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Sovereign

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Sovereign

By: C. J. Sansom
Narrated by: Anton Lesser
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About this listen

Abridged edition.

Following on from Dissolution and Dark Fire, Sovereign is the third title in C. J. Sansom's bestselling Shardlake series.

Autumn, 1541. King Henry VIII has set out on a spectacular Progress to the North to attend an extravagant submission of his rebellious subjects in York.

Already in the city are lawyer Matthew Shardlake and his assistant Jack Barak. As well as assisting with legal work processing petitions to the King, Shardlake has reluctantly undertaken a special mission for the Archbishop Cranmer – to ensure the welfare of an important but dangerous conspirator being returned to London for interrogation.

But the murder of a local glazier involves Shardlake in deeper mysteries, connected not only to the prisoner in York Castle but to the royal family itself. And when Shardlake and Barak stumble upon a cache of secret papers which could threaten the Tudor throne, a chain of events unfolds that will lead to Shardlake facing the most terrifying fate of the age . . .

Continue the gripping historical series with Revelation, Heartstone, Lamentation and Tombland.

© C.J. Sansom; (P) Macmillan Publishers Ltd Christian Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Mystery Thriller & Suspense Fiction England Crime Royalty Exciting Suspense

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I could listen to Anton Lesser all day, every day. His narration voice is an easy listen, while his range of voices and accents for the various characters are well thought out and credible. This brings a long and quite convoluted plot to life and makes it easy to follow. Il be looking for another of his Shardlake narrations, to go with this one, and his Falco character in the Lindsey Davies books.

What a voice

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Poor Matthew Shardlake is forced by Cranmer to go north to meet up with the Procession of Henry VIII and his unfortunate queen of the moment, Catherine Howard. Henry is to accept the homage of the northern lords after a failed northern uprising is brutally supressed. Shardlake and Barrak, his clerk, are to go to York to meet up with the royal procession, review petitions and to see that a rebel prisoner is brought safely back to London for questioning. The task is complicated by attempts on his life and on the life of the prisoner.

The plot is gripping and the detail about the politics of time is enlightening. The feeling of the uncertainty and cheapness of life in Henry's reign is shown as well as that of the people of the court who may rise and fall on a whim of an irascible monarch.

Brilliantly read by Anton Lesser who brings all the characters to life. This is another of the excellent books in the series by CJ Samson about Matthew Shardlake, the reign of Henry VIIIth and the beginning of the English Protestant movement.

No holiday

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My husband and I listened to this on a journey and time passed so quickly we couldn't believe it when we arrived. An enthralling story. We really enjoyed it.

Sovereign

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Another very interesting and enjoyable Shardlake story, full of historical facts and yet entertaining too.

A great story that kept me hooked until the very e

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Great story which transports you back in time. Ready for the next book in the series.

Great historical storytelling.

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