Order of Book Series
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C.J. Sansom Books in Order

C.J. Sansom has written 18 books, published between 2003 and 2018. The first book is Dissolution (2003) and the newest is Tombland (2018). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
18
Published
2003–2018
Confirmed
18 of 18 titles
Pages on record
6,717 in 14 of 18 books
Reading time
112–168 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 6,717 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 14 of 18 titles with a page count on record.

See all 18 books in order Printable C.J. Sansom checklist

C.J. Sansom (Christopher John Sansom, 9 December 1952 to 27 April 2024) was a British writer of historical crime novels, above all the Matthew Shardlake series, whose subjects include lawyers and London. Shardlake, a TV series adapted from the novel Dissolution (2003), began streaming on Disney+ within a week of Sansom's death. Winter in Madrid (2006) is a spy novel and Dominion is alternate history. Awards include the 2005 Ellis Peters Historical Dagger, the 2013 Sidewise Award and the 2022 Cartier Diamond Dagger. The listing also carries Medieval Murderers volumes.

How many C.J. Sansom books are there?

C.J. Sansom has 18 books, released between 2003 and 2018. They include 2 separate series.

C.J. Sansom Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 18 C.J. Sansom books in the order they were released, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of Dissolution by C.J. Sansom, book 1 of the Matthew Shardlake series (2003)
  2. Cover of Dark Fire by C.J. Sansom, book 2 of the Matthew Shardlake series (2004)
  3. Cover of Winter in Madrid by C.J. Sansom, book 1 of the C.J. Sansom Standalone Novels series (2006)
  4. Cover of Sovereign by C.J. Sansom, book 3 of the Matthew Shardlake series (2006)
  5. Cover of Revelation by C.J. Sansom, book 4 of the Matthew Shardlake series (2008)
  6. Cover of The Lost Prophecies by C.J. Sansom, book 4 of the Medieval Murderers series (2008)
  7. Cover of King Arthur's Bones by C.J. Sansom, book 5 of the Medieval Murderers series (2009)
  8. Cover of Heartstone by C.J. Sansom, book 5 of the Matthew Shardlake series (2010)
  9. Cover of The Sacred Stone by C.J. Sansom, book 6 of the Medieval Murderers series (2010)
  10. Cover of Hill of Bones by C.J. Sansom, book 7 of the Medieval Murderers series (2011)
  11. Cover of Dominion by C.J. Sansom, book 2 of the C.J. Sansom Standalone Novels series (2012)
  12. Cover of Lamentation by C.J. Sansom, book 6 of the Matthew Shardlake series (2014)
  13. Cover of The Deadliest Sin by C.J. Sansom, book 10 of the Medieval Murderers series (2014)
  14. Cover of Tombland by C.J. Sansom, book 7 of the Matthew Shardlake series (2018)
  1. 1
    DissolutionMatthew Shardlake #12003 · 455 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2003455
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Dark FireMatthew Shardlake #22004 · 528 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2004528
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    The Tainted RelicMedieval Murderers #12005 · 502 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2005502
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Winter in MadridC.J. Sansom Standalone Novels #12006 · confirmed 3/4
    2006–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    SovereignMatthew Shardlake #32006 · 578 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2006578
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    House of ShadowsMedieval Murderers #32007 · 400 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2007400
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    RevelationMatthew Shardlake #42008 · 549 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2008549
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Lost PropheciesMedieval Murderers #42008 · 418 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2008418
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    King Arthur's BonesMedieval Murderers #52009 · 405 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2009405
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    HeartstoneMatthew Shardlake #52010 · confirmed 3/4
    2010–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The Sacred StoneMedieval Murderers #62010 · 400 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2010400
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Hill of BonesMedieval Murderers #72011 · 404 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2011404
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    DominionC.J. Sansom Standalone Novels #22012 · 592 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2012592
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    The First MurderMedieval Murderers #82012 · 373 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2012373
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    The False VirginMedieval Murderers #92013 · confirmed 3/4
    2013–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    LamentationMatthew Shardlake #62014 · 643 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2014643
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    The Deadliest SinMedieval Murderers #102014 · 470 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2014470
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    TomblandMatthew Shardlake #72018 · confirmed 3/4
    2018–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

C.J. Sansom series in order

The series linked below has its own reading-order page.

C.J. Sansom books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.

Medieval Murderers in order

9 books
  1. 1. The Tainted Relic
  2. 3. House of Shadows
  3. 4. The Lost Prophecies
  4. 5. King Arthur's Bones
  5. 6. The Sacred Stone
  6. 7. Hill of Bones
  7. 8. The First Murder
  8. 9. The False Virgin
  9. 10. The Deadliest Sin

C.J. Sansom Standalone Novels

2 books

2 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.

C.J. Sansom Books in Chronological Order

By publication date, the C.J. Sansom books run from Dissolution (2003) to Tombland (2018), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for C.J. Sansom in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.

Do you have to read C.J. Sansom books in order?

You only need to read C.J. Sansom books in order within each series: the books listed here span 2 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with C.J. Sansom

Start with Dissolution (2003), the first Matthew Shardlake book. It is also the earliest catalogued title.

What is the newest C.J. Sansom book?

Tombland (2018) is the newest C.J. Sansom book released so far.

Is there a new C.J. Sansom book coming?

No next C.J. Sansom book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Awards C.J. Sansom has won

Wikidata records 3 awards for C.J. Sansom. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Cartier Diamond Dagger2022Won
  • Sidewise Award for Alternate History2012Wonfor Dominion
  • CWA Historical Dagger2005Wonfor Dark Fire

C.J. Sansom at a glance

Died
C.J. Sansom died in 2024, according to Wikidata.
Last book
The newest book credited to C.J. Sansom on record dates from 2018.
Release pace
C.J. Sansom books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
6,717 pages across the 14 of 18 books with a recorded length, a median of 462 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most C.J. Sansom books, 9 of 18, were published in the 2010s.

What the C.J. Sansom books are about

17 of the 18 C.J. Sansom books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: history is tagged on 13 of 17. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.