| Dissolution | |
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First Edition cover |
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| Author(s) | C. J. Sansom |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Matthew Shardlake series |
| Genre(s) | Crime novel |
| Publisher | Viking Books |
| Publication date | April 2003 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 400 pp (first edition, hardback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 978-0670032037 (first edition, hardback) |
| OCLC Number | 52041174 |
| Dewey Decimal | 823/.92 21 |
| LC Classification | PR6119.A57 D57 2003 |
| Followed by | Dark Fire |
Dissolution is a crime novel by British author C. J. Sansom. It is Sansom's first published novel, released in 2003, and the first in the Matthew Shardlake series. Set in the 16th Century during the dissolution of the monasteries, it follows hunchbacked lawyer Shardlake's attempts to solve the murder of one of Thomas Cromwell's commissioners in the monastery at Scarnsea on the south coast of England.
The novel was nominated for two of the Crime Writers' Association Dagger awards in 2003.
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Dissolution has been well received by critics, fellow crime writers and the public alike, although there has been some criticism of the language and detail in the writing:
"'Lay off the weather!' I feel like yelling at Sansom at regular intervals. And he hasn't really got the 'show not tell' rule; e.g. in Dissolution: 'As I passed down Ludgate Hill, I noticed a stall brimming with apples and pears and, feeling hungry, dismounted to buy some.' Drop the 'feeling hungry', please. Why else would you?" – Natalie Bennett.[1]
On the whole reviews have been complimentary:
The US Library Journal, however, takes a more negative view of the novel, commenting:
Dissolution was nominated for the 2003 Crime Writers' Association (CWA) John Creasey Memorial Dagger, for first books by previously unpublished writers. It was also nominated for the CWA Ellis Peters Historical Dagger in the same year.[6]
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