Sovereign (The Shardlake series, 3)

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After failing twice to be elected as a Conservative MP in the 50s, he settled for achieving political influence by journalistic means, becoming editor of the Times in 1967, at the then precocious age of 39. Over his 14 years in the post, he grew steadily more rightwing. During the 60s, he was a relatively egalitarian Tory, arguing in a party pamphlet that “it is reasonable to encourage employees to identify themselves with a company by having some small share-holding in it” – an approach to capitalism being promoted by the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell. But by the mid-70s, the west’s postwar economic boom and political consensus were coming to an end, and Rees-Mogg joined the swelling ranks of rightwing doom-mongers. In 1974, he spent his August family holiday hastily writing a book, The Reigning Error: the Crisis of World Inflation.

In today’s ever more connected, ever more fragmented world, Mystic Mogg appears to be having the last laugh. It was foolish, I that had once had Thomas Cromwell for a friend and confronted Richard Rich and the Duke of Norfolk, reduced to such a jelly. Yet this was not an official or nobleman I was approaching now. This was God’s anointed on earth, Head of His Church, guardian of the souls of three million subjects, more than human in his glory. In those few seconds I believed it all. The harsh measures the King takes are necessary. Do not forget he is chosen by God, appointed by Him to guide England into the paths of wisdom and truth.’ SOVEREIGN, the third book (out of seven) in the Matthew Shardlake Tudor mystery series, is a good read, but the mystery the text centers on is not as strong as the first two in the series. As with its predecessors, author C.J. Sansom take a historical event and weaves a fictional plotline/mystery into events that feels like a plausible explanation for things that really happened. In this text the historical event the mystery is integrated into is Henry VIII’s Great Progress to York in 1541 and the subsequent downfall of Queen Catherine Howard.This is not the only attempt on Shardlake's life during the course of the novel, and there are deaths, conspiracies and secrets aplenty for him to contend with, as the Progress stalls in York for many days. Several unpleasant characters emerge as the story unfolds, including the harsh gaoler, Radwinter, the scheming power-broker Sir William Maleverer, the fierce-tempered servant Jennet Marlin and the bitchy Lady-in-Waiting, Jane Rochford. They vex Shardlake and Barak, throwing all sorts of obstacles, both literal and figurative, in the path of their investigations. He has also written Winter in Madrid, a thriller set in Spain in 1940 in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War. Things aren’t all they seem however and Matthew soon finds himself in the middle of a dangerous conspiracy, one against his King... I promise you won’t regret it,” he said. “But, more importantly, if you don’t read this book, you won’t fully understand why Brexit is happening.”

I’d rather her than Henry VIII as the British monarch (I’m an Aussie, and we’re still part of the Commonwealth), but I look forward to reading more of Matthew Shardlake’s adventures with that unpredictable, dangerous ruler. Following on from Dissolution and Dark Fire, Sovereign is the third gripping historical novel in C. J. Sansom's number one bestselling Shardlake series, for fans of Hilary Mantel and Philippa Gregory.

See the other lawyer by his side, the one that dropped his cap! I know he is a southron, see what a poor bent bottled spider he appears” I can't say I ever looked at King Henry VIII as a likeable figure, but I've come to despise him. Over the course of three Shardlake books, he's solidified in my mind as a rather vile and detestable man; the power he had was quite absurd and wildly misused. However, I would like to learn more about him at some point, though I admit his predecessors and successors interest me more.

Their legs must be covered in little scars.’ He turned to me, his eyes looking into mine. ‘As the body of England is covered in the scars left by the great leech of Rome.’” There are some European leaders and diplomats who view Johnson as hopelessly out of his depth; someone who, in terms of his understanding of the realities of EU politics, has never really moved on from his days inventing anti-European stories for two Sovereign Individuals from the Channel Islands, the Brexit-fanatical Barclay Brothers. The recent “car crash” dinner with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has done little to dispel that view. By the end of the novel, Shardlake has been able to satisfactorily tie up the plot’s many loose ends, with the possible exception of Tamasin. He hasn’t been able to penetrate her character or quite understand her motives. Do you think Tamasin is a potential threat to Barak or Shardlake? Does Shardlake, as Barak claims, simply not understand women?What is still true – astonishingly, in the twenty-first century – is that Queen Elizabeth II retains the title Henry VIII took for himself: Supreme Governor of the Church of England, Defender of the Faith and – in theory at least – God’s chosen representative in England. I just want her to change one item of policy’ … Jacob Rees-Mogg on supporting Theresa May. Photograph: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP/Getty Images Tensions are running high in the city, and soon Shardlake is called to investigate a suspicious death - and stumbles upon a daring plot that has the potential to shake England to its core

With the Great Progress arriving in York, Shardlake and Barak will find a cache of important papers that can bring danger to the King's throne, and all these dangerous events will lead to Shardlake having to face the most terrifying fate of the age.As a father of three, I know that it is wrong to assume children adopt all the views and manners of their parents. Rees-Mogg Jr may not share every part of the Rees-Mogg Sr worldview. But we know from his own mouth that he shares much of it. Lord Rees-ogg would be very proud of his son’s campaigning role in reversing the UK’s commitment on overseas aid, and even prouder of how he helped get Britain to the hardest Brexit of all, whatever the impact on the “left-behinds” whose votes were just a necessary step on the journey, first in the EU referendum, then in the 2019 general election. A key narrative thread throughout the novel is the dangerous information that the Tudor claim to the English throne is invalid, and that Henry VIII is the grandson of a bastard. Shardlake finds (then loses) some documents that relate to this proposition, and his safety is threatened several times as various scheming individuals try to get the information from him to satisfy their own aims. The resolution of this plot line at the end of the book was fascinating and gave me much food for thought. A. In the next book, Revelation, which I’m writing now, he will not be returning to a political mission, but Shardlake and Cranmer will have a common interest in hunting what today we would call a serial killer