His sympathies may sometimes seem a little out of sync with the historical time in which he lives but, by suspending ones disbelief, this only serves to make his character more endearing. Shardlake himself I think - despite a tendency to appraise all women as either 'pretty' or 'not-pretty' he is a very human character. Real insight is therefore given into the lives of ordinary people and new perspectives on the upper classes than those shown in the non-fiction I have read. Prior to this I had not read much historical fiction set within this period - preferring true history to fiction - however through the use of Shardlake's role as lawyer and his outsider status derived from his hunch back Sansom is able to present the whole scale of Tudor society rather than focusing solely on the highest classes. This novel is so well written that you are immediately sucked into the turbulent world of Tudor England and the dissolution of the monasteries. What made the experience of listening to Dissolution the most enjoyable? But investigation soon forces Shardlake to question everything that he hears, and everything that he intrinsically believes. Matthew Shardlake, lawyer and long-time supporter of Reform, has been sent by Cromwell to uncover the truth behind the dark happenings at Scarnsea.

His horrific murder is accompanied by equally sinister acts of sacrilege. Cromwell's Commissioner, Robin Singleton, has been found dead, his head severed from his body. But on the Sussex coast, at the monastery of Scarnsea, events have spiralled out of control. There can only be one outcome: dissolution. And under the orders of Thomas Cromwell, a team of commissioners is sent throughout the country to investigate the monasteries. The country is waking up to savage new laws, rigged trials and the greatest network of informers ever seen.

Henry VIII has proclaimed himself Supreme Head of the Church. It is 1537, a time of revolution that sees the greatest changes in England since 1066. Dissolution: the first book in the best-selling Shardlake series.

Dissolution sansom