Tombland cover art

Tombland

The Shardlake Series, Book 7

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Tombland

By: C. J. Sansom
Narrated by: Steven Crossley
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About this listen

Tudor England is brought vividly to life in Tombland, the seventh novel in C. J. Sansom's number one bestselling Shardlake series, for fans of Hilary Mantel and Philippa Gregory.

'When it comes to intriguing Tudor-based narratives, Hilary Mantel has a serious rival' - Sunday Times
‘Sansom has the trick of writing an enthralling narrative. Like Hilary Mantel, he produces densely textured historical novels that absorb their readers in another time’ - Andrew Taylor, Spectator

The Sunday Times Number One Bestseller

England, 1549: Two years after the death of Henry VIII, England is sliding into chaos . . .

The nominal king, Edward VI, is eleven years old. His uncle Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, rules as Protector. The extirpation of the old religion by radical Protestants is stirring discontent among the populace while the Protector’s prolonged war with Scotland is proving a disastrous failure and threatens to involve France. Worst of all, the economy is in collapse, inflation rages and rebellion is stirring among the peasantry.

Since the old King’s death, Matthew Shardlake has been working as a lawyer in the service of Henry’s younger daughter, the Lady Elizabeth. The gruesome murder of Edith Boleyn, the wife of John Boleyn – a distant Norfolk relation of Elizabeth's mother – which could have political implications for Elizabeth, brings Shardlake and his assistant Nicholas Overton to the summer assizes at Norwich. There they are reunited with Shardlake’s former assistant Jack Barak. The three find layers of mystery and danger surrounding Edith's death, as a second murder is committed.

And then East Anglia explodes, as peasant rebellion breaks out across the country. The yeoman Robert Kett leads a force of thousands in overthrowing the landlords and establishing a vast camp outside Norwich. Soon the rebels have taken over the city, England’s second largest.

Barak throws in his lot with the rebels; Nicholas, opposed to them, becomes a prisoner in Norwich Castle; while Shardlake has to decide where his ultimate loyalties lie, as government forces in London prepare to march north and destroy the rebels. Meanwhile he discovers that the murder of Edith Boleyn may have connections reaching into both the heart of the rebel camp and of the Norfolk gentry . . .

This is the seventh stunning novel in the bestselling Shardlake series, that began with Dissolution. Includes an Historical Essay from the author on Reimagining Kett's Rebellion.

©C. J. Sansom 2018 (P)2018 Macmillan Digital Audio
Crime Fiction Historical England Royalty Tudor Mystery Fiction King France War Marriage

What listeners say about Tombland

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Not as good as the previous books

The story line was a bit tedious. The writer seems intent on becoming an historian. I bought the book for the story line and the human aspects of the fiction. Not sure if I would buy a future novel of the main protagonist's life.

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His Best yet!

Love the interest in the storyline throughout the whole book and learning about English history at the same time. Thank goodness that we are socially kinder to each other now. I have read the whole SHARDLAKE series and think this one was the best with the ending not seeming rushed. Hope there’s more books to come!

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The research, the narrator, the fascinating story!

I’ve listen to every book in this series because I’ve enjoyed the so much. I loved that the stories were long, I never tired of these historically credible if not true stories.

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Another wonderful instalment

It was wonderful to get back into the Tudor period with Matthew Shardlake. It’s a long, slow ride but truly terrifying at times. How anyone survived in those times is beyond me.

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Great read and factual

For those that enjoy learning about history in detail Samson has done it excellently Await the next novel re Elizabeth 1st

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Brilliant story of Shardlake once again.

I've read all the Shardlake series, by far my most favourite. He's an intriguing character and I love that he collects people with broken hearts as he goes along through his travels and ordeals in Tudor life. This book is as brilliant as all the others. In fact I've read it and listened to it on Audiobooks over and over in the car because I travel in the car so much. His supporting characters of Barak and Josephine feature prominently again and we also meet and love Simon (Sooty) Scandler. Thanks CJ for this book. I would go so far as to say, it's one of my favourite of the series.

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Entertaining historical fiction

Enjoyed the unabridged version. Narrator is great and pleasant to listen to. Would like the earlier books to be released unabridged too.

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less Shardlake, more history lesson

horrible narration (again) and felt like a vast majority of the time the "who done it" story was totally subservient to showing off how much the author had researched Ketts rebellion.

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