I heard of Dissolution via a friend who shares my interest in Tudor history. As with others who have reviewed the book, it has similarities to The Name Of The Rose and for me, the TV series Cadfael.
CJ Sansom is a gifted writer who obviously knows his history. The book is extremely well written and researched. I thoroughly enjoyed being transported back to a world where a hunchback sleuth, Shardlake and his young sidekick Mark, investigate a brutal murder as monasteries crumble under the might of Henry VIII’s cataclysmic rule.
Deep-seated inadequacies rise within Shardlake as the prejudice he encounters along the way imbues his character with a real depth highlighting one of the biggest failings of ‘humanity’ a lack of tolerance for anyone that is seen to be different.
The plot kept me guessing right up to the dramatic climax. Leaving me to ponder… Why hasn’t the book been turned into a film of its own?
I would recommend Dissolution to anyone who, like me, sat at school totally entranced by the Tudor dynasty.
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