Tombland

Author/Guide: C. J. Sansom

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

ISBN: 978-1447284482
Genre: Historical, Mystery

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What you need to know before your trail

The nominal king, Edward VI, is eleven years old. His uncle Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, rules as Protector. Radical Protestants are stirring discontent among the populace while the Protector’s prolonged war with Scotland is proving a disastrous failure and threatens to involve France.

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.

At the same time, 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.

The murder of Edith Boleyn may have connections reaching into both the heart of the rebel camp and of the Norfolk gentry . . .

Locations

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Travel Guide

Tombland, Norwich

A real place and a very apt name for a gripping historical drama. Most of the novel is set here. Tombland was the site of the Anglo-Saxon market place, now a popular location for restaurants and shops. It’s the centre of medieval England.

We went down the street and found ourselves in Tombland, a broad paved square of some size. On three sides stood well-appointed houses, most three stories, painted in a variety of right colours, with gated courtyards in front. On the fourth side stood the high walls fronting the cathedral, where tow massive doors, each set in magnificently painted and decorated arched gateways, were closed for the evening.

When Shardlake and the others arrive, they see the busy square, the carts of food rattling by and think that Tombland must be a nice place to live. “If you have the money” is the answer.

Wyndmondham

A village on the way to Norwich where they spend time in the various inns taking their time to relax and recuperate.

“ After Wyndmondham the nature of the countryside changed. There was less woodland; the flat land stretching to the wide horizon was intensively cultivated, apart from occasional areas of sandy heath dotted with forget-me-nots and rabbit burrows.”

London

The novel starts here and it’s where Shardlake lives and has his chambers. The major landmarks of the city are well evoked from St Paul’s Cathedral to the stinking markets of Cheapside. A contrast to the nice houses on the south side of the Strand!

Tombland

Booktrailer Review

Susan: @thebooktrailer

I’m not going to lie. This was a monster of a book even for me. A tomb of a read ironically at over 840 pages. But do you know what? It’s CJ Sansom and the time passed quickly as I was sucked into a medieval world of intrigue and murder.

There’s a lot to enjoy here, and not just with the plot. Around you as you read, there are battles, conspiracies and talk of royal intrigue. Shardlake has a murder to solve and then another body turns up…

The rebellions of 1549 during the reign of Edward VI are what drives the novel and the events of Tombland in historical Norwich. I had no idea this was a real place but I’ve worn out Google Maps finding out as much as I can about it. I know it so well now – well the 1549 version. How exciting it will be to see the modern day version and Sansom’s version at the same time.

There’s a keen sense of chaos in the novel but when you have a king who is only eleven years old…the country is in turmoil and there is religious turmoil as well. No one seems safe. Even everyday life is getting harder as the financial state of the country is in free fall. You get a keen sense of all of this in the novel and it’s like wandering down the streets yourself, the sights, sounds and godforsaken smells all the more real as you walk on.

Shardlake works as a lawyer for Henry’s VIII’s daughter Elizabeth and the Boleyn name comes back into play when a distant relative from Norfolk is found murdered. Of course, Shardlake is the man for the job, but this is unlike anything he has been asked to do before.

It’s a very visual novel – from the chaotic market scenes to the cumbersome journeys the characters have to undertake to get to Tombland, the inns they stop at on the way and the cells of Norwich castle….it’s a world of medieval wonder and mixes historical fact, peasant revolt and the true meaning of loyalty.

And within all of this, a strong plot worthy of the Shardlake name. Read it slowly, take it in and allow yourself to be submerged into a historically fascinating world.