''Tombland'' is a

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 ...

novel by British author

C. J. Sansom Christopher John Sansom (born 1952) is a British writer of Historical mystery, historical crime novels, best known for his Shardlake series, Matthew Shardlake series. He was born in Edinburgh and attended George Watson's College in that city, b ...

. It is the seventh book in the Matthew Shardlake series, following 2014's ''

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 somethi ...

''. Set in the summer of 1549, the story deals with the investigation of a murder in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nort ...

. Matthew Shardlake is entrusted by Princess Elizabeth, later

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

, to investigate the murder of the wife of a distant relative of hers. During the course of the investigation Shardlake gets involved in

Kett's Rebellion Kett's Rebellion was a revolt in Norfolk, England 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 wealthy landowne ...

. The title comes from the Tombland area of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the Episcopal see, See of ...

which is just situated outside

Norwich Cathedral Norwich Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Norwich, Norfolk, dedicated to the Holy and Undivided Trinity. It is the cathedral church for the Church of England Diocese of Norwich and is one of the Norwich 12 heritage sites. The cathedr ...

. Tombland's etymolgoy is Danish in origin meaning 'empty space' or 'open land', and in the 11th century the area was home to an Anglo-Scandinavian marketplace.

Reception

Critical reception for ''Tombland'' has been positive. Stephanie Merritt writing for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' commented that the novel is 'more of a grand historical epic than a tightly packed whodunnit.' In a similar vein Andrew Taylor writing for ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''Th ...

'' praised the book as 'a Tudor epic disguised as an historical crime novel.'

References

{{CJ Sansom Novels 2018 British novels British crime novels Novels by C. J. Sansom Novels set in the 1540s British historical novels Novels set in Norfolk Macmillan Publishers books Fiction set in 1549