Dark Fire

Soon to be a major Disney+ TV series'CJ Sansom’s books are arguably the best Tudor novels going' – Sunday TimesWinner of the CWA Ellis Peters Historicl Dagger, Dark Fire is the second thrilling book in C. J. Sansom's number one bestselling Shardlake series, perfect for fans of Hilary Mantel and Philippa Gregory.England, 1540. Out of favour with Thomas Cromwell, Matthew Shardlake is intent on keeping a low profile in the courts. But his involvement with a murder case, defending a girl accused of brutally killing her young cousin, brings him once again into contact with the King’s chief minister – and a new assignment . . .The secret of Greek Fire, the legendary substance with which the Byzantines destroyed the Arab navies, has been lost for centuries. Now an official of the Court of Augmentations has discovered the formula in the library of a dissolved monastery. When Shardlake is sent to recover it, he finds the official and his alchemist brother brutally murdered – the formula gone.Now Shardlake must follow the trail of Greek Fire across Tudor London, while still trying to prove his young client’s innocence. But very soon he discovers nothing is as it seems . . .This is the second novel in C. J. Sansom's gripping historial series. It is followed by Sovereign, the third book in the series.

Historical crime fiction is sometimes little more than a modern adventure in fancy dress. Not so the novels of C. J. Sansom, whose magnificent books set in the reign of Henry VIII bring to life the sounds and smells of Tudor England . . . Dark Fire is a creation of real brilliance, Sansom gives us a broad view of politics – Tudor housing to rival Rachman, Dickensian prisons, a sewage-glutted Thames, beggars in gutters, conspiracies at court and a political system predicated on birth not merit, intrigue not intelligence . . . Like many before him, he offers an enjoyable history; but this is also an ethically informed one . . . A strong and intelligent novel, One of the author’s greatest gifts is the immediacy of his descriptions . . . But it is Shardlake himself who steals the show. His honesty and humility shine out in a dark world where murder and mayhem are the order of the day, Spellbinding . . . Sansom’s vivid portrayal of squalid, stinking, bustling London; the city’s wealth and poverty; the brutality and righteousness of religious persecution; and the complexities of English law make this a suspenseful, colourful and compelling tale, Dark Fire is wonderful stuff, featuring a sort of Tudor Rebus who moves through the religious and political chaos of the 1540s with sinister élan

C. J. Sansom was educated at Birmingham University, where he took a BA and then a PhD in history. After working in a variety of jobs, he retrained as a solicitor and practised in Sussex, until becoming a full-time writer. Sansom is the bestselling author of the acclaimed Shardlake series, the Spanish Civil War thriller Winter in Madrid and the number one bestseller Dominion. in 2023, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Edinburgh. He lives in Sussex.

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