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C.J. Sansom - Lamentation (2nd Hand Paperback)
Synopsis
Number 1 Bestseller.
Shardlake #6
England, 1546: King Henry VIII is slowly, painfully dying. His Protestant and Catholic councillors are engaged in a final and decisive power struggle; whoever wins will control the government of Henry's successor, eight-year-old Prince Edward. As heretics are hunted across London, and the radical Protestant Anne Askew is burned at the stake, the Catholic party focus their attack on Henry's sixth wife, Matthew Shardlake's old mentor, Queen Catherine Parr.
Shardlake, still haunted by events aboard the warship Mary Rose the year before, is working on the Cotterstoke Will case, a savage dispute between rival siblings. Then, unexpectedly, he is summoned to Whitehall Palace and asked for help by his old patron, the now beleaguered and desperate Queen.
For Catherine Parr has a secret. She has written a confessional book, Lamentation of a Sinner, so radically Protestant that if it came to the King's attention it could bring both her and her sympathizers crashing down. But, although the book was kept secret and hidden inside a locked chest in the Queen's private chamber, it has - inexplicably - vanished. Only one page has been found, clutched in the hand of a murdered London printer.
Shardlake's investigations take him on a trail that begins among the backstreet printshops of London but leads him and Jack Barak into the dark and labyrinthine world of the politics of the royal court; a world he had sworn never to enter again. Loyalty to the Queen will drive him into a swirl of intrigue inside Whitehall Palace, where Catholic enemies and Protestant friends can be equally dangerous, and the political opportunists, who will follow the wind wherever it blows, more dangerous than either.
The theft of Queen Catherine's book proves to be connected to the terrible death of Anne Askew, while his involvement with the Cotterstoke litigants threatens to bring Shardlake himself to the stake.
A stunning historical series, perfect for fans of Hilary Mantel and Philippa Gregory, the bestselling Shardlake series begins with Dissolution, Dark Fire, Sovereign, Revelation and Heartstone. Continue the gripping historical series with Tombland.
Details
- Format : Very Thick 2nd Hand Paperback
- Condition : Very Good
- Category : Fiction - Historical Fiction
- Published : 2014 (This Edition 2015 - Pan Books)
- ISBN : 9780330511049
- SKU : B003273
- PPC : SP700gm
- RRP : £8.99
- Quantity Available : 1 only.
External Reviews
"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." - Antonia Senior, 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." - Marian Keyes, 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." - Nigel Nelson.
"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. Lamentationis sure to give Sansom's many fans further cause for jubilation." - Peter Kemp, Sunday Times.
"Highly intelligent historical fiction and a guaranteed chart-topper." - Daily Express.
The Author
Christopher John Sansom is a British writer of historical crime novels. He was born in 1952 in Edinburgh and was educated at the University of Birmingham, where he took a BA and then a PhD in history. After working in a variety of jobs, he decided to retrain as a solicitor.
Featured Author . . . C.J. Sansom