| Dissolution – a Novel of Tudor England
C.J. Sansom Viking Penguin, 2003, 387 PP ISBN: 0-670-03203-4 This is a mystery set in Tudor England. King Henry VIII had severed the Church's ties with Rome a few years before and the country is in turmoil as Protestant reformers struggle to impose their version of reform on the Catholic Church in England while the Catholic hierarchy in England struggles to preserve the right to maintain the traditional doctrines and worship. Just beneath the surface is another struggle between the secular and religious leaders over the power and wealth of the monasteries. Politicians, under the leadership of Thomas Cromwell, take up the reformer's cause, not to reform the church, but to get their hands on the lands and other wealth of the monasteries for themselves and to remove the abbots from the House of Lords thereby increasing the power of the secular politicians. The small monasteries have been dissolved and their monks pensioned off. Now Cromwell has his sights on the large monasteries. But, while conducting an investigation of the Monastery of St. Donatus the Ascendant in the village of Scarnsea, Cromwell's agent, Robin Singleton, is mysteriously beheaded in the kitchen. Cromwell then dispatches Matthew Shardlake, a brilliant young lawyer and idealistic church reformer to St. Donatus with a mission to solve the mystery of the murder of Singleton and get the abbot to agree to sign the papers to dissolve the monastery. Time is of the essence and Cromwell makes it clear he wants both tasks done quickly and quietly. Shortly after Shardlake's arrival he encounters two more mysterious murders as well as evidence of sexual misconduct, embezzlement and treason. Things become more complicated when Shardlake discovers links back to both the family of the Henry VIII's recently deceased queen, Jane Seymour and Anne Boleyn, Henry's second wife who was beheaded to make room for Jane Seymour. . | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of story - depressing/sad How difficult to spot villain? - Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues Time/era of story: What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 90% Kind of investigator Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Religious overtones? Yes Any non-mystery subplot? descript. of violence and chases - 10 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 20 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 50 % Crime Thriller Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - 40's-50's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - an organization Motive of antagonist - money/treasure Setting Europe Yes European country: - England/UK Small town? Yes Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths Explicit sex in book? Yes What kind of sex: - vague references - homosexuals doing their thing - rape (yeech!) Unusual forms of death - poisoning - dropped from large heights - decapitated Unusual form of death? Yes Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
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