Anyone enjoying C. J.Sansom's books?

[HappydaysArehere]

Found one of these books lurking unread on one of my bookshelves. Read it and went and bought all the books in the Matthew Shardlake series. I am now addicted to this Tudor lawyer/detective working for Cromwell, etc in a London and elsewhere in England which is full of the smells, atmosphere and historical information of the time. He is a hunchback, so suffers emotionally and physically which adds to the complexity of the character but it is the wonderful, historical facts which emerge alongside his investigations that I really enjoy. The first in the series is Dissolution. I am on to my fourth at the present time. So, anyone else enjoying them? I do hope so.

MermaidofZennor that's fine, I'll give you the heads up as to when they're on TV so you can avoid them

And as much as I love Anton Lesser I don't see him as Shardlake. I do however think he'd be great as Matthew's nemesis Sir Richard Rich though!

I love the Shardlake series, yes I do worry about Matthew he is a great character, completely human which is why he interfere it is in his nature. I can't wait for the next book.

I don't think Matthew is gay either. He clearly yearns for a wifely companion but his melancholy disposition and his disability mean he doesn't feel confident enough following through on his crushes. Although some of his crushes are entirely unsuitable!

Did anyone else scream 'NO' at That Thing (no spoilers) that happened at the end of Lamentation. I was furious.

if anyone hasn't seen the BBC adaptation on Cambridge Spies with him, watch it - it is one of the best things I've seen!

Oddly enough I ordered that DVD a few weeks ago WordGetsAround! Haven't watched it yet though.

Oh Squoosh I'm so jealous that you have got that to experience for the first time! It is absolutely wonderful and I really hope you enjoy it! Tom Hollander is, of course, brilliant in it, but so is Rupert Penry-Jones and everyone else. Let me know how you get on with it!!

Love Shardlake and read the books as they come out but, without meaning to spoil anything for current readers, I do think Heartstone and Lamentation are a step down from the first 4. I think Sansom is running out of steam, personally. Dark Fire was my favourite, mainly because of the introduction of Jack who is a brilliant foil to Shardlake.

I also adore SJ Parris' books. I can see that they may be considered inferior as they are less well written, but they are far pacier and Bruno is such an endearing character. I do find Shardlake a bit stuffy at times. The only trouble with Bruno is, he is a real person and if you google him, you will find that he comes to a very unpleasant end in the not too distant future from the period Parris is writing about. I fear greatly for him.

And yes Squoosh to the ending of Lamentation. Bloody fuming here. He better make good in some way for that in the next book.

I hated the ending to Lamentation too. How to make good though? What's done is done - trying desperately to avoid spoilers for anyone yet to read it so can't even mention names.

I still think Matthew's, if not gay, then certainly amenable to all offers of a shag. He was eyeing up Nicholas and admiring his figure rather a lot, including comments about his sword skills

Point taken about Anton Lesser, squoosh. He would make a good Sir Richard Rich. He was brilliant as Sir Thomas More in Wolf Hall. Such a lovely voice. I do like Tom Hollander very much, but as Shardlake? I'm not so sure. Difficult. I still prefer to keep him to myself and not see someone else's interpretation, although I did listen to the adaptations on Radio 4 Extra.

I respect TH but Matthew is dark and gaunt so don't think it fits.

Lamentation pissed me off too. I don't want X to be replaced with Y. Seems like a step back.

It adds to the sense that no matter what book we're on, no progress is made.

Dumbledore - just googled Giordano Bruno :( I hadn't realised he was a real person. I knew his friend Sir Philip Sidney was real and had a sad ending. I hope SJP ends her series before that event.

I love the shardlake series but also quite enjoyed Winter in Madrid. He also wrote Dominion which is great - imagines a Britain which had appeased Hitler and the consequences.

It's a horrid end to a lovely character, isn't it Mermaid? Except that the historical ending and the character are not really the same person. My hope is that SJP ignores history and just carries on with Bruno the investigator.

I think Anton Lesser could have been a great Shardlake a few years back. I have seen him play sympathetic characters with touching humanity. But I think he may be too old now.

And re Shardlake admiring Nicholas, isn't that just about him admiring healthy bodies as he is so obsessed with his own deformity?

AL is 64 according to Wikipedia. He could still be Shardlake - I had him in mind when wondering what he might look like. So, if not him then maybe a younger version - who?

Matthew was only 35 in the first book. I think he's about 42 now. A book or two ago he was all depressed about turning 40 as it was the start of "old age" in those times.

Shardlake was late 30s in the first book though!

Oops sorry Elspeth, I did not see your comment when I made mine.

Admittedly some artistic licence would be needed. By the end of Lamentation he says his hair has gone white and he seems to be behaving more like an old man. All his adventures have finally taken their toll on his health. Poor Shardlake :( Wonder how many more stories, realistically, there could be?

I love the CJ Samson books, although I was slightly disappointed with Lamentation. I have read SJ Parris, too, but found them hard going and abandoned the last one completely. I don't really like books that are written in the first person. I'm not a Tudor period fan (I'm a Plantagenet fan) but have really enjoyed the Shardlake books. I hope there is another book, because it would be very interesting to see what happens...

I feel like the books have a bit of an annoying pattern with Matthew. There's a traumatic dramatic last act, he takes to the bed more depressed than ever, and emerges eventually more gaunt and thin and melancholic.

Then the next book opens with him feeling old.

I wish he could get a bit of joy back!

I was irritated that S J Parris had switched to the present tense for Treachery, which I find harder to enjoy. The narrative doesn't flow quite so well. There's a new Giordano Bruno out either now or shortly, so will be interested to see where she takes that one.

I actually think I read a Giordano Bruno book a few years ago but I think I didn't finish it. The only thing I remember about it is him creeping into someone's house and finding a secret room....I dunno.

Makes me wary of exploring them again but since you are all recommending them.....which is the best one to try again?

I'd start with Heresy, Elspeth as it gives his back story.

I so agree Annarose. He should have a great romance allowing him to overcome his fears about his body shape. We would all be rooting for him. It could be the best Shardlake yet and could lead to little Shardlakes waiting to learn the business from their dad! History could continue uninterrupted so we could remain happy. Come on Mr. Sansom. Take up the challenge. Where is Master Shardlake's soul mate? Give it all your attention; Tudor wedding and all the trimmings.

I have read all the series - I finished the last one last summer.

Really enjoy that sort of stuff as I am coming to the end of a six year degree and something else to soothe my poor brain has been needed.

I hope to see more