''Dark Fire'' is a

historical mystery The historical mystery or historical whodunit is a subgenre of two literary genres, historical fiction and mystery fiction. These works are set in a time period considered historical from the author's perspective, and the central plot involves t ...

novel by British author C. J. Sansom. It is Sansom's second novel, released in 2004, and also the second in the Matthew Shardlake Series. Set in the 16th century during the reign of Tudor

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disag ...

, it follows

hunchbacked Kyphosis is an abnormally excessive convex curvature of the spine as it occurs in the thoracic and sacral regions. Abnormal inward concave ''lordotic'' curving of the cervical and lumbar regions of the spine is called lordosis. It can result fr ...

lawyer Shardlake's search to recover the long-lost formula for

Greek fire Greek fire was an incendiary weapon used by the Eastern Roman Empire beginning . Used to set fire to enemy ships, it consisted of a combustible compound emitted by a flame-throwing weapon. Some historians believe it could be ignited on contact w ...

. The novel was awarded the

Crime Writers' Association The Crime Writers' Association (CWA) is a specialist authors’ organisation in the United Kingdom, most notable for its Dagger awards for the best crime writing of the year, and the Diamond Dagger awarded to an author for lifetime achievement. T ...

Ellis Peters Edith Mary Pargeter (28 September 1913 – 14 October 1995), also known by her ''nom de plume'' Ellis Peters, was an English author of works in many categories, especially history and historical fiction, and was also honoured for her translat ...

Historical Dagger award in 2005.CJ Sansom wins with Dark Fire
– CWA announcement of the award.

Plot introduction

It is 1540 and the hottest summer of the sixteenth century. Matthew Shardlake, believing himself out of favour with

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false charge ...

, is busy trying to maintain his legal practice and keep a discreet profile. But his involvement with a murder case, defending a girl accused of brutally murdering her young cousin, brings him once again into contact with the king's chief minister – and a new assignment ... The secret of

Greek Fire Greek fire was an incendiary weapon used by the Eastern Roman Empire beginning . Used to set fire to enemy ships, it consisted of a combustible compound emitted by a flame-throwing weapon. Some historians believe it could be ignited on contact w ...

, 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 London monastery. When Shardlake is sent to recover it, he finds the official and his alchemist brother brutally murdered – the formula has disappeared. Now Shardlake must follow the trail of Greek Fire across Tudor

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, while trying at the same time to prove his young client's innocence. But very soon he discovers nothing is as it seems ...

Reception

:"''Dark Fire'' is a strong and intelligent novel which, while it will certainly please historical crime fans, deserves a wider readership. Sansom appears to have entirely beaten the second novel blues." – Stella Duffy, Guardian Unlimited; :"Historical crime fiction is sometimes little more than a modern adventure in fancy dress. Not so the novels of CJ 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, one of those rare pieces of crime fiction that deserves to be hailed as a novel in its own right" – Sunday Times;C. J. Sansom
article at Greene Heaton.

Awards and nominations

''Dark Fire'' won the

(CWA)

Historical Dagger in 2005, with Sansom receiving the award on October 10, 2005.

Publication history

*2004, UK,

Macmillan MacMillan, Macmillan, McMillen or McMillan may refer to: People * McMillan (surname) * Clan MacMillan, a Highland Scottish clan * Harold Macmillan, British statesman and politician * James MacMillan, Scottish composer * William Duncan MacMillan ...

, , Pub date November 2004, Hardback; *2004, UK,

, , Pub date November 2004, Paperback; *2005, USA,

Viking Books Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim and then acquire ...

, 978-0-670-03372-0, Pub date January 2005, Hardback; *2005, UK, Pan, , Pub date June 2005, Paperback; *2005, UK,

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...

; *2007, Brazil, Record, , (Fogo negro).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dark Fire (Sansom Novel) 2004 British novels British crime novels Novels by C. J. Sansom Novels set in the 1540s Macmillan Publishers books Fiction set in 1540