Richard J. Mcisaac

The destruction of the British monasteries, Mar 10 2013

This excellent novel takes place in 1536 England in the middle of the Reformation. King Henry IIIV has just executed Anne Bolin, his wife, and the supposed young lover who becomes the unwitting raison dêtre 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… Read more

London in 1543, Feb 22 2013

REVELATION, C.J. Sansom, MacMillan, 2006, pp. 583

This is the 4th book in the Shardlake series, although one could read each without reference to the others. Though each novel involves gruesome murders, King Henry VIII, dissolution of the monasteries, court intrigues and many references to the various religious positions, Sansom is able to rouse our inquisitiveness and curiosity through the uniqueness and addition of historical facts.

What has particularly drawn me to these novels are the many references to people and places of historical significance. Every novel occurs in the time of Henry VIII and during the great upheaval of the Reformation. In Revelation,… Read more

The Great Progress of Henry VIII, 1541, Feb 7 2013

SOVEREIGN, C.J. Sansom, MacMillan, 2006, pp. 583

This is the 3rd book in the Shardlake series, although one could read each without reference to the others. Though each novel involves gruesome murders, King Henry VIII, dissolution of the monasteries, court intrigues and many references to the various religious positions, Sansom is able to rouse our inquisitiveness and curiosity through the uniqueness and addition of historical facts.

What has particularly drawn me to these novels are the many references to people and places of historical significance, and especially the demise of the various wives of Henry. Every novel occurs in the time of Henry VIII and during… Read more