Huge historical novel that reads more like a political thriller

LAMENTATION C J Sansom Macmillan

REVIEW: Jennifer Crocker

LAMENTATION begins with a sense of unease and horror as London readies itself for the burning at the stake of one woman and a group of men who have been condemned as heretics by those who do the bidding of a dying King Henry. The days of the Tudors are coming to an end, and the sixth in the series of Matthew Shardlake novels set in Tudor England begins with Shardlake, the hunchbacked lawyer, being sent as an unwilling witness to the public burnings of the group of heretics, including Anne Askew. He goes to represent the legal Inn he is part of, but Shardlake does not want to be near anything political. Those who have devoured his previous books in the series will know that he has good reason to want to stay well away from anything political.

But, of course, that is not going to happen. In Lamentation Shardlake is drawn into the centre of Catherine Parr’s court. The queen has written a document called the Lamentations of a Sinner, which has disappeared. She fears for her life (well so would you if you were married to Henry Tudor, I would imagine) and Shardlake finds himself drafted into the Queen’s service to find it. Of course the foibles and the characteristics that Sansom has written so well draw us into his characters’ lives, there is pathos about Shardlake’s feel- ings for Catherine Parr, feelings he knows can never be reciprocated, but Sansom always allows him to dream a little in this book and it works well.

C J Sansom has a reputation for writing historical novels that grip the reader’s imagination and often read more as political thrillers. But, that is not to say that he plays fast and loose with history. The fact that Catherine wrote a confessional document is true, but there is no indication that it was ever stolen. Having it stolen though gives us Shardlake torn in his desire to serve the woman he has always loved, and to stay as far away from the Court of Henry as possible.

With his friend Barak he finds himself enmeshed in an intrigue that could well end in his death.

And death is very much present in this book. Shardlake does not spare readers in his descriptions of the violence that terrorised the people of England at the end of Henry’s reign. He also is graphic in his descriptions of the filth of London and the dereliction brought about by the destruction of the monasteries.

The political intrigue is all present too. The King is dying, although it is treason to say so, just as it is treason to talk of religion, but both of these topics hang heavily over his brilliantly-crafted tale.

Recent books on the Tudor reign, including those by Hilary Mantel and Philippa Gregory, have told of the capricious nature of the Tudor rule. It raises the question, never really answered, as to why Henry Tudor swung from one extreme to the other. What historical novels (well-researched ones, that is) do is give us options on why certain things may have happened.

Lamentation is a huge book, full of plot and intrigue, but it shines in its descriptions of personal relationships. Shardlake appears to be losing his friendship with Dr Guy Malton, the ex-monk who has played such an important part in his life. There is a real understanding of human failings and falling-outs in Sansom’s writing.