- Dissolution (Sansom novel)
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Dissolution 
First Edition coverAuthor(s) C. J. Sansom Country United Kingdom Language English Series Matthew Shardlake series Genre(s) Crime novel Publisher Viking Books Publication date April 2003 Media type Print (Hardcover) Pages 400 pp (first edition, hardback) ISBN ISBN 978-0670032037 (first edition, hardback) OCLC Number 52041174 Dewey Decimal 823/.92 21 LC Classification PR6119.A57 D57 2003 Followed by Dark Fire Dissolution is a crime novel by British author C. J. Sansom. It is Sansom's first published novel, released in 2003, and the first in the Matthew Shardlake series. Set in the 16th Century during the dissolution of the monasteries, it follows hunchbacked lawyer Shardlake's attempts to solve the murder of one of Thomas Cromwell's commissioners in the monastery at Scarnsea on the south coast of England.
The novel was nominated for two of the Crime Writers' Association Dagger awards in 2003.
Contents
Literary significance and reception
Dissolution has been well received by critics, fellow crime writers and the public alike, although there has been some criticism of the language and detail in the writing:
"'Lay off the weather!' I feel like yelling at Sansom at regular intervals. And he hasn't really got the 'show not tell' rule; e.g. in Dissolution: 'As I passed down Ludgate Hill, I noticed a stall brimming with apples and pears and, feeling hungry, dismounted to buy some.' Drop the 'feeling hungry', please. Why else would you?" – Natalie Bennett.[1]
On the whole reviews have been complimentary:
- "The best crime novel I have read this year" – Colin Dexter;[2]
- "Remarkable...the sights, the voices, the very smell of this turbulent age seem to rise from the page" – P. D. James;[3]
- "This is a humdinger of a whodunnit. Read it!" – Colin Dexter;[3]
- "This is historical fiction at its finest." – Peter Robinson.[4]
The US Library Journal, however, takes a more negative view of the novel, commenting:
- "However, his novel is unrelentingly grim in tone, as the reader is forced to plod along with Shardlake and the other mostly unlikable characters. Although the novel can be superficially compared with the historical mysteries of Iain Pears and Umberto Eco, their caliber of writing is much higher than Sansom's." – Library Journal.[5]
Awards and nominations
Dissolution was nominated for the 2003 Crime Writers' Association (CWA) John Creasey Memorial Dagger, for first books by previously unpublished writers. It was also nominated for the CWA Ellis Peters Historical Dagger in the same year.[6]
Publication history
- 2003, USA, Viking Books, ISBN 978-0-670-03203-7, Pub date April 2003, Hardback;
- 2003, UK, Macmillan, ISBN 978-1-4050-0542-5, Pub date June 2003, Hardback;
- 2004, UK, Penguin Books, ISBN 978-0-14-200430-2, Pub date April 2004, Paperback;
- 2004, UK, Pan, ISBN 978-0-330-41196-7, Pub date August 2004, Paperback;
- 2007, UK, Macmillan Digital Audio, ISBN 978-0-230-52911-3, Pub date August 2007, Audiobook.
References
- ^ http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/06/29/070210.php Book Review: Dark Fire - Blogcritics Magazine book review of Dark Fire, but which refers to Dissolution.
- ^ Pan Macmillan page for Dissolution.
- ^ a b Dissolution - critical praise at Reading Group Guides.
- ^ Barnes & Noble page for Dissolution
- ^ Freelists.org entry for Dissolution.
- ^ 2003 CWA Dagger Awards
Novels by C. J. Sansom Matthew Shardlake novels Dissolution (2003) · Dark Fire (2004) · Sovereign (2006) · Revelation (2008) · Heartstone (2010)
Other novels Winter in Madrid (2006)
Categories:- 2003 novels
- British crime novels
- Debut novels
- Novels by C. J. Sansom
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