[8A4]⋙ [PDF] Heartstone C J Sansom 9780230711259 Books

Heartstone C J Sansom 9780230711259 Books

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Heartstone C J Sansom 9780230711259 Books

In Hearthstone C.J. Sansom gives the reader a fascinating and multilayered mystery while providing the reader greater insight into Tudor England during the reign of Henry VIII. Matthew Shardlake again becomes embroiled in mysteries when he agrees to take on Queen Catherine Parr's request to determine the truth of what had happened to Michael, the son of one of her oldest servants. Michael had been found hanged in his rooms after he'd returned from visiting the two children that he'd tutored for years. Emma and Hugh became Wards of the Crown following their parents' deaths. Their wardships were bought by Nicholas Hobbey who wanted only to benefit from their inherited holdings. Wanting no interference with his plans Hobbey terminated Michael's tutoring. But in a note to his mother found at his death he begged that help be given to Hugh who was being mistreated horribly by Hobbey.

Matthew had already planned to journey to this same area in his own quest for the truth. He'd set for himself the task of learning what had happened to Ellen Fetti-Place nineteen years ago that had driven her to madness and to become an inmate at Bedlam. Matthew had met her two years ago while visiting a young boy who was also an inmate at Bedlam. Although Ellen had seemed to be the sanest inmate there she was too terrified of the outside world to set foot out of Bedlam's protective doors.

Samson weaves these stories with the events of the times and gives a lover of historical fiction an enjoyable read.


Tags : Heartstone [C J Sansom] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. This is the new Shardlake mystery from the No 1 bestselling author of REVELATION . Summer, 1545. England is at war. Henry VIII's invasion of France has gone badly wrong,C J Sansom,Heartstone,Mantle,0230711251,Literature & Fiction - General

Heartstone C J Sansom 9780230711259 Books Reviews

It is one of the true pleasures of reading to find an author who is able to create characters in a specific time period and then write multiple novels and keep the writing standards high. I've found this with the writing of C. J. Sansom and his Matthew Shardlake Tudor mysteries. Each of the plots of the five novels centers around a specific historical event which was happening in the England of the 1540's, and weaves in real historical figures as well as characters created by the author to make a story which is educational as well as enjoyable.

Like all the other books in the series, this story begins with Shardlake taking on a case to right a possible wrong only to find himself involved in more circumstances than he bargained for. Shardlake is a tenacious character even to the point of throwing himself into danger and making himself an irritant to influential men who have the power to destroy his career or even take his life. The time he lives in and the law he practices can both be dangerous. I always learn so much about the English system of laws when I read one of these novels. This one focuses, once again, on the plight of anyone unfortunate enough to be deemed insane and the Court of Wards, a completely corrupt arm of the law which is supposed to represent the most innocent of victims, orphaned children. Instead we see through this novel how corrupt it was with knowledge of this corruption starting with the reigning monarch and going all the way to the clerks who worked in the government offices. All of this was allowed because of the vast sums of money the wardships brought to the royal treasury and the pockets of everyone else involved along the way. British law has been an example for many countries to use when formulating their own law courts. It is fascinating for me to see how far the doctrines of fairness have come.

I also can't read one of these novels without learning an incredible amount about the social structure and historical events of the Tudor period. Even though Sansom admits to taking some liberties with historical records he candidly discloses that in the historical notes at the end of the book. By the way, often I will go to any historical notes provided in a book of this type before I start reading the book to better prepare myself for what the novel will be concerned with. In this case, I wish I had waited until I had finished the novel before reading the notes. There is actually a spoiler contained in those notes. Best if you wait until you've finished the book before checking out the notes. I thoroughly enjoyed visiting the Bedlam again, even if it did reinforce the sad fact that mental illness was so completely misunderstood during this time. I also was fascinated by the re-enactment of the threatened French invasion of England in the Summer of 1545. Shardlake had some remarkable adventures and once again he learned hard lessons about himself and those he came in contact with. My only criticism of the novel would be that there did seem to be a tendency to repeat information more often than was strictly needed and some situations went on longer than I liked. There was an awful lot of traveling back and forth between Portsmouth, Hoyland, and Rolfswood. Even having said that, I will still be eager to read the next exciting book in this series.
I was not previously familiar with the hunchback Tudor lawyer cum detective Matthew Shardlake and I'm glad to have made his acquaintance.

This book shows the seamier side of Henry VIII's England, delving into the corruption surrounding the justice system pertaining to wards. Apparently, when a child with means lost his or her parents, their wardship and the rights to control their fortunes could be sold off to the highest bidder -- with the magistrate and the crown taking a slice of the profits.

Shardlake is asked by his patron, Queen Catherine Parr (number six of Henry's wives) to investigate one such deal. At the same time, he is busy trying to figure out what drove his friend Ellen into Bedlam with an acute case of agoraphobia. The two cases turn out to be connected.

Shardlake is soon traipsing down to a country priory in Hampshire, and has occasion to enter Portsmouth, then in the giddy midst of preparation for a feared French invasion. The book is excellent in painting the background of Henry's abortive war against France and its consequences.

What's great about this book, apart from the wealth of research about the way the law functioned in Tudor England, is that is really brings to life the stenches and stinks of the period. It's gritty -- and it shows life as it really was. In that way, it's a much-needed corrective to all the "Other Boleyn Girl" bodice ripper school of Tudor England which has become incredibly tedious.

What's not so good is the do-gooder hero who kind of got on my nerves after a bit. Shardlake wants the world to be just to compensate for the injustice of his own deformity. He pursues his cases with a kind of self-righteous blindness. He's so principled it eventually becomes tiring. I enjoyed this book - but I'm not rushing to read more of the series.
In Hearthstone C.J. Sansom gives the reader a fascinating and multilayered mystery while providing the reader greater insight into Tudor England during the reign of Henry VIII. Matthew Shardlake again becomes embroiled in mysteries when he agrees to take on Queen Catherine Parr's request to determine the truth of what had happened to Michael, the son of one of her oldest servants. Michael had been found hanged in his rooms after he'd returned from visiting the two children that he'd tutored for years. Emma and Hugh became Wards of the Crown following their parents' deaths. Their wardships were bought by Nicholas Hobbey who wanted only to benefit from their inherited holdings. Wanting no interference with his plans Hobbey terminated Michael's tutoring. But in a note to his mother found at his death he begged that help be given to Hugh who was being mistreated horribly by Hobbey.

Matthew had already planned to journey to this same area in his own quest for the truth. He'd set for himself the task of learning what had happened to Ellen Fetti-Place nineteen years ago that had driven her to madness and to become an inmate at Bedlam. Matthew had met her two years ago while visiting a young boy who was also an inmate at Bedlam. Although Ellen had seemed to be the sanest inmate there she was too terrified of the outside world to set foot out of Bedlam's protective doors.

Samson weaves these stories with the events of the times and gives a lover of historical fiction an enjoyable read.