C.J. (Christopher John) Sansom was born in 1952 in Edinburgh. He has a BA and PhD in history but decided to retrain as a lawyer, working for the disadvantaged.
Sansom grew up in a conservative and colourless household but he rebelled against his upbringing becoming much more socialist. This shows through in his legal work, his writing and his politics. He was opposed to Scottish independence fearing that Scottish nationalism was too close to the principles of Nazi Germany.
He had always wanted to write but thought he wouldn’t have time till he retired. A small inheritance allowed him to take a year off to write his first novel in the Matthew Shardlake series, Dissolution.
In his novels he has brought together his love of history, his knowledge of the law and his socialist politics, as well as combining a love of murder mysteries with a fascination for the Tudors.
With the wealth of literature about the Tudors, Sansom has researched extensively to find something different and he often crosses the line between novelist and historian.
Sansom now writes full time from his home in Sussex.
Matthew Shardlake Series:
- Dissolution (#1) (2003)
- Dark Fire (#2) (2004)
- Sovereign (#3) (2006)
- Revelation (#4) (2008)
- Heartstone (#5) (2010)
- Lamentation (#6) (2014)
- Tombland (#7) (2018)
Other novels:
- Winter in Madrid (2006)
- Dominion (2012)
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