C.J. Sansom's bestselling adventures of Matthew Shardlake continue in the fourth title in the series, the haunting Revelation. Spring, 1543. King Henry VIII is wooing Lady Catherine Parr, whom he wants for his sixth wife. Archbishop Cranmer and the embattled Protestant faction at court are watching keenly, for Lady Catherine is known to have reformist sympathies. Matthew Shardlake, meanwhile, is working on the case of a teenage boy who has been placed in the Bedlam insane asylum, before his terrifying religious mania leads to him being burned as a heretic. When an old friend is horrifically murdered Shardlake vows to bring the killer to justice. His search leads him to Cranmer and Catherine Parr - and to the dark prophecies of the Book of Revelation. As London's Bishop Bonner prepares a purge of Protestants Shardlake, together with his assistant, Jack Barak, and his friend, Guy Malton, investigate a series of horrific murders which are already bringing frenzied talk of witchcraft and demonic possession - for what else would the Tudor mind make of a serial killer ...?
C.J. Sansom's bestselling adventures of Matthew Shardlake continue in the fourth title in the series, the haunting Revelation. Spring, 1543. King Henry VIII is wooing Lady Catherine Parr, whom he wants for his sixth wife. Archbishop Cranmer and the embattled Protestant faction at court are watching keenly, for Lady Catherine is known to have reformist sympathies. Matthew Shardlake, meanwhile, is working on the case of a teenage boy who has been placed in the Bedlam insane asylum, before his terrifying religious mania leads to him being burned as a heretic. When an old friend is horrifically murdered Shardlake vows to bring the killer to justice. His search leads him to Cranmer and Catherine Parr - and to the dark prophecies of the Book of Revelation. As London's Bishop Bonner prepares a purge of Protestants Shardlake, together with his assistant, Jack Barak, and his friend, Guy Malton, investigate a series of horrific murders which are already bringing frenzied talk of witchcraft and demonic possession - for what else would the Tudor mind make of a serial killer ...?
The stunning fourth Shardlake novel
C. J. Sansom was educated at Birmingham University, where he took a BA and then a Ph.D. in history. After working in a variety of jobs, he retrained as a solicitor and practised in Sussex, until becoming a full-time writer. He lives in Sussex.
Praise for the Matthew Shardlake series:
"Remarkable. . . . The sights, the voices, the very smell of this
turbulent age seem to rise from the page."
--"P.D. James
""Terrific . . . a remarkable, imaginative feat. It is a first-rate
murder mystery and one of the most atmospheric historical novels
I've read in years."
--"The Mail on Sunday
""Historical crime fiction is sometimes little more than a modern
adventure in fancy dress. Not so the novels of C. J. Sansom, whose
magnificent books set in the reign of Henry VIII bring to life the
sounds and smells of Tudor England . . . Dark Fire" "is a creation
of real brilliance."
--"The Sunday Times "(UK)
Praise for the Matthew Shardlake series:
"Remarkable. . . . The sights, the voices, the very smell of this
turbulent age seem to rise from the page."
--"P.D. James
""Terrific . . . a remarkable, imaginative feat. It is a first-rate
murder mystery and one of the most atmospheric historical novels
I've read in years."
--"The Mail on Sunday
""Historical crime fiction is sometimes little more than a modern
adventure in fancy dress. Not so the novels of C. J. Sansom, whose
magnificent books set in the reign of Henry VIII bring to life the
sounds and smells of Tudor England . . . Dark Fire" "is a creation
of real brilliance."
--"The Sunday Times "(UK)
In March 1543, while London buzzes about Henry VIII's campaign to win newly widowed Lady Catherine Parr for his sixth wife, hunchbacked barrister Matthew Shardlake has grimmer matters on his mind in Sansom's gripping fourth Tudor historical (after 2007's Sovereign). Not only has his close friend and colleague Roger Elliard been savagely murdered but Shardlake finds himself assigned the incendiary case of a young religious fanatic committed to Bedlam. Learning of a link between Elliard's death and a previous slaying, one touching Lady Catherine's household, he reluctantly agrees to join the top-secret probe by his mentor, Archbishop Cranmer--instantly plunging both himself and his intrepid assistant, Jack Barak, into a maelstrom of political intrigue, spiritual strife and personal peril. With its wealth of period detail, compelling characters and bold, fast-moving plot, this may be the most rousing Shardlake adventure so far. (Feb.) Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.
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