Goodbye to a ‘king’ – CJ Sansom
Historical crime writer of Shardlake series had millions of fans world wide
If Agatha Christie’s Poirot and Miss Marple made her the ‘queen of crime’ then Christopher John Sansom – who created Tudor lawyer Matthew Shardlake – was the ‘king’.
Sansom died at the end of last month, days before Disney+ screened the first season of a Tudor murder-mystery series based on his books, which sold in their millions.
His editor and publisher, Maria Rejt, said: “An intensely private person, Chris wished from the very start only to be published quietly and without fanfare.
“But he always took immense pleasure in the public’s enthusiastic responses to his novels and worked tirelessly on each book, never wanting to disappoint a single reader.”
His first Shardlake book was Dissolution followed by Darkfire, Sovereign, Revelation, Heartstone, Lamentation and Tombland. His other books included Winter in Madrid and the fabulous, reimagined Second World War thriller Dominion.
Other writers in the genre have paid tribute. Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Scottish-bengali crime writer Abir Mukherjee. said: “He was an inspiration to me and to many others. We are poorer without him.”
Sansom picked up the Crime Writing Association’s highest honour – the diamond dagger for Dominion as well as the Shardlake series.
If you have not read any CJ Sansom you are in for a treat – if you have, loved them and have not already try:
Abir Mukherjee’s Wyndham and Banerjee series set in post World War One India.
SJ Maclean’s Seeker series set in post-civil War Britain.
Rory Clements’ Elizabethanera set Shakespeare novels and the Tom Wilde series set during the Second World War.
Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs – set from the First World War through to the Second World War.