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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.92
EAN: 9780142004302
ISBN: 0142004308
Label: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 400
Publication Date: 2004-04-27
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Product Release Date: 2004-04-27
Studio: Penguin (Non-Classics)

Exciting and elegantly written, Dissolution is an utterly compelling first novel and a riveting portrayal of Tudor England. The year is 1537, and the country is divided between those faithful to the Catholic Church and those loyal to the king and the newly established Church of England. When a royal commissioner is brutally murdered in a monastery on the south coast of England, Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s feared vicar general, summons fellow reformer Matthew Shardlake to lead the inquiry. Shardlake and his young protégé uncover evidence of sexual misconduct, embezzlement, and treason, and when two other murders are revealed, they must move quickly to prevent the killer from striking again.

Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Fascinating
Review: This is just the first in one of the most well written historical series I have encountered in a long time - richly written, detailed research and added to that a well crafted mystery - not to be missed!

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Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Excellent!
Review: Dissolution is set in the 1530s, a time of great religious change in England. Cromwell's commissioner, Robin Singleton, has been found murdered, in the monastery, he was sent to investigate, at Scarnsea, on the Sussex coast. Lawyer, Matthew Shardlake, and his assistant Mark Poer have been sent to the monastery, to uncover the murderer.

I found this book a fascinating read. The descriptions, and attention to detail in the book really bring the Tudor era to life. You can almost feel the atmosphere of impending doom and desperation in the monastery, as the monastic way of life draws to its end, after hundreds of years.

The characters in the book are very interesting too, and fairly well fleshed out. It is a real 'whodunnit', and my suspicions went from one person to another, a few times, before the end. I would definitely recommend this book.

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Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Sansom
Review: This guy writes very good mysteries in an historic context. Have read all three and they are not only fun but educational.

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Customer Rating:
Review Summary: great historical fiction, one of the best
Review: I first read Sovereign and loved it.Its set in Tudor times, but reads like a modern who done it!!Loved it so much, I bought Dissolution, love it too. Just wish sansom, would hurry up and write more books!!!!Its not all historical stuff, but you feel as though you are there,the writing is brilliant. Really recomend it!!!

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Customer Rating:
Review Summary: All I wanted was a quick knock off of Name Of The Rose...
Review: I picked up this book while browsing the stacks at my local Borders & Noble, where the familiar orange Penuin spine caught my eye. I read the description, and figured I was in the mood for a Name of the Rose knock-off.

Needless to say, I was more than pleasantly surprised by what emerged from the pages. Shardlake is a wonderful character, and the setting is splendid. The story moves along at a fine pace, and the writing is tight. Sansom suffers from none of the clunkiness you find in the likes of "The Historian" or "The Dante Club".

"Dissolution" is a cracking start to what has turned out to be a great series, and one of my better recent discoveries.

Also note, it seems most of the negative reviews are driven by suppliers shipping damaged goods, and not by any critique of the literature itself.

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