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Revelation (Matthew Shardlake, #4)

C.J. Sansom

Start date: January 15, 2024

Finish date: February 6, 2024

Discussion: Buddy reads

Why we're reading this: Next in this acclaimed series set in Tudor times
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What Members Thought

Sep 19, 2014 Susan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This is the fourth novel in the series featuring lawyer, Matthew Shardlake, and his assistant Jack Barak. This is one of the darkest, most unsettling books in the series, involving Shardlake and Barak in the hunt for a Tudor serial killer, who has an obsession with the book of Revelations and a client who is declared insane and sent to the Bedlam.

King Henry is planning to take another wife and is busy trying to convince Catherine Parr to marry him. Speaking of matrimony, Barak’s marriage to Tama ...more

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Mar 24, 2009 Susan in NC rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, detectives-buddy-read24, audiobook, kindle, currently-re-reading, my-library, tbr-with-gr-groups, want-to-reread, reread

1/7/24 - I’m so glad to be rereading this excellent historical mystery series with the Reading the Detectives group. I read the whole series as each book was published years ago, and it has long been the standard for gripping, well-written historical fiction for me. Still five stars.

March 2009: Amazing! My favorite so far in an a stellar series; I stayed up too late finishing it, so I'm not feeling terribly articulate, but I would definitely recommend this series (this is the fourth "Matthew Sha 1/7/24 - I’m so glad to be rereading this excellent historical mystery series with the Reading the Detectives group. I read the whole series as each book was published years ago, and it has long been the standard for gripping, well-written historical fiction for me. Still five stars.

March 2009: Amazing! My favorite so far in an a stellar series; I stayed up too late finishing it, so I'm not feeling terribly articulate, but I would definitely recommend this series (this is the fourth "Matthew Shardlake" mystery) to any fan of well-researched historical mysteries.

This time, although our hero, "crookback" lawyer Shardlake, finds himself again involved in the snake pit of Henry VIII's court (a place he vowed he would avoid at the end of the previous book, "Sovereign"), this time he's secretly working on the periphery with courtiers to bring a serial killer to justice. As Archbisop Cranmer tells the group hunting the killer repeatedly, if the king finds out what has been kept from him, heads will literally roll; Henry's legendary, vicious and unforgiving temper keeps those closest to him from being honest, yet they feel they cannot be truthful - that some crazed reformer has a twisted view of the Book of Revelations and is acting on it, killing "backsliders", formerly zealous religious reformers who have become more moderate, in spectacular, public and horrific ways. This would bring down the kingly wrath on the religious reformers, increasingly out of favor after Cromwell's spectacular fall from power as the king moves toward what one courtier calls "a Catholicism without a pope".

One of Matthew's oldest and dearest friends has been murdered, and he has sworn to find the killer - this becomes much more complicated when he finds out his friend wasn't the first victim, nor will he be the last.

This brings us to (I felt) the real heart of the story, a theme that has run through the entire series - the role of religion, heresy and political intrigue that runs like a cancer through Henry VIII's reign. It's fascinating and frankly sometimes confusing keeping track of who is "in" and who is "out" with Henry and his court: what's the flavor of the day? "Reformists", "papists", "traditionalists"? It often depended on who whispered in his ear last, which woman he is pursuing, and what her and her followers believe. This created an incredibly (to me) claustrophic, vicious environment of informing, political machinations, accusations of heresy, and eventual trips to the Tower for the unfortunate losers in the battle to control the religious tide of the day. And if it weren't for Henry's vicious temper and mercurial nature, if those close to him could be honest, none of it would've been necessary! For one man to wield such power is truly terrifying, but so often repeated throughout history - which I guess is one of the things that brings me back repeatedly to well-done historical mysteries and fiction.

We see it all here as we follow our heroes through London and it's environs hunting the killer, surrounded by the ever-increasing, desperately poor cast-offs, waifs and sick "left over" and unwanted after Henry dissolved the monasteries and left them out of work, out of a home, with no recourse for support, no hospitals for the sick, no structure to fill the void. As one character notes, the king was more interested in building palaces than hospitals to replace the monastery hospitals, the only medical help available for most of the poor).

Sansom recreates an amazingly totalitarian world where plays and books are being burned, butchers arrested for allegedly selling meat during Lent, printers being arrested for copying/distributing questionable (read: heretical) play manuscripts or books, even costumers being arrested for renting costumes for those plays to be performed! Very hard to imagine in this day and age, although there are echoes when we hear from "reformist" or "godly folk" of today's evangelical, conservative Christians, smugly, righteously sure of their literal interpretation of the Bible and their place at the right hand of God. ...more

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Jul 25, 2019 Lady Clementina ffinch-ffarowmore rated it it was amazing

Shelves: england, series, british, mystery, historical-fiction, murder, history, tudor, c-j-sansom, matthew-shardlake

Book 4 in the Matthew Shardlake series sees us back in Tudor England at when Henry VIII is wooing Catherine Parr. Shardlake is on the case of a teenage boy who has suddenly taken to praying obsessively (so much so that he won’t eat, sleep, or work) and has been placed in Bedlam, the only place he can be safe at a time when he can be burnt as a heretic by Bishop Bonner, who seems to be going after anyone he can. But Shardlake has to ensure that the boy Adam is looked after at Bedlam, else he may Book 4 in the Matthew Shardlake series sees us back in Tudor England at when Henry VIII is wooing Catherine Parr. Shardlake is on the case of a teenage boy who has suddenly taken to praying obsessively (so much so that he won’t eat, sleep, or work) and has been placed in Bedlam, the only place he can be safe at a time when he can be burnt as a heretic by Bishop Bonner, who seems to be going after anyone he can. But Shardlake has to ensure that the boy Adam is looked after at Bedlam, else he may well die. Meanwhile Shardlake’s friend and fellow barrister Roger Elliard is found murdered, and that too in a very gruesome manner. The authorities seem to be playing the death down but soon he finds that this is because Roger’s death was not the first of its kind, and there is a serial killer on the loose taking ‘inspiration’ from the book of Revelation. Not only that, the investigations have a political angle to them because of one of the victims, and are being directed by no less than Archbishop Cranmer who once against requests him to be involved. Working with the King’s coroner, Harsnet, he has to navigate the world of politics and keep himself safe from the serial killer who seems to be targeting him as well as his assistant Barak and Barak’s wide Tamasin. Alongside Barak and Tamasin are having problems in their marriage after having lost their child, while Shardlake’s friend, the physician Guy has hired an apprentice who seems perfect on the surface but of course all is not as it seems.

While many of Shardlake’s cases (the first one comes to mind especially) are dark, this one certainly falls into that category, the gruesomeness of the deaths and the idea of a killer who is not only responsible for such acts but with a state of mind that would lead him to do so sends chills down one’s spine. As always, this was a very gripping read despite being well over 500 pages in the edition I have (slimmer than some of the others, I guess)—so much so that I was reading well past bedtime and then again as soon as I woke up. Also as always I enjoyed the historical setting, with the atmosphere of a London seeped in tension and constant danger coming through very well (one wouldn’t want to be there but one can experience something of what it was like reading this)—a place where every word, every action could get one killed. Once again a great read despite its rather dark and unsettling themes.
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Dec 11, 2016 Pages rated it liked it · review of another edition

It's taken me a very long time to finish this book. I lost interest about two hundred pages from the end. Dissolution is my favourite so far, then Dark Fire, Sovereign and then this.

It's magnificently written, the history so detailed but there just a lot of everything and it felt too much. I just wanted to unravel the mystery but by the time I did- I lost momentum.

I still want to continue to read on in the series some day. ...more

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Feb 04, 2024 Frances rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery-series

Another great historical mystery set at the time of Henry VIII and his last wife Catherine Parr. A serial killer is on the loose, and appears to be following the prophesies from the book of Revelation. Lots of period detail about the situation in the churches of the time, along with information about healers, madness, politics, food and clothing of the time, and further developments in the lives of Shardlake's servants and friends. Always a treat to read. ...more

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