involved in many plots to assassinate Elizabeth. Enough was enough, and Mary was eventually executed in 1587. Elizabeth had no children, and the Stuarts inherited the English throne on her death in 1603.
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I read this book in May, 2024.
Some time ago, impressed by all her awards, I bought Hilery Mantel's trilogy about the life and times of Thomas Cromwell in Tudor England. I haven't got round to reading them yet. Recently, in Cambridge, I was reading an article in the Telegraph about the Matthew Shardlake novels of C. J. Sansom. It said they covered the period just as well as Mantel, but were a lot more readable. C. J. Sansom died recently (April,2024). I thought why not start with these books. Anyway, a couple of hours later I had found and bought the first three Matthew Shardlake books in a charity shop - only 95p each.
"Dissolution" is book one. It's an impressive effort which gives both sides of the Dissolution of the Monasteries story (1536 to 1540). The Church was corrupt, the monasteries lived off the fat of the land, and had strayed too far from their honourable founding principles. But all the Reformation did was to replace one lot of greedy, self agrandising people with another. Much of the Church was good and sweeping it away destroyed a way of life that had existed for some 400 years. It was the dissolution of a civilisation, a heritage, the old ways dissolving away - "Dissolution".
Of late, I have been writing these reviews under three headings - Characters , Personal Lives and Main Plots .
Characters . Matthew Shardlake is a 35 year old hunchback lawyer living in Chancery Lane and practising in London. He has a maid, Joan Woode, and a horse, appropriately called Chancery. Thomas Cromwell is the all powerful vicar general acting for the king in dissolving the monasteries. Mark Poer is the son of the steward at Mathew Shardlake's father's farm. Shardlake senior told his steward that Matthew would take care of young Mark, and so he is staying with and under Matthew Shardlake's protection. However Mark, a commoner, bedded a knight's daughter, and is currently very much out of favour. Robin Singleton, a lawyer known to Shardlake, is the Cromwell commissioner who was sent to arrange the dissolution of Scansea Monastery in Sussex, and Dr Goodhaps his accompanying lawyer advisor. Singleton is the first murder victim
There are various monks at the Benedictine Scarnsea monastery :
Abbot Fabian is in charge, but leaves day to day duties to others so that he can go off hunting and living the life of a lord.
Brother Mortimus is the prior, second in charge. He handles discipline and welfare, but is cruel and vindictive.
Simon Whelpley is the youth probationer, ill treated and abused by the prior who died of cruelty.
Brother Edwig is the bursar, zealously maintaining monastery finances.
Brother Gabriel is the sacrist handling building maintenance, but also monastery music. He is a homosexual, and dies saving Matthew Shardlake.
Brother Guy is the infirmarium, attending to the sick and prescribing medicines. He is a dark skinned Moor, who studied at Louvain, Europes finest medical school. Alice Fewterer (22) is his young nurse / assistant. Orphan Stonegarden was the previous nurse / assistant who allegedly stole treaures and ran off.
Brother Hugh is the chamberlain in charge of household duties.
Brother Jude is the pittancer, paying bills, and distributing charitable doles.
Brother Jerome is a Carthusian monk, and also a cousin of Jane Seymour. He was forced to renounce his religion when tortured on the rack by Cromwell and now is a pain stricken cripple.
Brugge is the guard / gatekeeper at Scarnsea Monastery
Finally, Mistress Joan Stumpe runs the poorhouse in Scarnsea village, and Master Copynger the Justice in Scarnsea.
Private Lives :There are two main themes here - the dissolution of the monasteries, and a Matthew Shardlake v Mark Poer rivalry for the affection of Alice Fewterer, but we also learn of the various characters' day to day lives. Matthew, a widower, has bought a fine house with glassed windows in Chancery Lane, but it was very expensive and he cannot afford to fall out of favour or have his loyalty to Cromwell questioned. He reads Machieveli - definitely not approved at Westminister. Matthew has been a hunchback from the age of 5, and so could not help work his fathers farm. Eventually a steward, William Poer, was employed to run the farm. Mark Poer is William's son. Matthew was educated at the Cathedral school in Lichfield. Sadly his mother died when he was 10. When Matthew was 16 he was sent away to study law. He arrived at the Inns of Court in 1518, and never returned to the farm. There he was caught up in ongoing competition between the Church Courts and the King's Court that Matthew represented. Matthew had met Thomas Cromwell when both were students at their debating society and later, Cromwell, working in the service of Cardinal Wolsey, gave Shardlake some departmental work. As Cromwell advanced, so too did Shardlake. These were troubling times following the anulment of the King's marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Mark Poer had bedded the 16 year old maid to Queen Jane, but the girl talked about it, and was sent away. Mark was in disgrace and saved by Matthew who explained that we are commoners, and we don't usually get given a second chance.
Matthew is a hunchback, and many at that time beleived that it was was bad luck to see a hunchback. Matthew had earlier fallen in love with Kate, the daughter of a client merchant. She was educated and they chatted freely. He didn't speak of his feelings until too late - she had fallen for someone else. Kate asked why he didn't speak earlier, and Matthew explained -"because of my deformity". She said that that would have made no difference to her, and told him he was too full of self pity, and made too much of his hunchback. Kate and her father died of sickness.
The Kate / Matthew story was partly repeated at Scarnsea Monastery when Matthew was impressed by 22 year old Alice Fewterer, the infirmarium's assistant. However Mark Poer was smitten too. Mark was good looking, and Matthew stood no chance. Mark and Alice eventually fell in love, but Alice was only a servant, and Mark could never advance if he married her. He says he will give everything up, even though Matthew threatens to disown him. Matthew's life is in danger at Scarnsea monastery. He had taken Mark there as his bodyguard - Mark and Matthew falling out was a very serious matter. Eventually Mark and Alice do run off together, but apparently perish together in the swamps between the monastery and the sea. However there is more news at the book climax.
Finally let me mention the dissolution of the monasteries background which C J Sansom covers very fairly. Brother Guy and Shardlake become friends - Guy even treats Shardlake medically. It's an age when informers are everywhere and wrong words equate to treason which carries a death sentence. Guy asks Matthew if he can speak freely, sort of "off the record" and talks lovingly of his mother church, a universal entity throughout Europe, and loved by most of the people. It has rescued Guy, a foreigner. Matthew criticises the church doctrine of Purgatory - the soul goes to Purgatory pending judgment but time there can be reduced by paying monks to pray for them - a good money earner. It's all nonsense says Matthew. Matthew is an ardent protestant who starts off insisting he is working on the side of right, and that Cromwell, his master, is an honourable man incapable of the cruelty spoken of in many stories. Matthew's eyes are opened as the story unfolds, and he realises that he has been deluding himself. He half knew the truth all along, but would not acknowledge it. Eventually Matthew is no Papist, but a less extreme Protestant. Somewhat out of favour at the end of the book, Matthew still counts Brother Guy a friend, and offers help if Guy ever fleas to London.
The Main Plots : It's 1537, Ann Bolyn has recently been beheaded. Matthew Shardlake, lawyer, is summonsed to visit Thomas Cromwell. The smaller monasteries had been dissolved in 1536, and now Cromwell was starting on the larger ones. Agents would dig for dirt to lay against the monasteries - and there was a lot of dirt to be found - and the monasteries would be invited to enter into voluntary dissolution with pensions for all, and a fat pension for the Abbot. But there is trouble at a smallish Benedictine monastery in Scarnsea, Sussex. Cromwell's commissioner Robin Singleton, sent to arrange dissolution, had been beheaded, and the monks claim they were not responsible. Matthew is tasked to solve / avenge the murder, and if he can implicate the monks, so much the better. He will take his lodger Mark Poer as bodyguard. Mark had slept with a knight's daughter - he a commoner. She was sent away, and Mark is out of favour. This is an opportunity for him to redeem himself.
It's the Monastery of St Donatus - it's capable of holding 200 monks, but currently has 30 monks, and 60 servants. They all live off the fat of the land. Amazingly they are renovating the monastery as if it's future was not in doubt. Heads buried in the sand ! Abbot Fabian is out, hunting with his lordly chums, and so Matthew and Mark are greeted by the second in command, Prior Mortimus. They first visit Dr. Goodhaps, the lawyer who had accompanied Singleton to Scarnsea. He admitted he could find no legal excuse to close the place. Cromwell is having to avoid force nowadays following an uprising in the North. Goodhaps told them of a great commotion at 5 am one day when Singleton was found beheaded in the kitchen. Also the Church had been desecrated and a precious relic (the hand of the thief who died on the cross with Christ) was stolen.
Abbot Fabian has now returned. He had studied law at Cambridge, and was refusing to volunteer for dissolution - he enjoyed too rich a life to give it up. The purpose of Singleton's visit (dissolution) was kept secret from most of the monks, and was known only by some senior ones - the Abbot, the Prior, Gabriel, the sacrist, Edwig, the bursar, and Guy, a Moor, the infirmarium. Which one of these is the killer ? Matthew and Mark request rooms near the infirmary to be near the centre of things. Alice (22), a young nun, who tends the sick and ill for Brother Guy will look after their needs. Guy says she has other duties, and stresses that Alice, a young woman amidst so many men, is under his protection. As he says this he looks directly at young Mark. Guy shows them Singleton's body. He had been beheaded cleanly with no hacking - i.e. by a sword, but who, in a monastery, would have a sword ?
At meal time there is a scene when Brother Jerome, a Carthusian monk, shouts out "the Anti Christ is amongst us, etc." He is lead away. Later the boy probationer, Simon Whelpley, falls to the ground with a loud thump. He was undernourished and overworked as a punishment by cruel Prior Mortimus. Later Alice wakes Matthew in the middle of the night. She had been sent by Guy. Simon is delirious, and wants to talk to Matthew. He says Singleton was not the first death here, speaks of a young girl, and says Alice is in danger. Sadly, Simon doesn't recover, and dies.
Matthew and Mark interview all the senior monks. The Monastery is closed / locked up from 9 pm to 9 am, and Brugge does night patrols. It's like a closed room mystery - it's not an outsider but must be one of the monks - but would they desecrate the Church? Matthew asks for all the books of accounts, but later Alice tells him he hasn't been given them all. Singleton had also found a blue cover one - and he was shouting at the bursar in an argument about what it contained.
In his death throes, Simon had appeared to be mocking Matthew's deformed gait. Brother Guy had a theory about this, and later tells Matthew that Simon was poisoned with Belladonna. It wasn't mockery, but the effects of the poison.
Mark and Matthew visit Justice Copynger in Scarnsea - he will help them all he can. He advises them that there was a young girl at the monastery, Orphan Stonegarden, before Alice. She apparently stole two precious caskets and disappeared. Her friend Mistress Joan Thumpe, who runs the local poor house, defends Orphan, swearing she was an honest girl. She fears some harm came to her.
Looking over the monastery grounds, Matthew thought he had seen something glinting at the bottom of the carp pool - he would return later. We now have a great falling out between Mark and Matthew. Mark wants to give up his life of probable advancement at the Court of Augmentation to live with the servant girl Alice. Matthew says such things are not possible - "if you persist I will disown you". In such a mood, Matthew orders Mark to break the ice on the carp pool, enter the freezing water, and see what was glinting. Mark retreives an elaborate gentleman's sword, but also some old rags which turn out to be a monk's habit. Disturbed by Mark's actions, a horrible, decayed body surfaces in the pool. Yes, it's Orphan Stonegarden who didn't abscond. Guy says it's murder - her neck was broken. She had not had an easy life at the monastery, and had been molested by one of the monks. Matthew has the pool drained, and the caskets she allegedly stole are there too. However, there is no sign of the missing relic.
Matthew's investigation is dragging on. He no sooner gets a clue as to who did it, but that it then falls through. Someone tries to kill Matthew by dislodging an elevated stone statue on to him. Gabriel pushes him to safety , but dies, crushed by the statue. So many deaths, and no solution.
We had earlier been told that Matthew was at Ann Bolyn's beheading. She had been falsely accused of sleeping around, infidelity, with Mark Smeaton, a court musician. He confessed under torture on the rack. Smeaton and Bolyn were beheaded. Brother Jerome had also been tortured on the rack. He was a cousin of Jane Seymour whom the king hoped to marry, and so Jerome would not be allowd to die, but racked, and then racked again until he renounced his religion and was forced to take the oath of allegiance to the king. He is now in physical agony, but ashamed of denouncing his religion.
Now, I've certainly said too much - I'll leave you to read the story and see how Matthew solves everything in the end. He has solved several murders, and even got the Abbot to agree to dissolution (and take the fat pension) - but he gets no thanks from Cromwell because he took too long. Mark had given everything up, and run off with Alice - but apparently they both drowned trying to escape over a water logged treacherous bog in the mist. Did they perish, or survive - this is explained in the epilogue?
All in all, a terrific evocation of life in Tudor times, and a good old mystery and who done it. There is nice final twist, and clues - and two murderers, one suspected, one a surprise. Well done, C. J. Sansom.
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I read this book in September, 2024.
This is book two in the Matthew Shardlake historical fiction stories by C J Sansom. I liked it better than book one - it was a very readable, page turner thriller with an interesting history lesson thrown in. It's set three years after book one, in 1540. This is the time of Henry VIII, his first minister Thomas Cromwell, the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and the unfortunate fate of Henry's various wives. Greek Fire, or Dark Fire is the legendary substance with which the Byzantines destroyed the Arab navies. If it's secrets have been rediscovered it's a powerful potential weapon of mass destruction when England is threatened by invasion from France and Spain.
I now write these reviews under three headings - Characters , Personal Lives and Main Plots .
Characters .
Regular Characters :
Matthew Shardlake is now a 38 year old hunchback lawyer living in Chancery Lane and practising in London. His faithful horse Chancery dies of stab wounds and is replaced by Genesis.
Joan Woode is Matthew's maid.
Young Simon is a boy who helps Joan.
Thomas Cromwell, the Earl of Essex, is Henry VIII's chief minister. Formerly all powerful, he is now out of favour with the king and his power is waning. He is executed in 1540.
Grey is secretary to Cromwell with years of service, but ultimately a traitor.
John Blotleman is Cromwell's steward.
Jack Barak (28) is Cromwell's man assigned to help Shardlake. He is a useful bodyguard with a rebellious nature. He has Jewish ancestry. When Cromwell falls, Barak becomes Shardlake's assistant. His horse is called Sukey.
Judge Forbizer is a harsh judge who shows no mercy.
Godfrey Wheelwright is a fellow lawyer who shares chambers with Shardlake, and is also a heretical preacher.
John Skelly is Matthew's clerk, who has good latin skills but is otherwise hopeless, always losing papers. There is a reason for this.
Apothecary Guy Malton (Mohammed Elakbar) is a dark skinned Moor, who studied at Louvain, Europe's finest medical school. We met him in book 1 and Matthew has now helped set him up in London.
Catherine Howard (17) is the beautiful niece of the Duke of Norfolk - a powerful Catholic family - whom Henry VIII wants as his next Queen. He needs an heir.
New Characters :
Rich Sir Edwin Wentworth, 49, is the father of 3 children, a boy Ralph (12), and two girls Sabine and Avice of marriageable age. His old mother is blind and also lives with Sir Edwin.
Ralph is the son Edwin doted on. He dies when he was pushed down the family well in their garden.
Elizabeth Wentworth, 18, is the destitute orphan niece of Sir Edwin whom he takes into his household. She is accused of pushing Ralph down the well.
Joseph Wentworth is a struggling farmer, a brother of Sir Edwin, and a good uncle to niece Elizabeth when she needs a friend.
David Needler is Sir Edwin's steward / servant.
Lady Honor Bryanston is a beautiful, rich widow of an ancient family lineage. She lives in the grand House of Glass, and gives lavish parties. She has several suitors, and befriends Matthew. A potential but unrealistic love interest for Matthew.
The Gristwood brothers, Michael and Sepulcus (Samuel), steal the secret of Dark Fire and get slaughtered.
Jane Gristwood is Michael's widow.
David Harper is Jane's illegitimate son, a founder (works with molten metal), used by the Gristwood brothers.
Peter Leighton is a senior founder who employs David Harper.
Bathsheba Green, a prostitute whom David Harper was seeing, is pregnant with his child.
Stephen Bealknap is an untrustwrthy lawyer and rogue property developer who apparently knows about Dark Fire.
Gabriel Marchamount, lawyer, Sergeant (one rung below judge), also apparently knows about Dark Fire.
Bernard Toky is a pock marked villain, and an ex novice monk.
Sam Wright, of massive build, is Toky's assistant.
Master Leman committed perjury for Bealkamp.
Private Lives : I will mention these under five headings :
Matthew Shardklake - He is no warrior hero, but a hunchback lawyer. He got little thanks for helping Cromwell in book 1, and has been trying to keep his head down and away from Cromwell. Matthew's father is still alive at their farm in Lichfield in the Midlands. Like Elizabeth Wentworth, Matthew's belief in God seems to have slipped away - he wonders when it went, and how. He had hoped to retire early to the country but a few months forced exile away from London after the execution of Cromwell dissuades him - he was bored to tears. His friend Guy Malton is treating his painful hunchback.
Henry VIII, and his problems - Henry VIII needs a male successor, but will never accept that he may be incapable of fathering one - he always blames the Queen. He has had four wives in eight years ! He blames Thomas Cromwell for landing him with the present Queen, the protestant Anne of Cleeves. He wants rid of her, and desires young 17 year old Catherine Howard, the neice of the Catholic Duke of Norfolk. Such a switch from a protestant to a catholic Queen might mean those protestants in current favour would fall, and those formerly out of favour would return and take revenge. The king fears that the heretics have got out of control, and orders that common people can no longer read the bible. He fears invasion if Spain and France combine to sail against him.
Lady Honor Bryanston - she has heard of Shardlake from Thomas Cromwell, and invites him to one of her sugar parties. Shardlake had hoped Cromwell had forgotten about him, but Cromwell has anther job for him. Shardlake gets on well with Lady Honor. He confides that there once had been someone for whom he cared, Kate, but he never told her as he thought she would not be interested in a hunchback. Lady Honor says he is quite wrong. Shardlake has to concentrate on Cromwell's search for Dark Fire and so cannot speak of his feelings. Later, when an opportunity sort of appears, Lady Honor makes it plain her need for status - she will only marry into another top family and not a lowly lawyer.
John Skelly - John Skelly, Shardlake's clerk, appears hopeless, his copy work is smudged and illegible, and Shardlake may have to replace him. Barak calls Shardlake a terrible employer forcing Skelly to work at nights and on Sundays to complete his duties. "Can't you see that he is almost blind" says Barak. Shardlake is astonished - this explains so much. He will get Guy Malton to make Skelly some glasses.
The State of the Country. - England generally is a terrible place with squalor and abject povery everywhere. The sick were turned out with no where to go when the monasteries were closed and with them their infirmaries - and also their giving of alms to the poor. Life is cheap - steal anything over the value of a shilling and it's the death penalty. Deaths can be cruel torture. Cromwell has a papist priest dangled by chains above a fire to prolong the agony, and 10,000 people turn out to watch the spectacle.
The Main Plots : There are two main plots, did Elizabeth Wentworth kill her cousin Ralph, and the search for Dark Fire.
Did Elizabeth Wentworth kill her cousin Ralph ?
Elizabeth Wentworth has been accused of murdering her cousin Ralph Wentworth by pushing him down a well. The accusers, her other cousins Sabine and Avice did not actually see this happen, but say Elizabeth was the only one in the garden at the time. Elizabeth is refusing to speak and her other uncle Joseph asks Shardlake to defend the girl. Joseph and Shardlake visit Elizabeth in Newgate prison, a filthy hole of a place. If she will not speak it will be torture by press - heavy weights placed on her body over a rock until her back breaks - but still she will not speak. Judge Forbizer is known to be a harsh, cruel man. Godfrey Wheelwright helps Shardlake look for precedent that mad people cannot be tortured by Press, but it's still no good. But then there is a stroke of good fortune. Cromwell's man Jack Barak approaches Shardlake. He has got Elizabeth a 12 day stay of execution as an advance payment for Shardlake helping Cromwell once more.
Sir Edwin and his family agree for Joseph and Shardlake to visit them. They say that Elizabeth refused to eat with them but stayed in her room, or sat reading in the garden. Her only friend was her pet cat which has gone missing. Shardlake sees that the garden well is now covered over and padlocked. They say they have thrown away the keys. Shardlake notes the terrible smell coming from the well. Later he and Barrack will break into the garden, pick the padlocks and Barrack will discover what is down the well. Before this they tell Elizabeth what they intend to do, and she finally speaks. "If you do that, you will lose your faith in God". Elizabeth has a terrible time in prison, and falls ill. Shardlake pays for her to be moved to a better cell, and pays Guy Malton to visit and care for her. It turns out that Ralph delighted in torturing animals - and his sisters even caught animals for him and watched the torture. Elizabeth fell out of favour with her cousins when she released a trapped animal. She could not tell her Uncle Edwin as he doted on Ralph and would hear nothing said against him.
There was another tiny sub plot which started when a poor mad girl was thrown out of a butchers shop for claiming they had killed her missing young brother. Eventually she ends up in the same cell as Elizabeth and amazingly Barak discovers it's not just Elizabeth's cat that is down the well, but the poor little, tortured body of the missing brother. I've rather condensed this story - the main omision is Shardlake and Barak being poisoned by Sir Edwin's mother and steward - and Shardlake and Barak surviving by inducing vomiting by drinking mustard.
The Search for Dark Fire.
In return for a 12 day stay of execution for Elizabeth Wentworth, Shardlake must help Cromwell once again. Cromwell's hair is grey, and his face care worn. Cromwell explains that when St Bartholomew's Priory was closed they found in the dungeons a couple of barrels or a foul smelling dark liquid, and some forgotten parchments of formulae and secrets of acient Greek Fire. The Gristwood brothers, Michael and Spepulcus stole these, and will give them to Cromwell in return for granting them sole manufacturing rights. Cromwell wants Shardlake to be his agent - to offer the brothers £100 or it's off to the Tower. Jack Barak is to help Shardlake. When they get to the Gristwoods house, they find the brothers slaughtered upstairs, and Mistress Gristwood in a state of shock. Barak goes to consult Cromwell and returns with Cromwell's men to search the place. There had been two assailants who knew what they wanted. We later learn these are Bernard Toky and his massive minder Sam Wright. Shardlake is tasked with getting the Dark Fire secrets for Cromwell using the full authority of Cromwell's office. The Gristwood brothers had approached Cromwell through three intermediaries -they spoke to Stephen Bealknap, who spoke to Sgnt Gabriel Marchamount (a semi papist) who spoke to Lady Honor, who finally spoke to Cromwell. There had been an awe inspiring demonstration of Dark Fire using liquid from the stolen barrels. Fire was squirted out of a pipe and a ship on the Thames destroyed. What a terrifying defence if French and Spanish ships attack. Cromwell is out of favour with the King for landing him with Anne of Cleeves, and offering Dark Fire to the King will regain favour, but now the Dark Fire is missing. Worse, we will learn that the Gristwood brothers had failed to produce more Dark Fire liquid - it seems to have been based on liquid naptha, only available in Byzantine lands.
Shardlake questions the three intermediaries. They all deny knowledge of Dark Fire, and say they just passed on a letter without reading it. Later Lady Honor admits reading it, and wished that she hadn't - it's a terrifying weapon. Bealknap says he didn't know the Gristwood brothers were dead. Jane Gristwood says that Michael spent a lot of time with Bathsheba Green, in a brothel. First Shardlake visits Tkychyn, the librarian at St Bartholomew's Priory. An arrow meant for Shardlake whizzes through the air, but Kytchyn moves at the wrong time, and an arrow pierces his arm. The assailant was a pock faced man who had been following them but got away from Barak. Shardlake asks Barak to find out the names of the founders that the Gristwood brothers used to make their Dark Fire machine. He will ask the same of Jane Gristwood. Encouraged by the prospect of an inheritance, Jane tells Shardlake that she gave birth to a son when she was a young unmarried girl. He was taken from her, but she kept in touch. He is David Harker, a founder, working for Peter Leighton. These were the founders the Gristwoods used. Shardlake next visits the prostitute Bathsheba, explaining he is a lawyer working for Cromwell. But Bathsheba had panicked and sent for her brother, who burst in and threatens Shardlake, holding a dagger at his throat. Barak now bursts in with drawn sword. Bathsheba and her brother run away and escape. Shardlake is almost ambushed by a villain on his way home. He will try not the venture out alone in the future.
It's a big interesting story extending over 593 pages, and I'll leave you to read it, but mention some highlights: -
Shardlake gets some Dark Fire from the body of a buried sea captain, disinterred from the cemetery of St Bartholomew's Priory.
He gives the liquid to Guy Malton for analysis. He says he will help Shardlake but not provide Cromwell with such a terrible weapon. What Shardlake does will be between him and God. Shardlake agrees with Guy.
Shardlake had done some legal work on a warehouse for an undisclosed owner. Could this be where the stolen Dark Fire barrels are being stored ?
There is a fight at the warehouse and Shardlake saves Barak by throwing Dark Fire over Toky's assistant Sam Wright - who dies an agonising death consumed by flames.
Toky is still around and a menace.
There is no Dark Fire, it's now a plot to discredit Cromwell. I like to leave some part of the story unspoiled - read the book to find out who is doing the conspiring. One part of the story is not a spoiler, but historical fact. Cromwell is not saved, but is executed later in 1540 - a faithful servant to Henry VIII, disgracefully set aside.
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I read this book in August, 2026.
This is book three in the Matthew Shardlake historical fiction series by C. J. Sansom. I like historical fiction as we usually get a good story with an history lesson thrown in. It's set one year after book two, in 1541. Thomas Cromwell is dead, and Henry VIII is now married to Catherine Howard. There had been an uprising in the North, a battle of Papists against Reformers, but Henry renaged on a promise of safety, met with the leaders and killed them. Thus he crushed the uprising, but not the ill feeling against his reign. The monasteries have been destroyed, and property and land are being confiscated. It's not a happy state of affairs. This story deals with Henry's expedition to the North to reinforce his power - The Progress - and a "Blaybourne Confession" alleging that Henry VIII is not the true heir to the throne. Poor Matthew, who only wants a quiet life, gets caught up in it - and even imprisoned falsely in the Tower, and tortured. The torture descriptions, although toned down, are still horrific - what terrible times to live in.
I now write these reviews under three headings - Characters , Personal Lives and Main Plots .
Characters .
Regular Characters :
Matthew Shardlake, now 39, is a hunchback lawyer living in Chancery Lane and practising in Lincoln Inns, London. His faithful horse is called Genesis.
Joan Woode is Matthew's maid.
Young Simon is a boy who helps Joan.
John Skelly is Matthew's clerk at Lincoln Inns.
Thomas Cromwell, the Earl of Essex, Henry VIII's former chief minister, was executed in 1540.
Jack Barak (28) was Cromwell's man assigned to help Shardlake, and is now Shardlake's bodyguard and travelling legal clerk. He has Jewish ancestry, and his horse is called Sukey.
Apothecary Guy Malton (Mohammed Elakbar) is a dark skinned Moor, who studied at Louvain, Europe's finest medical school. Matthew helped set him up in London.
Catherine Howard (18), the beautiful niece of the Duke of Norfolk - a powerful Catholic family - is Henry VIII's current Queen. He needs a legitimate heir, if she is / was unfaithful she is disqualified.
Stephen Bealknap is an untrustwrthy lawyer and rogue property developer whose case Shardlake is contesting in the courts.
Thomas Cranmer is the first Protestant Archbishop of Canterbury, and a powerful man in the land.
New Characters :
Edward Blaydourne was a Kentish archer whom Edward IV's mother Cecily Neville said was Edward IV's true father. Blaybourne confessed it was true in the "Blaybourne Connfession".
Giles Wrenne is a barrister in York, and Matthew's contact there. Together they litigate small claims / petitions to the king in York on the Progress.
Martin Dakin, is / was Wrenne's nephew, a barrister who practised in London.
Sir Edward Broderick, in his 20s, is a Northern rebel being escorted to the Tower of London, for "questioning." / torture.
Radwinter is in charge of getting Broderick back to London, but he is a cruel man prone to killing his charges.
Lady Rochford works for Queen Catherine. She gave false witness against Anne of Cleves who was then killed.
Jennet Martin works for Rochford. Jennet's fiance Bernard is a prisoner in the Tower awaiting death.
Tamasin Reedbourne, works for Jennet as confectioner to the Queen. She makes a play for Barak, and they become close.
Archibold is the King's coroner in York.
Peter Oldroyd is a York glazier (and secret rebel) who gave a cryptic message to Shardlake - who then has to investigate his death.
The Duke of Suffolk is a very senior official, close to the King, and in overall charge of the Progress.
Sir William Malevener, a lawyer, is a member of the Council of the North, powerful, trusted by the King, and in charge of legal matters on the Progress.
Simon Craike, a fellow student of Shardlake's at Lincoln Inn in London, is in charge of arranging accommodation and supplies for the Progress.
Sir John Freely is a King's Officer, in charge of petitions.
Simon Culpepper, a rake, is part of the royal party. He was seen leaving the Queen's chambers.
Sgnt Leacon, a York soldier, later guards Broderick and saves Shardlake from an escaped bear !
Francis Dereham is a court official whom Queen Catherine appointed as a her secretary.
Sir Jack Rawling is deputy warden at the Tower of London, in charge of Shardlake's questioning there.
Private Lives : I will mention these under four headings :
Matthew Shardklake -
With the death of Matthew's father, Shardlake has inherited the family farm, but it's in a bad state, and in debt - which Matthew will pay out of famiy honour. Clients still avoid Matthew's legal practice because of his association with Cromwell, and so finances are tight. Matthew is also fighting a Council property action against Sir Richard Rich, and a fellow lawyer, Bealknap, which is not the done thing. Archbishop Cranmer knows that Cromwell spoke well of Matthew Shardlake - a man of rare discretion. Accordingly, he offers Shardlake £50 to augment the King's lawyers in York - which will pay off the family debt. Matthew can hardly refuse such a powerful man as Cranmer. However Cranmer requires a second task. The rebel Sir Edward Broderick is not disclosing secrets, and is being transferred to the Tower of London where torture will loosen his tongue. Radwinter, his guard on the journey, is a cruel man with a reputation for excess and even killing his charges. Shardlake has to ensure that Brodorick reaches London.
When Shardlake and Wrenne, his York lawyer associate, present the peoples' petitions to the monarch, the King makes a cruel joke at Shardlake's expense, calling him a "bent, broken spider", a Southerner opposite a tall, erect man of the North, i.e. Wrenne. News of the taunt spreads, and Shardlake loses his temper for the second time when berating his tormentors. He must pull himself together. Sir Richard Rich catches Shardlake as he returns to his lodgings, and offers him £50 if he'll drop the Bealknap property case. Shardlake refuses, and Sir Richard says there are other things he can do. Indeed there are. - false witness sends Shardlake to the Tower for questioning / torture. Cranmer himself had signed the warrent. At the end of the story, beaten and bloody, but innocent, Shardlake asks Cranmer to excuse him from any further "political tasks." Cranmer not only agrees, but later offers Shardlake a position as advocate to the Court of Pleas - steady employment which Shardlake gratefully accepts.
Jack Barak and Tamasin Reedbourne.
On the way to their accommodation at St Mary's in York, Jack Barak rescues a very attractive lass, Tamasin Reedbourne, a servant of the Queen. Two youths were trying to steal her basket. Tamasin and Jack get talking - Tamasin will get Shardlake and Barak their meal dockets, and join them for dinner at 6 pm. Matthew warns Jack, "She fancies you." "Good", he replies. Later, the young couple are off to see a musical play together. When Shardlake and Barak discover that the attack on Tamasin was staged, this alarms Shardlake. Tamasin admits it - it was a ploy to meet Barak, and he is quite happy with it. Shardlake wonders if it was a ruse to contact him, reference his mission to get Brodorick to London. Later, Tamasin speak privately to Shardlake, tells of her difficult childhood, but her hard work to first teach herself embroidery, and then confectionery. She says she cares for Barak, but he respects Shardlake, and asks for an alliance. She wants Jack to serve Shardlake in London, and to meet Jack there when this business is over. Shardlake is impressed, but still wary - especially when Tamasin trips and drops a rosary concealed under her dress. She says it was her grandmother's. Much is secret about Tamasin. However she eventually wins Shardake's trust. She and Barak are to get married, and already Tamasin is pregnant. Far from feeling trapped, Barak is delighted.
Jennet Marlin
Jennet, a servant of Lady Rochford, is a very angry young woman. Her fiance Bernard Locke , a barrister, bought the land of a dissolved abbey in Yorkshire, but the neighbouring Malevener family want it. She says Bernard is in the Tower of London, merely for knowing a couple of papists. However this is not quite the full story. Jennet will do anything to free Bernard, even allegeadly killing the York glazier Oldfield, and more. It's not true.
Giles Wrenne
Giles Wrenne and Matthew have to present the Peoples' Petitions to the King, and later adjudicate on them. Giles and Matthew get on well and become friends. Giles shows Matthew his extensive library stocked with non religious books he has rescued from the monasteries. Both are shocked that precious manuscripts are being used to wipe down horses ! After the King's taunt, it seemed Wrenne had abandoned Matthew, but not so, he had been taken ill and had to be taken home. Matthew visits him. Giles explains that he is dying, with only a few months to live. He will see Madge, his housekeeper is provided for, will leave his library to Matthew, and the rest of his estate to his estranged nephew, Martin Dakin, a lawyer in London. He asks for Matthew's help to get to London, to reconcile with Dakin.
It's a difficult and prolonged journey back to London, but they all get there, and are living temporarily with Matthew in Chancery Lane - Wrenne, Barak, and Tamasin. Joan, Matthew's housekeeper doesn't approve of Tamasin's morals ! Later Matthew visits Martin Dakin's chambers, and discovers that Dakin died two winters ago. The Treasurer shows him who inherited Dakin's estate - a name that surprises Shardlake. That is part of the climax, and I will say no more.
The Main Plots : I have spilt out two mini plots from the main plot, but they all blend together in the book.
The Blaybourne Confession.
The Tudors have been on the throne for sixty years, but are not popular, especially in the North, where there had been an uprising. Henry VIII is King as a direct descendant of Edward IV, the son of Richard, Duke of York (d 1460) and Cecily Neville (d 1495). An old rumour suggests that Cecily, when they were in France, had a one night stand with a Kentish archer called Edward Blaybourne, who was the true father of Edward IV. Cecily confessed after her husband died, but this was hushed up. Blaybourne returned to Kent, married twice, and confessed on his death bed to the son of his second marriage, that yes, he was Edward IV's true father. This is the Blaybourne Confession, and is part of the papers in a secret box eventually discovered by Shardlake. Barak opened the box, and Shardlake perused just a few of the papers before it was stolen from him. It's thought that he saw more than he did - hence attempts to silence / kill him. Revealing that Henry VIII had no claim to the throne would greatly improve the chances of success should there be a second uprising.
Queen Catherine's Liaisons.
Jack Barak has kept his new girlfriend Tamasin Reedbourne out late, but when he escorts her back to her quarters, they both see Culpepper, the court rake, leaving the Queen's chambers. Jack and Tamasin are spotted. Later they tell Shardlake what they have seen. If it was announced that the queen was pregnant, how could anyone be sure who the father was ? Shardlake agrees to tell no one and later they are called to meet Queen Catherine. She says she was only seeking the company of someone her own age, and nothing else. Shardlake accepts this, but says that he will leave papers to be disclosed should he suffer a mysterious death.
Matthew's enemy Sir Richard Rich sees Shardlake leave the Queen's tent, and gets a false witness to claim that he heard Shardlake encourage the queen to sleep with Francis Dereham whom she knew before marrying Henry. This was to repay the King for his cruel, public "bent, broken spider" description. The false charge is because Shardlake will not drop his legal action in the Bealknap property action. The charge sends Shardlake to the Tower of London where torture eventually starts, but is halted when Barak gets through to Archbishop Cranmer, and returns just in time to prevent further torture. The torture is described in the book - not pleasant reading.
Main Plot :
It's September, 1541, and Shardlake and Barak ride to York, Matthew with Cranmer's seal in his pocket. York is busy preparing for the King's visit, on his "Progress to the North" with 3,000 soldiers and 5,000 horses. Shardlake meets his contact, barrister Giles Wrenne of York. The King's man Radwinter is taking a northern conspirator, young Sir Edward Brodorick back to the Tower of London. Cranmer wants Shardlake to ensure that he makes it back in good condition fearing Radwinter's reputation for over zealous ill treatment of prisoners. Radwinter was denying Brodorick water, and two hot poker wounds on the prisoner's chest are festering. When Shardlake puts an end to this, Radwinter accuses him of sympathising with the rebel because, as a hunchback, he is also a sufferer.
Simon Craike, a fellow student of Shardlake's at Lincoln Inn some 20 years ago, shows them to their quarters in St Mary's. They meet Sir William Malevener, lawyer, on the Council of the North, and also see the Queen's servant Lady Rochford - she who gave false witness against Anne of Cleves. Oldfield is a glazier removing stained glass from old churches. He apparently falls from his ladder, but Shardlake is there to hear his dying words - "No child of Henry and Catherine will ever be true heirs. Blaybourne. She knows." Oldfield was pushed, and someone is running away, Barak and Shardlake give chase, and follow their prey into a big underground room. The assassin sneaks behind them, locks them in, and makes off. They have to break a window and call for help. When Shardlake reports to Malevener, he is told everyone is busy, and ordered to investigate Oldfields's death. They go to where Peter Oldfiend lived and find that Oldfield's family died in the plague, but there is a young apprentice. They find him, and start to question him when Malevener and his soldiers arrive. Malevener is taking over the investigation - Barak and Shardlake should forget about it, and not mention Oldfield's dying words to anyone.
Matthew had seen the apprentice glancing at a blank wall - could there be a secret hiding place? They go to the house, and find it has been trashed. An old housekeeper awakes, and screams. Shardlake finds a secret panel, and an ornate locked box hidden there. Alerted by the screams, a crowd gathers - shouting thieves, and violence erupts. Happily, Giles Wrenne appears, and vouches for them. Shardlake tells Wrenne that he has a box to take to Malevener, but he is away, and for safety, the box is locked in Simon Craike's office. With Malevener still away, Barak and Shardlake decide to wait in Craike's office with the box. Barak offers to pick the lock, and Shardlake agrees. The pin breaks in the lock, and Barak leaves to get his tools. Shardlake fiddles with the box, and with a click, it is open. It contains old royal geneology tables, an Act of Parliament Shardlake has never seen, and some hand written notes by an Edward Blaybourne. A blow on his head, Matthew falls unconscious. He comes to in Maleverner's office, with the papers missing. Shardlake tells all he knows. Malevener questions the apprentice who recognises the box, and even heard two of Oldfield's visitors say "this will do for the King."
Shardlake is wakened early the next morning by a soldier - Sgnt Leocon. Prisoner Brodorick has been poisoned. Radwinter had heard a noise, saw what a state he was in, and sent for a doctor who made the victim vomit. The food must have been poisoned, but they all ate from a common pot. Brodorick is transferred to a more secure cell under Malevener's eye. Later Shardlake is summonsed to be quizzed by a Privvy Council member - it's his enemy Sir Richard Rich. He asks who all saw the box - Shardlake, Barak, Craike, Jennet Marlin, Wrenne, and Sgnt Leocon. All are suspects. There are three attempts on Shardlake's life which are spread out in time, but I will list here :
Someone drives the spike of an ox roasting spit at Shardlake's head. Barak reacts quickly, and shoves Matthew aside.
Shardlake is walking back to his quarters past a caged bear, when someone pulls a rope, releasing the cage door. The animal advances on Matthew. Luckily Sgnt Leocon arrives with supporting archers who kill the bear.
About to return from the Progress, Wrenne's horse is lame. He will ride Shardlake's, Shardlake will ride Barak's and Barak will walk. As Wrenne tries to mount, Shardlake's horse rears and throws him. Barak softens his landing but suffers a bad leg injury. Someone had placed a thorn under the saddle.
After the first attempt Shardlake visits Wrenne who is sick in bed. He asks to look at Giles's maps, and finds Braybourne near Ashford in Kent. So someone called Braybourne, or Blaybourne left a confession of concern to to the King ?
There is a second attempt to poison Brodorick, but how is it being done? Malevener arrests Radwinter. Shardlake wonders if the poison is being self administered, and examines Brodorick's cell. Outside the window he finds a broken waste pipe inside which some mushrooms are growing - mystery solved. Rather than face death on the rack, Brodorick had been attempting suicide. Later Malevener warns Shardlake that he has an enemy in Sir Richard Rich, and suggests he drops the legal action. Matthew refuses - a bad mistake.
On the way back to London, the Progress stops at Howlme, where Wrenne used to lived. Wrenne sets off to visit the old place at the top of the hill, and Shardlake later joins him. Shardlake returns alone, and is ambushed by Jennet Marlin, who points a crossbow at Shardlake's chest. She wants to silence Shardlake so that he cannot reveal the box's contents which incriminate her fiance Bernard Locke. Matthew keeps her talking as Wrenne sneaks up behind her, and kills her with a blow to the head. It is thought she was behind all the attempts on Shardlake's life. But Shardlake is puzzled. If she knocked him unconscious and stole the box, why would she think he had read it's contents ?
There is another assassin in their midst - who might this be?
As mentioned above Shardlake is arrested - he thinks because of his knowledge of the Blaybourne Confession, but no, it's a false charge of concealing Queen Caroline's Liaisons. Again as mentioned above, it's touch and go, but Barak contacts Cranmer, tells him he has been given false evidence, and so gets Shardlake releaased, not quite torture free, but just in time. Now we have reached the climax, and, avoiding spoilers, I will leave you to read the book.
All in all, it's a long story at over 650 pages with perhaps a little more historical detail than I would prefer, but I can hardly complain - it is historical fiction. Well worth a read but a lot to plough through.
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