Dissolution [Paperback]

I picked this book up and couldn't put it down. Not only was I captured by the mystery, the writing and the characters - I was amazed at how Sansom could weave such a diversity of people into a historical novel. As a writer in the area of disability myself, I seldom find books that have accurate and compassionate characters with disabilities - Sanson manages this with ease. There are sections of this book that would work well in a disability studies class but even so there is never the sense of being preached at or being lectured - disability is just another aspect of the book which is there because disability has always and will always exist.

DISSOLUTION, C.J. Sansom, Viking, 2003, pp.390

This excellent novel takes place in 1536 England in the middle of the Reformation. King Henry VIII has just executed Anne Boleyn, his wife, and the supposed young lover who becomes the unwitting raison d'être of the story. The Vicar General, Thomas Cromwell, assigns Mathew Shardlake the task of uncovering the murder of a commissioner sent to St. Donatus Monastery. The Reformers wanted all the monasteries dissolved but rather than the former methods of brutal force, wanted the abbots to surrender them over peacefully.
The monasteries were loyal to Rome (papists), the lives of the monks had deteriorated far beyond their original austere rule and in fact were filled with scandal. Though they had reluctantly agreed to the new set of Cromwell rules, many surreptitiously carried on as before. Things such as: praying before a statue; latin in prayers; offerings made to relics; use of candles and the most irritating ' belief in purgatory ' were all now anathema. Sansom dwells often on the issue of purgatory delving into both sides of the argument. Cromwell's true purpose in dissolution was to increase the King's treasury and the acquisition of monastery lands and wealth. This was no hidden fact. The abuse revolving around dissolution was even more scandalizing than the monks behaviour.
The above is the current atmosphere into which Shardlake must find a killer and complete the job of surrendering. Sansom is adept at casting suspicions on each character and into deepening the plot. Just when things are close to be solved, he complicates the solution with another mystery or disaster. Shardlake ends up investigating more than one murder and is also in danger himself.
It was difficult to lay the novel down because I was anxious to see what would happen next. It is non stop action which leaves you totally suspicious of everyone. Any history buff would also appreciate Sansom's 'hands off' approach towards distorting history. The dates, events and many characters are real giving a greater increased reality. This is my second reading in 4 yrs and I still enjoyed immensely.

The novel centers on murders at a monastery of the south coast
of England in 1537. Henry VIII is head of the Church in England,
and is taking over ("dissolving") much of the property and wealth
of the Catholic Church. Thomas Cromwell (the Vicar General of
England) sends Matthew Shardlake to Scarnsea to investigate the
murder of Cromwell's previous emissary Shardlake, who is a
hunchback, also must look into other murders as well at the
monastery.

The primary interest here is in the historical period, and the
view of political and religious matters. Anne Boleyn's beheading
occurred in 1536 on trumped-up charges of adultery, and Thomas
More was beheaded in 1535 for refusing to acknowledge the
religious primacy of Henry. Many Catholic clergy went to the
scaffold; others were racked until they renounced their faith in
favor of Henry. The novel presents a good glimpse of life in
this time of transition.

As a mystery, this is not Agatha Christie; as a look at religious
matters, this is not The Name of the Rose. The characters do not
have a richness of depth, and the overall writing is good, but
not lyrical. Read it as a good historical novel, not as a great
novel.