Dissolution (C. J. Sansom novel)

Infobox Book
name = Dissolution
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = First Edition cover
author = C. J. Sansom
cover_artist =
country = United Kingdom
language = English
series = Matthew Shardlake series
subject =
genre = Crime novel
publisher = Viking Books
release_date = April 2003
media_type = Print (Hardcover)
pages = 400 pp (first edition, hardback)
isbn = ISBN 978-0670032037 (first edition, hardback)
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 cost of England.

The novel was nominated for two of the Crime Writers' Association Dagger awards in 2003.

Plot introduction

It is 1537, a time of revolution that sees the greatest changes in England since 1066. Henry VIII has proclaimed himself Supreme Head of the Church. The country is waking up to savage new laws, rigged trials and the greatest network of informers it has ever seen. Under the orders of Thomas Cromwell, a team of commissioners is sent throughout the country to investigate the monasteries. There can be only one outcome: dissolution.

But on the Sussex coast, at the monastery of Scarnsea, events have spiralled out of control. Cromwell's commissioner, Robin Singleton, has been found dead, his head severed from his body. His horrific murder is accompanied by equally sinister acts of sacrilege – a black cockerel sacrificed on the church altar, and the disappearance of Scarnsea's Great Relic.

Matthew Shardlake, lawyer and long-time supporter of Reform, has been sent by Cromwell into this atmosphere of treachery and death, accompanied by his loyal assistant Mark. His duty is to discover the truth behind the dark happenings at Scarnsea. [Plot introduction taken from the back cover of the Pan Macmillan paperback, ISBN 0-330-41196-7.]

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. [ [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".]

On the whole reviews have been complimentary:

:"The best crime novel I have read this year" – Colin Dexter; [ [http://www.panmacmillan.com/titles/displayPage.asp?PageTitle=Individual+Title&BookID=403641 Pan Macmillan] page for "Dissolution".] :"Remarkable...the sights, the voices, the very smell of this turbulent age seem to rise from the page" – P. D. James; [http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/dissolution1.asp Dissolution] - critical praise at Reading Group Guides.] :"This is a humdinger of a whodunnit. Read it!" – Colin Dexter;:"This is historical fiction at its finest." – Peter Robinson. [http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&endeca=1&isbn=0142004308&itm=3 Barnes and Nobel] page for "Dissolution"]

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. [ [http://www.freelists.org/archives/bookshare-discuss/12-2005/msg00254.html Freelists.org] entry for "Dissolution".]

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. [ [http://www.shotsmag.co.uk/CWA%20DAGGERS%202003.htm 2003 CWA Dagger Awards] ]

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