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    Heartstone
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    Heartstone
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    Heartstone
    Audiobook21 hours

    Heartstone

    Written by C. J. Sansom

    Narrated by Steven Crossley

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Consistently appearing on US and UK best-seller lists, C.J. Sansom’s Matthew Shardlake mysteries have earned considerable critical acclaim, including a CWA Ellis Peters Historical Dagger Award. At the behest of a former servant to Catherine Parr, Shardlake travels to Portsmouth to investigate claims of unspeakable crimes committed upon a young ward of the court. There, Shardlake uncovers disturbing evidence even as England’s continuing war with France rages around him.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books Audio
    Release dateFeb 18, 2010
    ISBN9781449867478
    Unavailable
    Heartstone
    Author

    C. J. Sansom

    C. J. Sansom was educated at Birmingham University, where he took a BA and then a PhD in history. After working in a variety of jobs, he retrained as a solicitor and practised in Sussex, until becoming a full-time writer. Sansom is the bestselling author of the acclaimed Shardlake series, the Spanish Civil War thriller Winter in Madrid and the number one bestseller Dominion. in 2023, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Edinburgh. He lives in Sussex.

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    Reviews for Heartstone

    4/5

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    • 4/5
      Review from BadelyngeHeartstone is the fifth of C.J. Sansom's Tudor mysteries featuring the hunchback lawyer Shardlake. In previous books he'd been tasked with dangerous mysteries with political ramifications by two of the most powerful men in Tudor England - the doomed Thomas Cromwell and Thomas Cranmer. In this book he primarily sets out to do a favour for the Queen (Catherine Parr) by looking into a legal matter connected to one of the Queen's old servants. Along the way he resolves to look into another mystery involving a character introduced in the last book involving the woman's commitment to an insane asylum (Bedlam). Add to that yet another mystery connected to his new house steward. All three seem to present no danger to himself but Shardlake soon discovers that things aren't what they seem. The book proclaims on the cover 'Shardlake goes to war', the backdrop to the story being the threatened invasion by the French in 1545 after the King's foolish attempts to invade France. I used to have a bit of a thing for the Mary Rose, having been involved with a school project regarding it and watching the raising of the ship on tv in the early 80s. I used to have dreams about being a soldier on that ship when it went down. The scenes aboard the Mary Rose are very striking, haunting and sad. Sansom does a good job of portraying the futility of war without being too preachy or trite. I worried a little early on that the writer seemed to be dwelling on too many characters who had little or no connection to Shardlake's mysteries but his reason for doing so pays off in the end.
    • 3/5
      If I could I'd give this another half star as I think it is slightly better than three stars but not a four star read.

      While it was an enjoyable and for its size a quick read I didn't enjoy this as much as previous Shardlake stories.

      For me I think the book would have worked better if the author had given Shardlake one case instead of two. Either of the two cases that he investigates in this book would I feel have made a good story in their own right. I'm sure that if investigated properly either the real reasons for Ellen being in Bedlam or the issue of Hugh and Emma's wardship would have thrown up enough corruption and conspiracy to keep Shardlake and Barak busy for a whole book.

      I also wasn't impressed with the so called twist, a friend had read this and said it was a really good twist but when I got to it all I thought was that's been done to death. If you must have a twist in your story then please make it one that we haven't seen a million times before.
    • 5/5
      Loved this work - such a richly detailed, meticulously researched story. And I really am fond of Shardlake and Barak.
    • 4/5
      This is one of my favorite historical mystery series. I love the setting of Tudor England and the character of Matthew Shardlake. I loved the first and last parts of this book the best but he middle felt a little flat to me. I loved Ellen's story but the rest I was not that interested in. I will, however, continue the series because I have really enjoyed the rest of the books and totally look forward to the next one.
    • 4/5
      As is usual with the Shardlake stories this was slow to start. And then suddenly you get pulled in to the story and want to solve the mystery. And it immerses you in the world of Tudor England, of religious confusion, of a place where getting on the wrong side of the King could be detrimental to your health. The end of the story is centered around the sinking of the Mary Rose. I remember the excitement when the ship was brought up - I was 14 or 15 and it just seemed so incredible that they were able to do so. I have been to Portsmouth and seen the ship when it was still under spray several years ago. I believe there is a brand new museum now with a lot more to see, so a revisit must go on the to do list.
    • 4/5
      Historical fiction is my guilty pleasure - this one does not disappoint.
    • 5/5
      I think, although my memory is not that precise, given I have been reading this series over about eight years, that this is the best Shardlake book yet ( I cannot wait to see Branagh as Shardlake). As ever our hero has to be persistent to get at the truth, which emerges gradually, but very logically, from a mountain in of detail about the latter days of Henry VIII, this time during the almost invasion by France. I was at the wonderful Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth last year and Sansom's writing brought that wonderful display to life. I really cannot fault this book, or this series, or this writer (read the wonderful non-series books).
    • 5/5
      Went straight from Revelation onto this one and will do the same with Lamentation. Matthew is called by Queen Catherine to work on a case in the Court of Wards which results in him being near Portsmouth and the threat of the French invasion. Side story of a fascinating look at the life of conscripted men ending up on great ships like the Mary Rose.
    • 5/5
      Another matthew Shardlake thriller, and as ever a brilliant read - a great plot with well-researched detail.
    • 4/5
      Great read with convincing historical detail
    • 4/5
      Hunch backed Tudor lawyer, Matthew Shardlake is off to Hampshire in this novel, the fifth in the series. He is investigating two separate cases but as the story progresses they begin to overlap more and more. This is the longest of novel in the series so far, over 700 pages. The second half is certainly better than the first half, which, for me, felt like it was dragging somewhat. The story's climax in Portsmouth, aboard the Mary Rose, is classic Shardlake though, and it is just a bit of a shame it took us so long to get there.
    • 4/5
      Matthew Shardlake returns with more investigations. This time he is determined to learn the truth about a young woman in Bedlam who doesn't seem to be insane and is being supported by a mysterious benefactor. He is also asked by the Queen to investigate the position of an orphan whose wardship was purchased by a family with questions hanging over them. The ward, Hugh, had been tutored by the son of one of the Queen's handmaids. When the tutor returned to visit Hugh he discovered something heinous but committed suicide before he could pass the information on to anyone. Matthew's helper, Barack, has to leave his very pregnant wife to assist Matthew and Matthew's doctor friend, Guy, watches his household. They proceed to stay at the ward's home not far from Portsmouth where King Henry is amassing troops and ships to ward off an invasion of the French.This book gives us a satisfying pair of mysteries along with another historical lesson in how orphans of landed families could be bought and their lands "managed" until they became of age. Needless to say, not all transactions were on the up and up.Another foray into the fascinating world of 1545 England with the dedicated and almost obsessive investigation to find the truth and a fair outcome for his clients.
    • 3/5
      After a slow start, this entry in the Matthew Shardlake series picks up steam and comes to a satisfying conclusion. This time, the crookback lawyer is involved in the Court of Wards, a notoriously corrupt scheme for farming out rich orphans to benefit the royal treasury. He takes the case at the request of Queen Catherine Parr, who wants him to investigate the circumstances of a ward of the court who might be suffering abuse from is guardian. This case also lets Shardlake investigate how his mad friend Ellen came to be in Bedlam. As these two cases proceed, Matthew uncovers a tie between them. This brings him back to the unfavorable attention of Sir Richard Rich, member of the Privy Council and corrupt lawyer. Matters reach a head in both investigations just as the French invasion fleet appears off Portsmouth.In spite of the thundering conclusion, I think the novel is a bit too long (626 pages!). Either case could make a compelling novel by itself, but together they stretch out the material too far. Fans of this series will like the book, but new readers are advised to start with Dissolution, the first book in the series.
    • 4/5
      Intervening on behalf of one of her female servants, queen Catherine Parr requests that Shardlake take on the case of Hugh Curteys, a young man whom the servant's son, Michael Calfhill, had believed to have been terribly wronged, Calfhill having since committed suicide. No concrete evidence of any wrongdoing exists, and Shardlake has to answer his case in the notoriously corrupt Court of Wards, where his opponent is evidently hostile towards him from the beginning. Acceding to the queen's influence, the judge grudgingly grants Shardlake the right to take depositions from all the parties concerned at their place of residence in Hampshire.Once again - after Sovereign - Sansom decides to move the location of the plot outside London, giving him, and us, the opportunity to visit the Hampshire and Sussex countryside and the assembled navy in Portsmouth, where an attack from the French appears to be imminent. As always, he seems to capture the mood perfectly, the battle weariness among the veterans, the barely suppressed excitement and optimism among the new recruits, the jitteriness amongst the general population. This is where Heartstone comes into its own, the depiction of everyday life, imbuing even the minor characters with a voice of their own. I felt genuine grief when I learnt of the death of one member of Shardlake's household, mentioned in passing, and could feel the horror faced by George Leacon at the siege of Boulogne; the passages of the sinking of the Mary Rose are quite harrowing and will haunt you for days. Yet I was less convinced of the mystery central to this story, and could never really identify with Hugh Curteys, who is always portrayed as devoid of emotion, whereas the other members of the Hobbey household, though coming across as unsympathetic, are at least ruled by their emotions; this is the reason why I have only awarded it four stars. While parts of Heartstone are as sublime as previous volumes in the series, I still had the nagging feeling that it didn't hang together just as well, it starts off far too slowly and drags on for too long, with nothing worthwhile happening for several chapters. While Sansom has taken the admirable step of not always making Shardlake likeable, I have to confess that in Heartstone I found him to be particularly irritating, stubbornly pursuing his ideas to the detriment of everyone around him, not considering that his actions will have consequences; Barak aptly phrases it thus: 'That's the problem, ..., you set something in motion and before you know where you are it's all out of control.'To me, Sansom's stories have always been more than 'just' a historical mystery, they let us explore what it means to be human and allow us to gain a deeper understanding of history. As Dr Jerome de Groot writes in the 'Opinion' column in October's issue of the BBC History magazine, 'Historical fiction can give readers a more profound insight into the past, and illuminate an issue in a way that non-fiction prose can never hope to achieve.' So take that on the chin, all you nitpickers and sticklers for one hundred per cent historical accuracy! I am just grateful for the time I was allowed to spend in Shardlake and Barak's company, not to mention all the other friendly or sinister characters I've encountered along the way. Thank you for the ride, Mr Sansom, and for allowing us to partake in the journey, it's been a pleasure.
    • 5/5
      The latest in Mathew Shardlake series didn't disappoint. There is probably more suspense here than in any of previous novels. Once again, the novel stalls sometime, but it's a minor drawback for me considering the quality of the novel - both entertaining and educational.
    • 5/5
      I love C.J. Sansom's Matthew Shardlake Tudor mysteries, and this latest installment, which sets a story of murder, identity theft, ambition, and betrayal in the context of Henry VIII's disastrous final war with France, doesn't disappoint. Sansom has a gift for combining the sweep of a historical epic with the suspense of the best murder mysteries, keeping readers guessing all the way through. The apparent leisureliness of the narrative is an illusion; Sansom builds tremendous suspense, manipulating multiple plot threads toward a resolution that always surprises but inevitably makes perfect sense. The characters are memorable, the psychology acute. This is one of those books that I was sorry to finish.
    • 5/5
      As with the previous books in the series, this had great description and conveyed well the atmosphere of Tudor life. However, like one or two of the others, it was a bit too long and you get the impression that the plot is rather too drawn out in places. Indeed, this was really two unconnected whodunits in one. I also found the resolution of the Hugh Curteys plotline rather unrealistic (no spoilers here). I don't know if C J Sansom is planning to continue this series past the death of Henry VIII, but if he does, I hope these undoubtedly excellent novels are plotted just a little more tightly.
    • 5/5
      The main theme of this book is an attempt by the lawyer Matthew Shardlake to secure justice for a young man apparently wronged by his guardian, combined with another plot which concerns Shardlake's search for the truth about someone he has tried for years to help. Although you could read this book and enjoy it without having read its four predecessors about the lawyer Shardlake, you can only enjoy it fully if you have done so, because one of the two main plot lines draws on events in those books. Overall I think this is the best of the series, with a magnificent sweep covering important events not often written about (the Anglo-French war of 1544-46) with Sansom's usual highly detailed and closely researched descriptions of places, people and institutions. The weaving together of the two plot lines is deft and the book moves towards an exciting climax, with however an epilogue which is positively elegaic. Overall this book makes a lot of other historical fiction/mysetry books look puny by comparison. There are one or two plot improbabilities but nothing outrageous. As usual, Sansom makes clear in an afterword what is true and what he has invented, something other novelists could usefully imitate.
    • 4/5
      How long can Shardlake keep going? Well at times reading this I felt that maybe the author was tiring a little perhaps. It's a slow burner for many many pages and you may find yourself stuck for motivation at times. Persevere though and you will get the typically exciting climaxes to the mysteries Shardlake is compelled to solve. Sometimes there just maybe a little too much historical details at the expense of the storyline. Not the best in the series it has to be said.
    • 5/5
      This is #5 in Sansom's Matthew Shardlake series. In 2009 I reviewed DISSOLUTION, the first in the series which I had actually read a year or two earlier. I've been meaning to read more in this series ever since. But I haven't and the fact that I have enjoyed reading this "out of order" is perhaps proof that you can dip into the series wherever you can. (Or perhaps I just don't know what I've been missing?) I regret too that this review is of the abridged version of the novel, but you know what they say about gift horses.HEARTSTONE has strengthened my resolve to read some of the intervening titles.In DISSOLUTION Matthew Shardlake, a hunch-back lawyer, was doing the work of Thomas Cromwell. Eight years have passed and it is now 1545. Henry VIII has been through a few wives, and the current one is his last, Catherine Parr, who asks Shardlake to undertake an investigation for her. She warns him however that when push comes to shove she may be unable to acknowledge that he is working for her. Thomas Cromwell is long gone and his successor Sir Richard Rich poses a great threat to Shardlake. Defending Shardlake in matters which interest Richard Rich may put the Queen in danger.Narrator Anton Lesser does an excellent job in bring HEARTSTONE to life. His voice variations help the listener distinguish easily between characters.While you "know" that this is historical fiction at the same time Sansom manages to embed historical details with great authenticity. I have a passing familiarity with this historical period and the details felt reliable. .HEARTSTONE came a close second in the 2010 Ellis Peters Award for Historical Crime Fiction.
    • 4/5
      In really enjoyed this book, the final one in the Shardlake mysteries. I do love the way Sansom ties all the bits and pieces into completion at the very end.
    • 3/5
      Not Sansom's best. It starts off in a cracking mode, and keeps the pace for several hundred pages, but falls flat on its face towards the end. Implausible situations, a narrator increasingly priggish and sanctimonious, with very a very dim sense of judgment, all these elements make for a sense of being let down towards the end.
    • 3/5
      In my opinion this fifth installment is not the strongest entry in Sansom's series featuring Tudor-era lawyer Matthew Shardlake. The storyline (which turns on a not-so-surprising plot twist) tends to sag beneath the weight of period detail relating to Henry VIII's disastrous military campaign against the French, which in 1545 led to the threat of French invasion and to the tragic sinking before Henry's eyes of the warship Mary Rose. In his acknowledgements at the end of the book Sansom observes that this particular incident has been unaccountably overlooked by historians of the Tudor Age, and remarks that "somebody should" write a history of the war of 1544-46; at times while reading this book I felt that he had come closer to doing that himself than he may have intended!
    • 5/5
      The best Shardlake yet. The plot is well paced, never too rushed that it seems out of sync with the period and not too slow, to stop it from being a page turner. Of course parts are a bit contrived and the predictability that Shardlake would have to be on the Mary Rose when it sank, was dissappointingly predictable.Overall, a very good read, that weaves in a period of Tudor history not much covered - the war footing the country was on, was something I'd not picked up before. I just hope the next one is as good
    • 4/5
      What a pleasure to immerse myself again in the world of lawyer Matthew Shardlake. It is summer 1545 and England is under threat of a French invasion. Shardlake is retained by Queen Catherine parr to investigate the welfare of a young boy who was made a ward when his parents died in King Henry's Court of Wards. His investigation takes from London him to Portsmouth where the army is gathering for war.A great read.
    • 5/5
      CJ Sansom has done it again. A marvellous story interweaving two mysteries for Shardlake with Henry VIII's war against the French and Richard Rich's machinations. Here we have Catherine Parr, with her monstrous husband dominating the background, asking Matthew to solve a mystery; in addition, our lonely hero is determined to find out what happened to Ellen, the young woman he encountered in the Bedlam (in the previous tale). We can almost smell the stink of 16th century London and imagine the horror of the sinking of the Mary Rose.
    • 4/5
      ***Warning - May contain spoiler***Very good, just not as good as some of the earlier books in the same series. The pace is quite slow for at least the first half, although the evocation of the sights, sounds, smells and attitudes of the period are as strong as ever. There is much more drama in the last hundred or so pages. The resolutions to the two mysteries are a little implausible.I also have reservations about whether Sansom has this time overstepped the mark in involving a real historical character in fictional events. By all accounts Richard Rich was a nasty piece of work, who used the religious and political upheavals of the Henrician era to resolutely pursue his own self-advancement. Nevertheless, to make him an accessory to one of the most heinous crimes that could be committed, then or now, is perhaps going too far. The best historical fiction brings to life known historical truths and uses invented characters to speculate about what we do not know, whilst being scrupulous in the use of real historical figures. Previous books in this series seemed to me to better observe this disctinction, though I do know at least one Henry VIII fan who believes the Shardlake books are too hostile to him.
    • 5/5
      Sparely written and well researched, like Sansom's other Shardlake novels this book leaves you with a real feeling of how the politics of Henry VIII's court impacted on those lower down the social hierarchy. Add to that the plot of the book - the two linked apparent cases of wrongdoing being investigated by Shardlake - and you have an immensely readable book. The dramatic twist at the end underlines Sansom's skill as a novelist. The references to Shardlake meeting the future Elizabeth 1 seem to hint that the series will continue into the Elizabethan era - hopefully.
    • 3/5
      Shardlake in a big muddle!

      I've enjoyed this series very much. However, the turn of events in this sequel is truly bizarre. The actions of the principle character are inexplicable!

      I liked the ending but the rest of it was unnerving as Shardlake blundered from one mistake into worse.

      I wonder what the next book will hold.
    • 4/5
      This was very good as ever, and the wardship strand was clever - I thought I had worked it out at one point, but I hadn't. There was a bit too much detail of all the ships at Portsmouth and endless trekking around Hampshire for me to give it 5 stars, but this is still the best series I have read for a long time.