Dissolution

Written by C. J. Sansom

Narrated by Steven Crossley

Dissolution is the first in the phenomenal Shardlake series by bestselling author, C. J. Sansom.

It is 1537, a time of revolution that sees the greatest changes in England since 1066. Henry VIII has proclaimed himself Supreme Head of the Church and the country is waking up to savage new laws, rigged trials and the greatest network of informers ever seen. Under the order of Thomas Cromwell, a team of commissioners is sent through the country to investigate the monasteries. There can only be one outcome: the monasteries are to be dissolved.

But on the Sussex coast, at the monastery of Scarnsea, events have spiralled out of control. Cromwell's Commissioner Robin Singleton, has been found dead, his head severed from his body. His horrific murder is accompanied by equally sinister acts of sacrilege - a black cockerel sacrificed on the altar, and the disappearance of Scarnsea's Great Relic.

Dr Matthew Shardlake, lawyer and long-time supporter of Reform, has been sent by Cromwell to investigate. But Shardlake's investigation soon forces him to question everything he hears, and everything that he intrinsically believes . . .

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pan Macmillan
• Release date: Oct 23, 2014
• ISBN: 9781447291541

C. J. Sansom

C. J. Sansom was educated at Birmingham University, where he took a BA and then a PhD in history. After working in a variety of jobs, he retrained as a solicitor and practised in Sussex, until becoming a full-time writer. Sansom is the bestselling author of the acclaimed Shardlake series, the Spanish Civil War thriller Winter in Madrid and the number one bestseller Dominion. in 2023, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Edinburgh. He lives in Sussex.

Reviews for Dissolution

[NicholaAnkeMillen · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great performance and clever story. What makes this so unique is the setting.