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Heartstone

By: C. J. Sansom
Narrated by: Anton Lesser
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Publisher's Summary

Summer, 1545. England is at war. Henry VIII’s invasion of France has gone badly wrong, and a massive French fleet is preparing to sail across the Channel. As the English fleet gathers at Portsmouth, the country raises the largest militia army it has ever seen. The King has debased the currency to pay for the war, and England is in the grip of soaring inflation and economic crisis.

Meanwhile Matthew Shardlake is given an intriguing legal case by an old servant of Queen Catherine Parr. Asked to investigate claims of “monstrous wrongs” committed against a young ward of the court, which have already involved one mysterious death, Shardlake and his assistant Barak journey to Portsmouth.

Once arrived, Shardlake and Barak find themselves in a city preparing to become a war zone; and Shardlake takes the opportunity to also investigate the mysterious past of Ellen Fettipace, a young woman incarcerated in the Bedlam. The emerging mysteries around the young ward, and the events that destroyed Ellen’s family 19 years before, involve Shardlake in reunions both with an old friend and an old enemy close to the throne. Events will converge on board one of the King’s great warships, primed for battle in Portsmouth harbour....

©2010 C. J. Sansom (P)2010 Macmillan Digital Audio

Critic Reviews

"Murder, mystery and turbulent history are expertly twisted together in Sansom’s fifth Tudor crime novel." (Sunday Times Culture)

"CJ Sansom writes with verve and conviction, drawing the reader into the heat and terror of the summer of 1545." (The Daily Express)

What listeners say about Heartstone

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Great story and period setting both

Anton Lesser. What can one say? Always brilliant.

But the story itself was intricate, with several threads running through and a satisfactory conclusion. Not just a Tudor period novel, but a book which would near up in any time period, but with evident expertise in the fascinating years of Henry VIII's reign.

I.might add that this is an abridged version of the novel itself which be evident if you read the book and the listen at the same time.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

didn't like it

No likeable or interesting characters. dreary story. references to / involvement of historical royals can't save it

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Very enjoyable

Another Stirling story & wonderful performance. Sansom has such a wonderful grasp of the era and writes very good plots: and Anton Lesser is a skilled and sensitive narrator.

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