The ''Shardlake series'' is a series of

historical mystery The historical mystery or historical whodunit is a subgenre of two literary genres, historical fiction and mystery fiction. These works are set in a time period considered historical from the author's perspective, and the central plot involves th ...

novels by

C. J. Sansom Christopher John Sansom (9 December 1952 – 27 April 2024) was a British writer of Historical mystery, historical crime novels, best known for his Shardlake series, Matthew Shardlake series. He also wrote the spy novel ''Winter in Madrid'' and ...

, set in 16th century

Tudor England Tudor most commonly refers to: * House of Tudor, Welsh and English royal house of Welsh origins ** Tudor period, a historical era in England and Wales coinciding with the rule of the Tudor dynasty Tudor may also refer to: Architecture * Tudor a ...

. The series features barrister Matthew Shardlake, who, while navigating the religious reforms of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

, solves crime and tries to avoid getting caught up in political intrigue. The first six books are set during the reign of Henry VIII, while the seventh, ''Tombland'', takes place two years after the king's demise. Sansom said before his death that he planned to write further Shardlake novels taking the lawyer into the reign of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

Description

The series' protagonist is the

hunchback Kyphosis () is an abnormally excessive convex curvature of the spine as it occurs in the thoracic and sacral regions. Abnormal inward concave ''lordotic'' curving of the cervical and lumbar regions of the spine is called lordosis. It can ...

ed lawyer Matthew Shardlake, who is assisted in his adventures by Mark Poer and then Jack Barak. Shardlake works on commission, initially from

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; – 28 July 1540) was an English statesman and lawyer who served as List of English chief ministers, chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false cha ...

in '' Dissolution'' and '' Dark Fire'', then archbishop

Thomas Cranmer Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a theologian, leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He is honoured as a Oxford Martyrs, martyr ...

in ''

Sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title that can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to ...

'' and ''

Revelation Revelation, or divine revelation, is the disclosing of some form of Religious views on truth, truth or Knowledge#Religion, knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities in the view of religion and t ...

'', queen

Catherine Parr Catherine Parr ( – 5 September 1548) was Queen of England and Ireland as the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 12 July 1543 until Henry's death on 28 January 1547. Catherine was the final queen consort o ...

in '' Heartstone'' and ''

Lamentation A lament or lamentation is a passionate expression of grief, often in music, poetry, or song form. The grief is most often born of regret, or mourning. Laments can also be expressed in a verbal manner in which participants lament about something ...

'', and then princess

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...

in '' Tombland''. The seventh book, ''Tombland'', was published in October 2018. The books cover several historical events, such as the Dissolution of the monasteries (1536–1541), the Royal Progress to York (1541), the

Battle of the Solent The naval Battle of the Solent took place on 18 and 19 July 1545 during the Italian Wars, between the fleets of Francis I of France and Henry VIII of England, in the Solent, between Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. This was one of only two ful ...

and the sinking of the

Mary Rose The ''Mary Rose'' was a carrack in the English Tudor navy of Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII. She was launched in 1511 and served for 34 years in several wars against France, Scotland, and Brittany. After being substantially rebuilt in ...

(1545), the burning at the stake of

Anne Askew Anne Askew (sometimes spelled Ayscough or Ascue), married name Anne Kyme (152116 July 1546), was an English writer, poet, and Protestant preacher who was condemned as a heretic during the reign of Henry VIII of England. She and Margaret Cheyne ...

(1546), the publication of ''

The Lamentation of a Sinner ''The Lamentation of a Sinner'' (contemporary spelling: ''The Lamentacion of a Synner'') is a three-part sequence of reflections published by the English queen Catherine Parr, the sixth wife and widow of Henry VIII, as well as the first woman t ...

'' (1547)'',''

Kett's Rebellion Kett's Rebellion was a revolt in the English county of Norfolk during the reign of Edward VI, largely in response to the enclosure of land. It began at Wymondham on 8 July 1549 with a group of rebels destroying fences that had been put up by wealt ...

(1549), and the several marriages of king Henry VIII.

Principal characters

Fictional

* Matthew Shardlake – main character and narrator of the series, a barrister of

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

and later serjeant-at-law. Initially an adherent to the new Anglican faith, and ever a religious thinker, he was once refused as a candidate for the priesthood due to his infirmity. * Jack Barak – of Jewish descent and formerly Thomas Cromwell's henchman; after Cromwell's execution he comes to work for Shardlake as a law clerk and investigator. * Stephen Bealknap – Shardlake's nemesis in the law courts of London; also a barrister of Lincoln's Inn. * Vincent Dyrick – Shardlake's opposing barrister in several cases (''Heartstone, Lamentations''); of

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

. * Dorothy Elliard – wife of Roger Elliard, and once a love interest of Shardlake's. * Roger Elliard – Shardlake's best friend and fellow lawyer at Lincoln's Inn. * Ellen Fettiplace – a woman who came originally from a small town in Sussex, she had been living in Bedlam, a lunatic asylum in London, for nearly two decades. * Brother Guy, later Guy Malton – a Moor turned Christian monk at Scarnsea monastery at Sussex. After the dissolution of the monasteries he came to London to practice as an

apothecary ''Apothecary'' () is an Early Modern English, archaic English term for a medicine, medical professional who formulates and dispenses ''materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons and patients. The modern terms ''pharmacist'' and, in Brit ...

, later as a physician; a target for racial discrimination because of his skin colour. * Nicholas Overton – a gentleman and Shardlake's pupil in chambers. * Tamasin Reedbourne – a confectioner and junior servant of queen

Catherine Howard Catherine Howard ( – 13 February 1542) was Queen of England from July 1540 until November 1541 as the fifth wife of King Henry VIII. She was the daughter of Lord Edmund Howard and Joyce Culpeper, a first cousin to Anne Boleyn (the second ...

. After the queen’s death Tamasin marries Barak. * John Skelly – Shardlake's law clerk, a middle-aged family man with poor eyesight.

Non-fictional

– King of England 1509–1547, later

Defender of the Faith Defender of the Faith ( or, specifically feminine, '; ) is a phrase used as part of the full style of many English, Scottish and later British monarchs since the early 16th century, as well as by other monarchs and heads of state. Scottish, Engl ...

and Head of the Church of England. *

– Protestant preacher, reformist and martyr,

burnt at the stake Death by burning is an execution, murder, or suicide method involving combustion or exposure to extreme heat. It has a long history as a form of public capital punishment, and many societies have employed it as a punishment for and warning agai ...

in 1546. * William Cecil – Barrister of Queen Catherine Parr's Learned Counsel. *

– archbishop of Canterbury 1533–1555, leader of

English Reformation The English Reformation began in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away first from the authority of the pope and bishops Oath_of_Supremacy, over the King and then from some doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church ...

. *

– principal counsellor to Henry VIII and holder of a number of high state offices 1533–1540. *

Robert Kett Robert Kett () was the leader of Kett's Rebellion. Kett was the fourth son of Thomas Kett, of Forncett, Norfolk and his wife Margery. He is thought to have been a tanner, but he certainly held the manor of Wymondham in Norfolk. With his bro ...

– activist and leader of

over the

enclosure Enclosure or inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or "common land", enclosing it, and by doing so depriving commoners of their traditional rights of access and usage. Agreements to enc ...

of lands. *

– sixth and last wife of Henry VIII, Queen of England 1543–1547. Reformist. * William Paulet – nobleman and courtier, at one point Master of the Court of Wards. *

Richard Rich Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich (July 1496 – 12 June 1567), was Lord Chancellor during King Edward VI of England's reign, from 1547 until January 1552. He was the founder of Felsted School with its associated almshouses in Essex in 1564. He was ...

– member of the Privy Council, Chancellor of the

Court of Augmentations Thomas Cromwell established the Court of Augmentations, also called Augmentation Court or simply The Augmentation in 1536, during the reign of King Henry VIII of England. It operated alongside three lesser courts (those of General Surveyors (1540 ...

and from 1547, Baron Rich of Leez.

Novels

Adaptations

Radio

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

has adapted novels in the Shardlake series as part of its ''15-Minute Drama'' series. In 2012, ''Dissolution'' was adapted into a 10-part radio serial by Colin MacDonald, starring

Jason Watkins Jason Peter Watkins (born 28 October 1962) is an English stage, film and television actor. He played the lead role in the two-part drama ''The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies'', for which he won the British Academy Television Award for Bes ...

as Shardlake and

Mark Bonnar Richard Mark Bonnar (born 19 November 1968) is a Scottish actor. He is known for his roles as Max in ''Guilt (British TV series), Guilt'', Duncan Hunter in ''Shetland (TV series), Shetland'', Bruno Jenkins in ''Casualty (TV series), Casualty'', ...

as Cromwell. BBC Radio 4 later broadcast ''Dark Fire'' in 2014, with Justin Salinger taking over the role of Shardlake and

Bryan Dick Bryan Dick (born 1 February 1978Birthdayday (from Twitter)) is a British television, stage and film actor from Carlisle, England. He is perhaps best known for playing Ernie Wise in the BBC's BAFTA-winning biopic of Morecambe and Wise, '' Eric ...

playing Barak, ''Sovereign'' in 2015, ''Revelation'' in 2017, ''Heartstone'' in 2018, and ''Lamentation'' in 2021, all adapted by Colin MacDonald as 10-part serials.

Television

In 2007, the BBC commissioned an adaptation of ''Dissolution'', with

Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh ( ; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Reading, Berkshire, Branagh trained at RADA in London and served as its president from 2015 to 2024. List of award ...

set to star as Shardlake. Branagh chose instead to star as the eponymous protagonist in the BBC series ''

Wallander Wallander may refer to: TV, film, books * Kurt Wallander, a fictional Swedish police inspector in novels by Henning Mankell :*Wallander (film series), ''Wallander'' (film series), Swedish-language television films of the Wallander stories starring ...

''. In 2023,

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

greenlit an adaptation of the Shardlake novels. Released in 2024, the series consists of four episodes, and is directed by

Justin Chadwick Justin Chadwick (born 6 December 1968) is an English actor and television and film director. He directed episodes of ''EastEnders'', ''Byker Grove'', ''The Bill'', ''Spooks (TV series), Spooks'' and ''Red Cap (TV series), Red Cap'' before dire ...

. Arthur Hughes plays Shardlake.

Stage

In 2023, Mike Kenny adapted ''Sovereign'' as a community theatre production for the

York Theatre Royal York Theatre Royal is a theatre in St Leonard's Place, in York, England, which dates back to 1744. The theatre currently seats 750 people. Whilst the theatre is traditionally a proscenium theatre, it was reconfigured for a season in 2011 to off ...

. Fergus Rattigan played Shardlake.

References

External links

* {{CJ Sansom Novels BBC Radio dramas Book series Book series introduced in 2003 Novels by C. J. Sansom Crime novel series Cultural depictions of Henry VIII Mystery novel series Mystery novels by series British novels adapted for radio Fictional British detectives British novels adapted into television shows Historical novel series Novels set in Tudor England Cultural depictions of Elizabeth I Cultural depictions of Catherine Parr