Litsy

Heartstone: A Matthew Shardlake Tudor Mystery | C. J. Sansom

#ShardlakeSeriesBR #ShardlakeBR

Hey, Shardlakians~
@TexReader put this on my radar! Our next books is HEARTSTONE, and it's only $1.99 on Kindle right now! If you don't have a copy yet, here's your chance!

Looking forward to our discussion over the end of REVELATION on 2/28! 🤩

Daisey, Cuilin, Amiable, PurpleyPumpkin, AnneCecilie, Gissy, Centique, OutsmartYourShelf, jenniferw88, Deblovestoread, Librarybelle, batsy, Chrissyreadit, kwmg40, Mollyanna, curiouserandcurioser, dabbe, Fr3NcHtOaSt, RaeLovesToRead, bthegood, lil1inblue, PageShifter, LiseWorks, The_Book_Ninja, Karisimo, Cheryl_Russell_BookNotes, BookWrym

LiseWorks Have a copy of it, and I paid 10.99 at the beginning of the month, bummer! 2w

dabbe @LiseWorks They should let you exchange for the lower price! 😱 1w

lil1inblue Hooray! Thank you! 1w

dabbe @lil1inblue YW! 😘 1w

65 likes4 comments

Texreader

Heartstone: A Matthew Shardlake Tudor Mystery | C. J. Sansom

Ebook on sale today for $1.99 (free with Audible membership) @dabbe

From an awesome series!!

dabbe Thanks for this! I'm sharing it with the group! 🤩🤗😘 2w

Texreader @dabbe 👍🏻😁 2w

41 likes2 comments

LiseWorks

Revelation. C.J. Sansom | C J Sansom

pick

Finished today. Sorry, #ShardlakeansBuddyRead, I had to finish it. But I can't wait for the discussion at the end of Feb @dabbe #SeriesLove25 @Andrew65 @TheSpineView #Read2025 @DieAReader

DieAReader 🎉🎉🎉 2w

dabbe I'm finding it hard to put down, too! 🤩 2w

25 likes2 comments

dabbe

Revelation. C.J. Sansom | C J Sansom

#ShardlakeSeriesBR #ShardlakeBR

The discussion for the 2nd half of the book will be on 2/28/25.

Thoughts, Shardlakians?

Daisey, Cuilin, PurpleyPumpkin, Texreader, AnneCecilie, Gissy, Centique, OutsmartYourShelf, jenniferw88, Deblovestoread, Librarybelle, batsy, Chrissyreadit, kwmg40, Mollyanna, curiouserandcurioser, dabbe, Fr3NcHtOaSt, RaeLovesToRead, bthegood, lil1inblue, PageShifter, LiseWorks, The_Book_Ninja, Karisimo, Cheryl_Russell_BookNotes, BookWrym

LiseWorks I would not like to live in these times at all. The people in charge are greedy, insane and are willing to kill anyone for power. The Monarch does not really have a say. Everyone doesn't trust, and they all lurk in the dark. 3w

Karisimo I feel for these people who are dealing with religious “rules” and traditions changing on the whim of a king. 3w

OutsmartYourShelf I feel for anyone living in those times who had a mental health problem. Very likely to either be denounced as being 'possessed' & killed or stuck away in a place like Bedlam. 3w

See All 15 Comments

dabbe @LiseWorks I can't even imagine what it would be like to walk on London Bridge and see all the heads on poles--especially for people once in favor with the king--like Cromwell. Maybe 2025 ain't so bad--even with our current horrific leader. 3w

dabbe @Karisimo IKR? It's like one day you're Catholic, oops, no, now you're Protestant, oops, no, back to Catholic. What the heck? 😳 3w

dabbe @OutsmartYourShelf To still use the word “bedlam“ today to mean “wild uproar and confusion“ from the original place kind of says it all, doesn't it? I really feel for Adam Kite and his family.😔 3w

OutsmartYourShelf @dabbe I think it underscores that for Henry VIII (whether he wanted to admit it or not) the core issue wasn't so much the form of worship but the seat of power. If it was truly the religious side of things, he wouldn't have part walked it back as he did. 3w

dabbe Some characters set apart by isolation and loneliness: Shardlake (as a lawyer often at odds with the powerful figures he has to encounter), Guy Malton (as a healer and outsider due to his nationality having to work on the margins of society), Adam Kite (whose religious mania confines him to Bedlam), and Tamasin (whose gender limits her opportunities by forcing her to remain at home and deal with the loss of her child while Barak is elsewhere) . 3w

dabbe @OutsmartYourShelf Get Catherine of Aragon out of my way to allow me to marry good ol' Anne ... whatever it takes. He pretty much stayed Catholic even though he changed the religion so he could divorce Cat. What a scumbag (imho). 3w

OutsmartYourShelf @dabbe Oh I could give Barak a good kick up the backside for how he's acting. Even if he is not out with other women, making Tamasin wonder where he is & what he is doing - I expected better from him. Grief makes people act out in funny ways but no wonder she is angry with him.

I hope Guy is not ill. He has to walk about a lot here & there for Shardlake in this book & at all times of the day & night!

3w

kwmg40 I really like how Sansom explores all the themes you mentioned in this post, especially the attitudes toward and understanding of mental illness at that time. 3w

dabbe @OutsmartYourShelf To use his favorite word, Barak is an ARSE! He needs to man up and learn that it takes two to make a marriage work. Hopefully, Shardlake will kick his butt. And Guy ... he just has to be okay, right? 🤞🏻 3w

dabbe @kwmg40 The description of the rooms at Bedlam where these poor people have to stay are almost as bad as the cells at the Tower of London. Just horrific. 😱 3w

AnneCecilie I‘m just happy that I live today and not in the Tudor area. The Tudor area was not a place for be for the poor and powerless which after all is what most people are. What comes across in this book is the confusion of all the religious back and forth, people hardly dare believe anything anymore. 3w

dabbe @AnneCecilie And how religion just flips on a dime at the whim of a king. 😳 Truly unbelievable! 3w

38 likes15 comments

dabbe

Revelation. C.J. Sansom | C J Sansom

#ShardlakeSeriesBR #ShardlakeBR

The discussion for the 2nd half of the book will be on 2/28/25.

Thoughts, Shardlakians?

LiseWorks The king had syphilis and that disease brings on madness. 3w

OutsmartYourShelf @LiseWorks That is one theory but not proven as far as I am aware. Personally I tend to believe the head injury he suffered whilst jousting (the fall which was said to cause Anne to miscarry) altered his personality. After that he was more cruel & mean-tempered. 3w

dabbe @OutsmartYourShelf @LiseWorks ... and I'd add to that that he was in incredible pain most of the time due to his infected ulcerous leg and furious that he could no longer be the athletic self he once was. These issues might also have contributed to his later despicableness. 3w

See All 11 Comments

dabbe To me, Roger‘s murder in the churchyard is a richly symbolic act that sets the tone for the novel‘s exploration of religion, violence, and judgment. It underscores the killer‘s fanaticism, the corruption of sacred spaces, and the pervasive fear of divine retribution that characterizes the Reformation era. This event is the critical starting point for Shardlake‘s investigation and the novel‘s broader themes. 3w

dabbe The title REVELATION itself is symbolic, as the story revolves around a killer who uses the apocalyptic visions from the Book of Revelation as inspiration for their murders. The Book of Revelation symbolizes fear, chaos, and the end times, reflecting the anxieties of 16th-century England during the Reformation, when many believed the world was nearing its end. 3w

OutsmartYourShelf @dabbe Yes - head injury, chronic pain, & approaching mortality. That would do it. 3w

dabbe @OutsmartYourShelf More than enough, right? 3w

AnneCecilie I completely agree with @dabbe 3w

dabbe @AnneCecilie 🤩😂😘 3w

lil1inblue @dabbe Yes! I appreciate how Sansom weaves this theme throughout the multiple plot lines that are occurring. I also like how the title can work many ways - as reference to the Book of Revelation, but also the meaning of “the making known of something that was previously secret or unknown.“ 3w

dabbe @lil1inblue Excellent point re: the actual meaning of the word itself! 🤩 3w

25 likes11 comments

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