Dissolution cover art

Dissolution

A Matthew Shardlake Novel

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Dissolution

By: C. J. Sansom
Narrated by: Anton Lesser
Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £9.99

Buy Now for £9.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

Abridged edition.

Dissolution is the first in the phenomenal Shardlake series by bestselling author, C. J. Sansom.

It is 1537, a time of revolution that sees the greatest changes in England since 1066. Henry VIII has proclaimed himself Supreme Head of the Church and the country is waking up to savage new laws, rigged trials and the greatest network of informers ever seen. Under the order of Thomas Cromwell, a team of commissioners is sent through the country to investigate the monasteries. There can only be one outcome: the monasteries are to be dissolved.

But on the Sussex coast, at the monastery of Scarnsea, events have spiralled out of control. Cromwell's Commissioner Robin Singleton, has been found dead, his head severed from his body. His horrific murder is accompanied by equally sinister acts of sacrilege - a black cockerel sacrificed on the altar, and the disappearance of Scarnsea's Great Relic.

Dr Matthew Shardlake, lawyer and long-time supporter of Reform, has been sent by Cromwell into this atmosphere of treachery and death. But Shardlake's investigation soon forces him to question everything he hears, and everything that he intrinsically believes . . .

Follow Shardlake into the dark heart of Tudor England with Dark Fire, Sovereign, Revelation, Heartstone, Lamentation and Tombland.

© C. J. Sansom; (P) Macmillan Publishers Ltd Historical Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Shardlake: Dissolution cover art
Shardlake: Lamentation cover art
The Unquiet Bones cover art
Cathedral of Bones cover art
The Seeker cover art
Storm Front cover art
State of Treason cover art
The Ashes of London cover art
A Plague on Both Your Houses cover art
Speaks the Nightbird cover art
In Cold Blood cover art
The King's Justice cover art
Some Danger Involved cover art
Dust and Shadow cover art
Sacred Treason cover art
The Cold, Cold Ground cover art

Critic reviews

"Having hugely enjoyed Anton Lesser's reading of Sovereign, the third of C.J. Sansom's Tudor mystery series starring the hunchbacked lawyer Matthew Shardlake, I backtracked to hear the first two in the series, Dissolution and Dark Fire.. . As a trio, they reveal just how skilled Sansom is in creating convincing characters in a fully imagined historical world, and it is no surprise that a television series featuring Shardlake is planned. I'm not sure if Anton Lesser will star in it, but after hearing him narrate all three books, I can't imagine anyone better suited to the role... Following the text in a paperback, I let my eyes chase what my ears were hearing and was impressed at how little had to be lost." Christina Hardyment (The Times Books)
All stars
Most relevant  

Would you listen to Dissolution again? Why?

I did, twice, straight off!! I loved that voice! I know Anton Lesser, as an actor and love his work. However, it is only listening in this way, that I realised just how great an actor he is! He gives you every nuance! Brilliant interpretation!

What did you like best about this story?

I liked the fact that it was set in an era of great change, I loved the main character. It kept me on my toes!

Which scene did you most enjoy?

All of it!

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It didn't make me laugh or cry, but I couldn't put it down, then did it all over again and bought the next one!

Any additional comments?

Go for it!

Loved The Story! Loved Anton Lesser's Reading!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Anton Lessers narrative of this cracking tale is the icing on the cake. He brings the story and the characters alive. No boring characterisations, the story ebbs and flows and at no time does your concentration lapse. Its the first that I have heard from this author but it certainly wont be the last.

Superb

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I heard of this novel by hearing part of a dramatisation on the radio. As I have an interest in this period of history, Tudor England, I followed it up with the audiobook and was not disappointed. It is basically about the fate of a monastery during Henry 8ths closure of the monasteries. Not only does it shed light on the mechanics of the process but also the conflicting interests of everyone involved. Bodies start appearing and a hunt to identify the guilty adds to the tension.

The style is easy to follow and makes a gripping read

A crime story with a factual pedigree

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I had read the Shardlake novels in paperback but had put off downloading the audiobooks as I am not normally a fan of abridged novels. However, I'm really glad I changed my mind as this was superb.
Anton Lesser seemed to have got inside my head as his voice characterisation was exactly how I had imagined it. The abridgement had been carefully done with no loss to the flow of the story.
I'm not a full fledged convert to abridgement but I will download the rest of the series and would recommend this to everyone.

A Revalation

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The first of a series, this is a gritty, well written tale of Tudor England beautifully told by brittish actor Anton Lesser. Well worth a listen.

Fascinating Tudor Trials

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Thoroughly enjoyed this whodunnut based in the reign of Henry VIII narrated brilliantly by Anton Lesser. I found the story interesting and the characterisation very satisfying.

Great story, fantastic narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is a wonderful series. Matthew Shardlake is an engaging character who is sympathetic to the modern reader/listener without ever becoming an anachronism. He has many of the same worries as any modern person nudging middle age; he?s relatively successful in his career yet increasingly questions the validity of the work he does and frets about the dubious ? not to say murderous ? activities of the people for whom he works. And, poor bloke, he?s looking for love. Shardlake inhabits an unremittingly hard, pitiless world in which his ?deformity? makes him an easy target for open hostility. Is it too simplistic an interpretation to say his disability offers a device by which he can more readily empathise with the pain, if not downright torment, of so many people in cruel Henry?s crumbling kingdom? Even if it is, it is subtly handled and never becomes too obvious. Shardlake questions what is going on around him but never outside the boundaries of credibility. The historical backdrop, a world in which god and religion are wielded with total ruthlessness as weapons of control and destruction, is vivid and truly disturbing. The various historical characters aren?t caricatures and are fleshed out wonderfully. Any person who questions the degree of monitoring in 21st century Britain should thank whatever god they worship ? or not as the case may be ? that, for the majority of the population, spiritual correctness is generally not under government scrutiny. And long may that be the case! And, yes, I agree Anton Lesser makes a perfect Shardlake.

An entertaining historical mystery with depth

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A good, solid story rendered brilliant by Anton Lesser. He deserves an audio oscar. His voice lends itself to every imaginable nuance of all the differing accents present in the story as to make it sound like a play.

Superb!

Anton Lesser does it again

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
lesser is a true master. I could listen to him all day. great plot that captures the times.

brilliant.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
We read this for our book club and we all agreed it was an enjoyable read. It was well written and the principle character, Matthew Shardlake was believable and interesting. The solution to the mystery was fairly easy to guess but the opportunity to find out more about this historical period from a perspective other than that of Henry VIII and his court made up for this, Although we are all female and did enjoy the book we did agree that it felt more like a man's book.

Book Club Read

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews