Who is the Author?
C. J. Samson is the author of a gripping series of historical fiction set in Tudor England. He studied history at Birmingham University (BA and PhD), as well as training and working as a solicitor. His Wikipedia page is here.
What is the Shardlake Series About?
The Shardlake books are historical crime novels by C. J. Samson which follow an English lawyer named Shardlake during the reign of Henry VIII, perhaps England’s most famous monarch.
This is a fascinating period of English history with great social, political and religious upheavals. The author captures this sense of grand change by using it to guide the wider plot through the series.
Rather than focusing so much on the king himself, the author keeps Shardlake tangled in the machinations of the great men and women surrounding Henry VIII. There is a sense of how his advisers jostle continuously for power, sometimes with sinister consequences.
Expect to encounter prominent figures such as Thomas Cromwell as you read through the series.
What Do I Think So Far?
I’m only about 50 pages in so far but the story already has me hooked. Samson isn’t an author who allows himself to be rushed. He takes his time setting out the background to the plot and immersing you headfirst in the historical climate.
It’s a method which works extremely well. You get a real sense of the Tudor period and can enjoy vivid historical escapism. But the narrative soon intensifies. It doesn’t so much increase its pace (at least not yet), as I mentioned the author keeps things steady, but you begin to get hints and rumors of the twists and turns lying in the reader’s path.
Where can you find it?
You can find Lamentation on Amazon by clicking here.
For other book reviews click here or here.
For the first chapter of an unpublished historical novel, click here.
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