Lamentation

By: C.J. Sansom

Narrated by: Steven Crossley

As Henry VIII lies on his deathbed, an incendiary manuscript threatens to tear his court apart.

Summer, 1546. King Henry VIII is slowly, painfully dying. His Protestant and Catholic councilors are engaged in a final and decisive power struggle; whoever wins will control the government. As heretics are hunted across London, and radical Protestants are burned at the stake, the Catholic party focuses its attack on Henry's sixth wife -- and Matthew Shardlake's old mentor -- Queen Catherine Parr.

Shardlake, still haunted by his narrow escape from death the year before, steps into action when the beleaguered and desperate Queen summons him to Whitehall Palace to help her recover a dangerous manuscript. The Queen has authored 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. Although the secret book was kept hidden inside a locked chest in the Queen's private chamber, it has inexplicably vanished. Only one page has been recovered -- 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 his trusty assistant Jack Barak into the dark and labyrinthine world of court politics, a world Shardlake swore never to enter again. In this crucible of power and ambition, Protestant friends can be as dangerous as Catholic enemies, and those with shifting allegiances can be the most dangerous of all.

Critic reviews

"Sansom offers a master class in royal intrigue"—Kirkus Reviews

PRAISE FOR C.J. SANSOM AND THE MATTHEW SHARDLAKE NOVELS:

"One of my favorite writers."—Kate Atkinson

"Among the most distinguished of modern historical novelists."—P.D. James

"Sansom has an unerring sense of pace and a deft historical touch."—The New Yorker

"Sansom brings alive all levels of English society, from cutthroats and common soldiers to the king and queen themselves."—Washington Post

"A richly entertaining and scholarly series. History never seemed so real."—New York Times Book Review

"Sansom seems to have born with, or instinctively acquired, that precious balance of creativity and research, history and humanity."—Chicago Tribune

Need more Shardlake!

This is the last book in the series so far and I'm so sad there's no more (yet!), please get to writing more Mr. Samson! The narrator is perfect. So glad I took a chance on this series.

Riveting

Much better than it predessor, Heartstone. Sansom is back on track with this. A wonderful tale that puts the reader at the heart of the Tudor court with all its back-stabbing intrigue.

Too long

The storyline is engaging; I enjoyed the twists and descriptions of life by both main and minor characters. All in all, I liked it; but a bit too long.

Another well researched Tudor political thriller

While you're watching this well crafted origami of a "who done it/who has it/where is it" unfold appreciate that you can't be racked, burned, etc. for political & religious dissent anymore.

Don't skip the supporting historical notes at the end. It's fun to know how well this whole thing could fit into what's really known about the time.

Excellent in every way

Such real drama and interlocking trauma is a picture of complex and meticulous interpretation of history, deep understanding and research of the time, and superb skill and ability of the author. I loved the expanded epilogue of the actual history of the period, included. It was a difficult and perilous time, so unstable, due to Henry VIII himself and the constant upheaval of the politics of religion. Just fascinating. The characters and actual story, to me, riveting. The narrator, perfection.