BOOK REVIEW: HEARTSTONE BY C.J. SANSOM
One fine evening, while looking for nothing in particular at a book fair, I came across a novel
titled ‘Dissolution’, by C.J. Sansom. Little did I know that it was going to be the first in a series
of novels which would pique my interest in the infamous reign of King Henry VIII of England.
This series consists of seven books in all, beginning with Dissolution, and ending with
Tombland.
The series is a combination of historical and legal fiction, mystery and crime, set in the
backdrop of the English reformation that took place in the 16th century, a political and religious
development whereby King Henry VIII separated England from the authority of the Pope,
leading to the creation of the Anglican church and the English monarch bestowing upon himself
the title of ‘Defender of the Faith’; a title which is still held by the English monarchs.
The most interesting aspect of this series is that the readers get a glimpse into the lives of the
poor masses as well as some of the most powerful court officials who lived during the reign of
Henry VIII, through the eyes of Matthew Shardlake. Throughout every novel in the series, the
author ensures that the readers are engulfed in an assortment of emotions which includes hope,
despair, shock, sprinkled with tongue-in-cheek dialogues, reminding us to take a moment and
smile even in the bleakest situation.
Matthew Shardlake is a hunchback lawyer who was formerly a strong proponent of
reformation. As time progressed, he started realizing the political and selfish motives of the
Sovereign, and he became disillusioned with the ‘Reformation’. Living in an era which is
embroiled in superstition and religious fanaticism, Matthew’s physical appearance is a bane for
him as people consider a person with a deformed back as a harbinger of bad luck. He faces the
ridicule of the people, his opponents in courts and at one point, even King Henry. But what
makes the reader admire Matthew is his ability to remain calm, kind, affectionate and firm even
in the face of extreme danger, when one feels that the whole world is against them. Throughout
his journey, Matthew makes many friends as well as enemies; loses quite a few of his loved
ones. But he never lets his physical disability hinder his quest to find the truth and ensures that
justice is delivered to the innocent. The readers get to witness the conflict that goes on within
Matthew; a conflict between upholding his personal ideals and conforming to the oft-degraded
morals of the society. Law students can particularly relate with the dilemma that Matthew faces
between upholding the law of the land and delivering justice.
The novel discussed in this book-review is the fifth one in the series, titled ‘Heartstone’. The
year is 1545 and England, more precisely King Henry, is gearing up to face an imminent French
invasion which is the aftermath of his siege of Boulogne a year before. Every well bodied man
is being conscripted to defend his country and ‘save the King’. Fortunately for Matthew, he is
exempted from defending the country due to his physical deformity. But Matthew gets a
different mission from the next most powerful figure in England after the King, the Queen
herself. Catherine Parr, the King’s sixth and last wife, ‘requests’ Matthew to investigate into a
case of wardship of two siblings- Emma and Hugh Curteys. Suspicions are raised because the
case is brought to the Queen’s notice by her former servant, Mistress Calfhill whose son was
looking into the matter just before his sudden death. When the son, Master Calfhill had last
visited the two children, he had returned gravely disturbed and spoke of monstrous wrongs
being committed on them. He used to tutor them when their parents were alive and after their
death, when Nicholas Hobbey, a friend of the Curteyses, got the guardianship of the two
children, he dismissed Master Calfhill without sufficient grounds. Intriguingly, the siblings
were to inherit vast estates left behind by their father and Nicholas Hobbey is an extremely
ambitious man who was considering a marriage alliance for his son with Emma- who
unfortunately later on succumbed to an outbreak of smallpox. To investigate into the affairs
and dealings of the Hobbeys and Curteyes, Matthew must undertake a journey to Master
Hobbey’s home, Hoyland Priory, located thirteen miles from Portsmouth, where the English
and French fleet are expected to confront each other. In this journey, Matthew is accompanied
by his faithful and dutiful companion, Jack Barak, who, with a heavy heart, leaves behind his
pregnant wife to evade conscription. En route lies the town of Rolfswood, where Matthew also
investigates the mysterious past of his friend Ellen Fettiplace, who is in the Bedlam for
something that happened to her decades ago which still haunts and prevents her from setting
foot outside the Bedlam even for a single moment.
At the Hoyland Priory, everything is too perfect; to an extent that the relations seem staged,
with the family members reciting verbatim the dialogues that they have written for each other,
a play being enacted to throw wool over Matthew’s eyes. But little do the Hobbeys know that
nothing escapes Matthew’s notice.
On a scale of 1 to 5, I would give this novel a rating of 4.5 stars for its beautiful plot and
remarkable characters which present a vivid and detailed picture of England of the sixteenth
century.
C.J. Sansom could create something as wonderful as this series because he himself was a
lawyer. Being a student of law, I could appreciate the intricacies of legal matters involved in
the series but at times, I feel the author lingered on with the description of structures and places
which could make the readers lose interest at several junctures. But through these descriptions,
C.J. Sansom attempts to teleport the readers to the Tudor era through the art of storytelling.
Unfortunately, the author passed away in April 2024, while he was working on an eighth novel
titled ‘Ratcliffe’. Thus, the beautiful yet poignant world of Matthew Shardlake as C.J. Sansom
knew it, came to an abrupt and premature end.