Sovereign (The Shardlake series, 3)

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I enjoyed reading about the preparations for the arrival of the Progress and what was involved in providing food, accommodation and other amenities for not just the king and queen, but also their entourage of hundreds of courtiers, attendants and servants. Now, I could be describing any number of historical fiction series, but this one, in particular, blew me away. Troisième roman de la série des Matthew Shardlake, "Soveriegn" nous replonge dans la cruelle Angleterre d'Henri VIII alors que celui-ci est en marche avec toute sa cour pour le Nord dont les habitants, majoritairement attachés à leur foi catholique, se sont récemment rebellés contre lui et contre la dissolution des monastères.

So his feelings about the prisoner are ambivalent – he doesn’t support the conspirators, but he understands their hatred of the King. Knowing that nothing in a well-written novel is ever wasted, the latter, in particular seemed bewilderingly disparate, with many strands that felt like irrelevant add-ons. CJ Sansom's 'Shardlake' series has sold over two million copies, and this atmospheric dramatisation starring BAFTA-winning actor Jason Watkins (The Lost Honour of Christopher Jeffries) brings his d‚but novel to electrifying life. His prime motive is fairness and he wants to right wrongs but never forgets the importance of his self preservation. The first revised edition of the Token Publishing Ltd imprint of Michael Marsh’s The Gold Sovereign was published in 2017 to coincide with the 200th anniversary year of the famous coin.

The King’s Progress progresses, with the nobility clad in extravagant finery while the regular folk are mostly pretty grubby.

I reckon each one gets better than the one before – the most recent one was my book of the year last year. One of Shardlake’s tasks is to assure that a prisoner is not abused before he can be brought back to the Tower of London and interrogated by the King’s experts. Well, a murder occurring shortly after Matthew’s arrival points to a vast conspiracy that could lead to disaster for the King and his family.

But the death of a glazier sees the duo drawn into a murder investigation, a treasonous plot and a secret that threatens to bring down the royal family. Entre traiciones, intrigas, conspiraciones, enredos legales, humillaciones, llegará hasta el final de su misión gracias a su inteligencia y, casi, a costa de su propio pellejo, siempre con la inestimable ayuda de su secretario Barak (gran secundario).

Henry VIII with his new queen (Catherine Howard, aged 18), their household and a cast of thousands are on a slow procession – a “progress” – to York and the North. Unless he could marry a younger woman who might provide an heir, the Tudor dynasty would die with him…And there were many of us who thought the only way to preserve true religion in England was for Queen Catherine to do what the Pope himself had suggested to her: go into a nunnery, allow the King to marry again…Foolish, obstinate woman. The novel is by no means out of the realm of any reader, though its depth and analysis can sometimes give it a ‘deeper’ and more ‘intense’ feel.I think this was probably my favourite of the Shardlake novels so far, but I still have another three to read and am planning to continue soon with the fourth one, Revelation. Since then this book, fully revised and updated by Steve Hill of Sovereign Rarities (formerly of Spink and Baldwins) has become the reference work on the sovereign, half sovereign and quarter sovereign. All purchases made using one of the above affiliate links gives a small percentage of money to myself with no extra cost to yourself.