Waiting for Shardlake

 I am looking forward to the release of a new series on Disney+ called Shardlake, a period mystery story based on a novel by C.J. Sansom. There are actually seven novels featuring a solicitor named Matthew Shardlake during the turbulent days of the reign of Henry VIII. They are acclaimed for their plots but also the meticulous research of the era by Sansom, who began his working life as a solicitor. The novels have been popular with 3 million copies sold. 

The first of the novels from 2003 is Dissolution and the title refers to the dismantling of monasteries and convents in Britain after Henry broke with the Roman Catholic Church. The television series takes us to a monastery where a murder has taken place and Shardlake has been sent to discover what has happened.

This series of novels is well-written and suspenseful at times. They also explore the often arcane and violent realities of religion in 16th century England. Loyalty to one's particular expression of Christianity could result in expulsion from society, exile, even death. I've written about William Tyndale, the Oxford scholar whose translation of the bible into English makes up more than 75% of the King James Bible. Yet Tyndale was forced to flee for his life to Europe because of his efforts and was eventually found by Henry's henchman, strangled to death and his body burned. We think Christianity has been politicized and weaponized today! Shardlake navigates his sleuthing in the midst of these troubling currents. 

I was saddened to read that C.J. Sansom died a few days ago at the age of 71. The debilitation from his cancer made for slow-going in writing his eighth, ultimately unfinished novel. He had plans for subsequent stories set during the reign of Elizabeth I. 

I hope he got to see the series before his death. Bring on Shardlake tomorrow!