C.J. Sansom - the brilliant historical novels that got me reading again

Somehow you just seem to get out of the habit of reading books. Spare time gets filled with so many other diversions that never bothered our ancestors (those who were lucky enough to have any). I used to love escaping into a book but had almost forgotten how to do it until, bizarrely, modern technology stepped in...

For a time back in 2011, Amazon ran a full, back page ad for their Kindle e-book reader in my weekend paper’s colour supplement. It was an elegant, simple idea. Virtually all of the space was taken up by a photo of a Kindle ‘in action’. That’s to say, loaded with the first page of Chapter One of an anonymous book.

Despite the text being fairly dense, with no pictures, something about the opening paragraph always struck a chord whenever it caught my eye. Eventually I couldn’t resist reading the entire page... by which time I was hooked. Forget the Kindle (I still don't have one), I wanted the book!

I eventually discovered the title – and its author – in tiny print at the foot of the magazine page. I went down to my local library where I found, and borrowed, “Heartstone” by C.J. Sansom. I never looked back - it was brilliant.

I realise now that I'd actually discovered the (then) latest in the series of Sansom's Shardlake novels. Reading them out of order didn't take away any pleasure, but I'm sure I'd start at the beginning out of choice - which would be with "Dissolution". That way you don't miss any earlier references, you see the characters developing, and keep in step with the real life historical context. The most recent (and last, because Sansom is, alas, terminally ill) is "Lamentation".

Apart from a serious addiction to C.S. Forrester's Hornblower books when I was about 11, I've never had the slightest inclination to read 'boring' historical novels. But Shardlake - a London solicitor who managed to get unwittingly mixed up in vicious Tudor politics - changed all that.

What actually grabbed me in the first place was a bit geeky: Sansom is absolutely brilliant at describing the weather! Wherever the main characters are, whatever the situation, he instantly puts you right at the heart of everything by making you feel exactly what the day was like. If you can identify with how you react to sunshine, wind, rain, ice and snow, it immediately conjures up smells, colours, clothing, walking. His books just come alive.

Add to that superb, down-to-earth dialogue, great plots, pacy storytelling - interwoven with genuine historical events and personalities - and the combination is irresistible. Through Shardlake, you experience all the shenanigans of Henry VIII's extraordinary love life, the sinking of the Mary Rose, the discovery of a terrifying weapon of war (the Tudor equivalent of the nuclear bomb), the politicking of Sir Thomas Cromwell, the religious split from Rome, the Dissolution of the Monasteries, imprisonment in the Tower and numerous bloody executions.

If you like historical novels, these are as good as they get. If you like crime novels, or the pace and twists of Jeffrey Archer stories, the same applies. For me they're better and more accessible than Wolf Hall (recently superbly dramatised on TV). Just be advised that you can't slip them into your pocket - all run to around 700 pages!

I have C.J. Sansom to thank, almost exclusively, for reminding me of the pleasure and escapism a good novel brings. These books are a must for TV adaptation, but I doubt they'll ever be as good on screen!