An important prisoner who refuses to divulge precious information about the plot is held in in the local prison and is to be brought back to the London Tower for questioning under the attentions of the skilled torturers there. Following an uprising in the North which was put down, and now hearing of another plot in the works, King Henry VIII and his courtiers have set out on a grand Progress to the North, which is to end with a spectacular pageant in the city of York, where the political leaders are to make a formal apology to the King by abasing themselves and giving him a huge sum of reparation money while pledging their everlasting loyalty and devotion to him. The year is now 1541, and once again, he is pulled into a case which will turn out to have huge political implications. Once again, at the beginning of the novel we find Matthew Shardlake contentedly living a quieter life, away from the dangerous court machinations.

Ĭontinue the number one bestselling historical series with Revelation, Heartstone, Lamentation and Tombland. And when Shardlake and Barak stumble upon a cache of secret papers which could threaten the Tudor throne, a chain of events unfolds that will lead to Shardlake facing the most terrifying fate of the age. As well as assisting with legal work processing petitions to the King, Shardlake has reluctantly undertaken a special mission for the Archbishop Cranmer – to ensure the welfare of an important but dangerous conspirator being returned to London for interrogation.īut the murder of a local glazier involves Shardlake in deeper mysteries, connected not only to the prisoner in York Castle but to the royal family itself. Like Hilary Mantel, he produces densely textured historical novels that absorb their readers in another time’ - Andrew Taylor, SpectatorĪutumn, 1541: King Henry VIII has set out on a spectacular Progress to the North to attend an extravagant submission of his rebellious subjects in York.Īlready in the city are lawyer Matthew Shardlake and his assistant Jack Barak. ‘Sansom has the trick of writing an enthralling narrative. 'A parchment-turner, and a regal one at that' - Sunday Times Sansom's number one bestselling Shardlake series, for fans of Hilary Mantel and Philippa Gregory. Following on from Dissolution and Dark Fire, Sovereign is the third gripping historical novel in C.

Sovereign by C.J. Sansom