Feeling a little under the weather I have postponed reading Sonia Purnell’s biography of Clementine Churchill and turned to lighter fare more suited to my mood.
I started with an Anthony Price espionage thriller. It’s the third I have read, I have ordered two more and a big thank you to whoever recommended him. Now I am on CJ Sansom’s Lamentation, aptly titled for me as it is the penultimate in the series and the author died in April this year. His depiction of Tudor England in 1546 could not be more at variance with the pretty ghastly Arthur Bryant’s picture of Merrie England. The poverty, squalor and filth is juxtaposed with the riches of the nobility; in parts of the world this has not changed. The book opens with I suppose a realistic description of a young woman being burned at the stake for heresy after she has been tortured. Another aspect of Sansom’s writing is his refusal to simplify complex issues. I found out more about Spain in the Civil War and Second War from Winter in Madrid than I ever knew. Similarly he exposes the many hues of the religious factions at the time of the Reformation, nothing as simple as Catholic and Protestant, further complicated by the changing allegiances at Henry’s Court competing for power and influence.
This almost true history lesson is the backdrop for another devilish, dangerous mission for Shardlake. It is satisfyingly complex abounding with clues and subplots and as usual hard to know the outcome. The previous book in the series had the foundering of the Mary Rose and CJS likes an exciting action scene towards the end. Anyway there will be no spoilers as I am still halfway.