Obituary
Sad to hear of the passing of CJ Sansom. I had read some months ago that he was unwell. I have thouroughly enjoyed his Shardlake series of books and also his post-WWII alternative history ‘Dominion’. It’s a shame as the TV version of Shardlake will air shortly on Disney+ – I hope they do it justice…
https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2024/0429/1446294-author-cj-sansom-dies-aged-71/
I haven’t read all his books, but those I have were all well written and really conjured up plenty of period atmosphere. Murder mysteries are not normally my cup of tea, but he told a good tale, and Dominion was great.
RIP.
Sad to hear. I’ve always waited for his new ones with anticipation ever since the first Shardlake (although I did think Tombland was too long and dragged in the middle).
I gather he was still writing the next Shardlake – maybe someone else will finish it if the story was outlined to the end. Will be interesting to see what they’ve done with the TV series. It’s produced by Star who’ve just dome the excellent Shogun, so hopefully will be worth watching.
I saw the news last night my time.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all his books. The Shardlakes are more than just legal/murder books, they are very well researched sliced of Tudor England. Tombland was a bit longer than others, but I thought completely immersive.
Dominion is excellent, and I thought a thoughtful look at just how seedy everything in a German win would be.
I’ve set time aside for Shardlake starting on 1 May. Work have been told that “the world better be fucking ending if you call me”, and I reckon I can two episodes in before Sharon gets home. Fingers crossed for it.
I’ve read all his books; every one of them a great read. The Shardlakes are great as political thrillers that also convey a lot about the times in which they are set, and the main character provides a slightly modern, but also credible for the time, perspective on the world.
Excellent obit in The Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/apr/29/cj-sansom-obituary
That was a rather lovely and moving obit. It also nailed everything I would have wanted to say about his books and the characters.
I watched the first episode on D+ this evening. Quite good – I like the actors who play Matthew and Jack, although they are a bit more photogenic than my mind’s picture of them from the books. CG is a bit off but otherwise the sets and scenery are well rendered. Nice that they were able to insert a dedication to CJ in the closing credits.
I don’t have D+ so no immediate plans to watch, but noticed from the pre-publicity that Jack Barack is in from the beginning. He’s a much more compelling character than Shardlake’s sidekick in the book of ‘Dissolution’.
Long time since I read Dissolution – I had forgotten that Jack is only introduced in the second book. I had also forgoten that Guy Malton is a monk when we meet him first, going on to be a recurring character as Matthew’s trusted friend and apothecary. I see from the news report above that Sansom was working on the eighth novel and it seemed to be well-advanced, with a title and synopsis – based around the slave trade and the unexpected transition of power from Edward VI to Queen Mary. It would be interesting to see how Shardlake, the great survivor, deals with that tumultuous time and then leave it at that…
That would be welcome. It would take time, but I’m sure that Sansom’s estate could find a writer with the mindset and style to conclude the series effectively.