Dissolution Audiobook By C. J. Sansom cover art

Dissolution

A Novel of Tudor England Introducing Matthew Shardlake

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Dissolution

By: C. J. Sansom
Narrated by: Steven Crossley
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This riveting debut set in 1534 England secured C. J. Sansom’s place “among the most distinguished of modern historical novelists” (P. D. James). When Henry VIII’s emissary is beheaded at an English monastery, hunchbacked lawyer Matthew Shardlake is dispatched to solve the crime. But as he uncovers a cesspool of sin, three more murders occur - and Matthew may be the next target.

©2003 C. J. Sansom (P)2011 Recorded Books, LLC Crime Historical Mystery Thriller & Suspense England Middle Ages Fiction
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Engaging Mystery • Rich Historical Detail • Excellent Narration • Complex Protagonist • Intriguing Plot Twists

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I don't generally read murder mysteries but bought this book because it centered on a time period I find to be interesting - Tudor England during the reign of King Henry VIII. I thought I might learn something new about the time period and the dissolution of the monasteries while, at the same time, have an interesting murder mystery to solve. The decision was a really good idea.

The murder mystery left me guessing as to who might have committed the grisly crime and the scene of the murder, a Roman Catholic monastery, made the mystery even more interesting. The cast of possible murderers is large enough to make guessing the culprit something of a challenge and I found myself caught up in the lives of the people involved and caring about who committed the crimes and why. That alone would have made this purchase worth while.

But the book also provided enough background information about Tudor England to prove educational without seeming to do so and I learned quite a bit I did not know about the effort to close the church monasteries. All in all this book was good enough for me to recommend it to a friend who does not listen to Audible but does a good deal of reading and to convince me to buy the next book in the sequence.

While the book alone is quite good Steven Crossley's narration only serves to add to the enjoyment I got from listening. The recording is flawless without those sometimes annoying repetitions I find in other audible offerings when the recording was originally done on CDs and transferred to digital.

Highly recommended if someone has any interest in this time period and in murder mysteries in general.

Wonderful

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I was a history major in college, with an emphasis on other than US history. I spent serious time studying medieval and post-medieval history, did major papers on the development of the British navy. Of course, most of what I studied was the actions and lives of "those who mattered". Remembering that this is not a nonfiction book, it is a good window into that time and place.

What it does is provide a fun read, with a number of not too predictable twists and even better, a picture of part of what life was like in an area away from the action, at a time when the world was in more turmoil than even today.

This is certainly worth a listen, on a number of levels.

Not a pleasant place and time to live

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“Dissolution” is a good mystery about a murder most foul.This is the first of a series of historical novels about a physically impaired Royal Commissioner that investigates crimes in the time of Henry the VIII.

The listener is introduced to Matthew Shardlake. Shardlake is an attorney commissioned by Oliver Cromwell to investigate the murder of a fellow Commissioner. Sansom creates the feel and smell of early 16thcentury life in a Sussex monastery, 50 miles from London. More interestingly, he reveals a version of Oliver Cromwell and the great upheaval of Roman Catholics at the time of Anne Boleyn’s beheading and King Henry the VIII’s rapacious hunger for Papist' wealth. Sansom writes about social change in the 1530s. He reveals how that change muddies truth and justice, and exposes good and evil.

What makes Sansom’s book more than a murder mystery is historical integrity and its larger human context. The story reveals Machiavellian' reasons for dissolution of the Roman Catholic Church in England. The Roman Catholic Church was not then, nor is it now, entirely good or entirely evil. As in all social change, dissolution of any human system of government, any kind of organization, throws both good and evil into the street; what remains is still a balance of good and evil but in a different organizational form. Only the future and history reveal whether social change is better or worse. Evil does not disappear with organizational dissolution or social change because evil is a part of what makes mankind human.

MURDER MOST FOUL

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I read a lot, so I consider myself to be a discerning audience and have pretty high standards. I really enjoy historical whodunits, and this one didn't disappoint. I learned a lot, and although I had my suspicious about one of the killers about half way through, I wasn't sure, and I was so surprised about how th le rest turned out. well worth the read.

pleasantly surprised

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What made the experience of listening to Dissolution the most enjoyable?

Steven Crossley is an amazing narrator.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Dissolution?

The end.

Have you listened to any of Steven Crossley’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The realization that English reform was no reform at all.

Any additional comments?

Fabulous book and narration.

Fabulous

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