Tombland (The Shardlake series)

I've waited a long time for C.J. Sansom's historical novel, 'Tombland', it's the new Matthew Shardlake novel in his Tudor historical series. It's thumping great book, a long and solid read backed by awe inspiring research into the Kett 'rebellion' in East Anglia, part of that year's -1549 -overall

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peasant rebellions. No wonder it's taken years to write. For those, like me, who like to know the facts behind an historical novel there're 62 pages at the back of the book filling in the details of how and where C.J. Sansom researched and where and why he chose certain POVs. Reading those pages certainly help understand and enjoy the novel.

King Henry (VIII) has been dead for over two years and Shardlake has been working for Lady Elizabeth (not yet called a princess!) A distant relative has been murdered and so Lady Elizabeth packs him off to Norfolk, to Norwich, to found out who murdered this wife of a distant Bolyn relative. It's a nasty case and whilst in Norwich the rebellion - really it's a legitimate protest - begins and Shardlake and his colleagues are caught up in it. Issues back then are still being raised today - the recent protests in France - the rich or those with power abusing those without money or power.

The book is not just a history lesson. There's a cracking good story to follow, characters we readers care about, and some things to think about. A good historical novel should make the reader think about what's happening today as well as in the past. C.J. Sansom does it well.

A cracking good read, thank you, Mr Sansom.

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The seventh Matthew Shardlake mystery is set in 1549, two years into the brief reign of King Edward VI, who was only 9 years old when he succeeded his father, King Henry VIII. Edward’s uncle, the Duke of Somerset, functioned as Protector, making all decisions for the young king. The main historic

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event of this novel is Kett’s Rebellion, in which “common” landowners rose up against the gentry in several parts of the country, including Norwich, where most of the novel is set.

But wait, you say. Aren’t the Shardlake novels mysteries? Well, yes. And in previous books, author C.J. Sansom effectively wove historical fiction into his mysteries. In Tombland, the mystery feels like an add-on. Yes, there’s a murder, and it’s the reason Shardlake travels from London to Norwich. This is followed by about 600 pages of well-researched historical fiction, and suddenly Shardlake has an “aha moment,” identifies the killer, and spends the last 100 pages wrapping everything up.

The story of Kett’s rebellion is quite interesting, and Sansom puts Shardlake and his crew right in the thick of it. I enjoyed reading about it. But at the same time, I really wanted a good whodunit with about 300 fewer pages.

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This is the seventh Matthew Shardlake novel, coming four years after the previous one. It is now 1549 and the boy King Edward VI is on the throne, but the country is ruled by the Protector, the Duke of Somerset, the King's uncle (brother of his father Jane Seymour, Henry VIII's third wife).

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Shardlake gets involved in a murder case involving John Boleyn, distant relation to the famous mother of Lady Elizabeth, the King's half-sister. While as well written with well-rounded characters as ever, as in all the previous novels, this was even longer than the others, weighing in at 800 pages. This is in fact two novels in one, the murder mystery surrounding the death of John Boleyn's wife Edith and a historical novel about Robert Kett's rebellion of 1549, when many of the yeomen and poor labourers of Norfolk rebelled against the local gentry (while seeing themselves as loyal to King Edward and the Protector). Most of the twists and turns of the murder mystery take place in the first half, though it remains ultimately unsolved when Shardlake and his companions, the ever loyal Jack Barak and Nicholas Overton, are captured by Kett's rebels. While initially dubious, Shardlake comes to have great sympathy for their socio-economic and proto-democratic demands, and won over by the peaceful reasonableness of Kett and most of the other rebel leaders. Ultimately, the rebellion is crushed, with a tragic loss of life both generally and in the case of Shardlake's own friends and acquaintances, though he also acquires a new and unexpected addition to his household. This is a tragic novel on many levels, and has the feel of the end of a series, though I also thought that at the end of Lamentation. The book is rounded off by a long essay on the historical facts of Kett's rebellion and the several other uprisings of the time, some of them religious, many others like Kett's more political and economic.

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Tombland is the seventh novel from C. J. Sansom in the Shardlake series. It is 1549 and Shardlake is sent by Lady Elizabeth (the future Queen) to Norwich to investigate the murder of Edith Boleyn, apparently by her husband John, a distant relative. While investigating this crime Shardlake is caught

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up in Kett’s Rebellion pitching put-upon peasants against the local gentry and eventually government forces.

Firstly, the murder investigation. There are plenty of suspects each with their own plausible motive and plenty of twists and turns, including red herrings, to the facts of the murder that are revealed slowly throughout the book. Of course, the chief suspect and the man arrested and convicted in court has the weakest motive and the least to gain from the murder. In a world with little or no forensic evidence it is refreshing to find a criminal investigation relying on personal testimony and the subtle evaluation of character. The denouement is satisfyingly left-field.

The background context to the murder investigation is Kett’s Rebellion, a historical event. Much of the book is taken up with the conditions that drove the rebellion, the people involved and their motivations and the actual events of the rebellion documented in almost hour-by-hour detail. The historical accuracy is exceptional and the book includes a 50 page essay by the author describing the whole affair.

Sansom is a skilled writer and successfully interweaves the historical and fictional, keeping the narrative driving forwards and maintaining our page-turning interest. Maybe not for the whole of the800 pages here, though.

One final point: this is the worst physical printing of a book that I have ever bought. The endpapers were poorly glued in and pages were misaligned such that I had to cut them down to size before reading. I expect shoddy work like this to be pumped or sold on at a substantial discount. Not sure if this is the publisher’s fault (Mantle through Pan Macmillan) or Amazon’s.

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Sansom has covered a little-known chapter in the history of Tudor England in this book. In the author's note he says "The seismic events of the 1549 English rebellions are surprisingly little known, but Tombland is based on the known evidence, and the huge camp on Mousehold Heath actually existed."

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So it's not just because I wasn't paying attention in Grade 9 History that I knew nothing about the rebellions that took place during Edward VII's reign.

Shardlake has been acting on behalf of Lady Elizabeth (Anne Boleyn's daughter) since the death of Henry VIII. Henry left both his daughters substantial legacies and they have been buying up property around the country to invest the inheritance. As a lawyer Shardlake has been obtaining conveyances of land on Elizabeth's behalf. However when he is called to her country house it is for a different reason; a relative of Anne Boleyn's in Norfolk has been charged with murdering his wife and Elizabeth wants Shardlake to investigate. This means a long journey to Norwich before the summer assizes to determine if John Boleyn was guilty of murder. However the laws at the time meant that Shardlake could not appear in court on Boleyn's behalf. It was up to Boleyn to present any evidence Shardlake might turn up. Elizabeth also gave Shardlake a request for a pardon which she requested Shardlake present if Boleyn was convicted. Thus Shardlake, his assistant Nicholas and a Norfolk native of Boleyn's original lawyer nose around Norwich and the surrounding area. Shardlake does find some evidence which seems to cast doubt on Boleyn's guilt but he is found guilty at trial and is sentenced to die by hanging the next day. Shardlake lodges Elizabeth's pardon request (it was not uncommon apparently for people found guilty to be pardoned if they had enough money; another character in the book, Sir Richard Southwell, had killed a man years earlier and received a pardon enabling him to rise to a prominent position at court) and is astonished the next day when he sees Boleyn being taken to the gallows. He and Nicholas manage to prevent the hanging and Boleyn was returned to jail. Shardlake was injured in this attempt and had to stay in bed for some days after. Meanwhile rebellions among the lower classes had started to spring up in other parts of England and Shardlake overhears a conversation at a pub that makes him think one will take place in Norfolk. Before he is fully recovered the rebellions start. The prime reason for the uprising is the landlords taking over common lands to graze their sheep, a system called enclosures, which deprived the lower classes from pasture for their few cattle and sheep. Shardlake and his companions, including Barak who is now working for the assize judges, have the bad luck to be caught up in one enclosure rebellion led by the Ketts from Wymondham. The Ketts are loyal subjects but want the King (or his Protector Lord Somerset) to follow through on promises to send commissions to investigate the enclosures. They establish a camp just outside of Norwich on Mousehold Heath to make their demands known. William Kett asks Shardlake to assist him at trials of landlords that will be conducted at Mousehold until the commissions appear. Shardlake agrees in the first place because he thinks he may be able to ensure the rules of justice are followed. Later he becomes convinced that the group's grievances are valid and the King's response unsatisfactory.

Sansom devotes much of the book to describing conditions in the camp and the stories of the people who lived there. The class system at the time treated anyone who was not a "gentleman" with inequity and contempt. This treatment was exacerbated in the year of 1549 by galloping inflation due to the Tudors mismanagement of the monetary system to finance their wars and by a poor harvest year. Small wonder the lower classes thought they had nothing to lose by rebelling. In a way it reminds me of the conditions in Winnipeg 100 years ago when the working class staged the Winnipeg General Strike. Both actions were put down and leaders punished but they had a long-lasting effect of improving rights later on. I think this is one of Sansom's best books and that is saying something because I have loved all of them.

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Impressive reimagining & research of a rebellion around Norwich in 1549 against enclosures.

Empathetic Matthew Shardlake gets a ringside seat of the rebellion as he is forced to use his legal expertise in judging cases brought by the rebels, and in so doing, comes to understand and quietly support

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their ideas.

Shardlake is such a wonderful creation; sympathetic, wise, modest, cautious & loyal. And Sansom makes vivid the large supporting cast, and brings to immediate, colourful life the people & politics of the era.

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having not read all the parts in the series worked against my enjoyment, as I had little investment in the protagonist. The pace was glacial and the interplay of the characters seemed predictable. DNF.

This latest book in the Shardlake series is, like it predecessors, lengthy but involving. It successfully combines a murder case with external events, in this case Kett's Rebellion of 1549 in Norfolk.The author makes very plain his sympathies for the traitor Robert Kett, but accurately portrays

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Shardlake's more nuanced response to the rights and wrongs of the situation.
Sansom manages most of the sprawling canvass well, with a clear focus on the main character. There can be no doubt of the amount of research which has gone into this book, and it gives an air of authenticity, for the most part. There are occasional instances where the language goes awry - quite rightly the dialogue is written in modern English with a sprinkling of dialect, but sometimes things jar - should Kett be referring to an 'administrative centre' when holding forth about the way of rising has been organised? However, this is a minor point. The book admirably continues the standards set by the earlier books.

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C. J. Sansom's new Shardlake novel is another great example of historical fiction as it should be (IMHO). This book does an excellent job of placing the reader in the transition period between Henry VIII and Elizabeth. Perhaps not so entertaining as other books in the series. The character Matthew

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Shardlake continues to make outrageous politically inept and naive moves and as always improbably survives his ordeals. Otherwise, historical figures are brought into the stories in a most believable and enlightening way to readers.

I debate the rating between 4 and 5 stars. I give it 5 stars for the historical research and care, 4 stars for the improbable life of Shardlake and general somberness of this story.

The Post Log is excellent and lengthy, reviewing events, sources, research and discussing actual historical events.

I look forward to the next in the series. Will it really take another 2-3 years ??? I guess I will just have to wait.

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I enjoyed this, although it was long and the plot seemed largely an excuse for the author to write about the rebellion. Nicholas' actions were inconsistent, and again seemed designed to demonstrate the attitudes of the rebels. I hope there will be more in this series, but with less politics and

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more mystery.

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This book is a fictionalised account of the Kett's Rebellion, which took place in 1549 during the rule of Protector Somerset. I am pleased to discover this lost episode of English history. The book proved quite a daunting read, a massive novel I probably would not even have started had we not been

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in Covid-19 lockdown.

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Oh my, this was good! As always, it's a mix of a mystery for Matthew, the larger sweep of English history, social changes, Matthew's personal and spiritual evolution, and the changes in his personal relationships and the lives of his friends. This time it's all well-balanced and all compelling.

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Matthew starts out investigating a murder but gets caught up in a massive rebellion. This gives a chance to watch in detail as Matthew's, Nicholas's, and Barak's worldviews all get put to the test when they're exposed to lives and experiences far outside their usual scope. It's all well-woven with the social changes that are happening throughout England affecting the mystery, the rebellion, and every character. Fascinating and compelling, hard to put down.

But, if this sounds fabulous, start the series from the beginning! You'll miss so much of the character arcs if you start here.

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A huge book in every respect, with over 800 pages of detailed descriptions of the turbulent times in the summer of 1549. Shardlake is asked by Lady Elizabeth (later Elizabeth I) to investigate a murder charge against a Boleyn relative in Norwich. This causes Shardlake to be in Norwich when Kett's

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rebellion occurs, against the gentry's enclosure of common land. As a result, Shardlake is forced to join the rebels and act as Kett's legal advisor. The battles between the rebels and the Protector's forces are described in graphic detail as is the terrible retribution exacted on the defeated rebels after the battle.

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This is a continuation of Sansom's historical mystery series set in Tudor England. The main character is Matthew Shardlake, a lawyer who works for a string of high ranking people, royalty and such.

I enjoy these because of the historical setting. The mystery is usually sort of tangential to the

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history and that's ok with me. This particular installment wasn't my favorite because the focus was on civil war/strife between the landholders and the commoners. While it was interesting, I never love reading battle descriptions. I did like that is was set in Norwich, a place I've visited, so I could sort of picture what was happening with a better frame of reference.

This book was really long. As in 880 pages long. I imagine the author will start losing readers if they are all this long, but I will keep going with the series as it comes out.

I was interested to see that this was longlisted for a historical fiction prize. Goes along with what I was saying that though this series really started with a mystery genre feel, it's very much switch to historical fiction.

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I enjoyed this but it is a bit too long. A piece of history I did not know about. The mystery does get a bit buried by the history. I got a bit fed up towards the end especially as I knew it was all going to end badly. But Shardlake is always interesting to spend time with.

Seventh in the historical mystery series featuring the hunchback lawyer Matthew Shardlake. After the death of Henry VIII he’s now working for Lady Elizabeth in a mainly conveyancing role but she has a different job in mind for him when Shardlake is sent to Norwich to investigate the accusation of

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murder by a distant relative in the Boleyn line. But the investigation is forced to take a back seat when Matthew & his assistant Nicholas (along with Jack Barak who is there for the assizes) are swept up in Kett’s rebellion.

A little overlong but otherwise another fine instalment in the series. Perhaps not hitting the heights of some of the others but offers up an insight into an often overlooked part of English history

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Ah, Matthew. Not my Matthew, but Matthew Shardlake, the hunchback lawyer during the Tudor period in England. This is C.J. Sansom's last Shardlake novel, so I read it with a heavy heart to begin with. Turn out I needed a heavy heart throughout the entire 900 page novel. As always there is a mystery

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involving a distant relative of Anne "Beheaded" Boleyn, but 80% of the novel (the whole middle part) deals with Kett's Rebellion, a farmers' rebellion in Norfolk (Tombland to be exact) against the upper classes. I was fascinated by the history, but after weeks of living in the camp at Mousehold Keep, I was tired. Maybe that's what Sansom wanted--for me to be as exhausted as the farmers. Of all of his Shardlake novels, this was my least favorite (sorry, C.J.). I think he was trying to write a magnum opus as his last work, but he went overboard. The mystery sandwiched the pages and seemed quite rushed at the end.

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Sansom makes academic accounts of 1549 commoners rebellion against the enclosure of common land by landowners accessible. A narrative built around the gruesome murder of Edith Boleyn (a distant relation of Lady Elizabeth) and its investigation into the facts by Matthew Shardlake, a London layer,

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gets intertwined with this historic event when Shardlake finds himself taken by the rebels into their camp outside of Norwich and finds himself sympathising with their cause whilst seemingly a figure of opposition given his class position.

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