In Memoriam Maximi: Stories in Honour of CJ Sansom (1952-2024)
A Substack community event in collaboration with Top in Fiction
Few authors are more synonymous with the world of historical fiction than CJ Sansom.
Artfully crafting the world of his protagonist, Matthew Shardlake, in an impressive series of seven books, Sansom made an impressive contribution to a genre sometimes at risk of being sidelined as bodice-ripping trashy novels or too full of fantasy to be taken seriously.
But taken seriously his literary legacy should be.
When he passed away on 29th April 2024, Sansom left behind a dedicated readership desperate for more of his words. Each novel, though new in its particular setting, followed his comfortably familiar signature style and narrative arc, with new problems and political dynamics appearing in a world that felt like home, even 450+ years later.
His ability to build a convincing web of events and people around his protagonist, combined with his clever selection of real-life happenings, drew in many readers eager to learn more about life in the sixteenth century. Though fiction can never be a replacement for a study of the facts, books like the Shardlake series provide a useful entry point for the gently interested - with others like Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall novels waiting in the wings to deepen readers’ understanding of this complex, intriguing period of British history.
In honour of the first anniversary of Sansom’s death, a group of writers on Substack have joined together to produce a series of short stories that continue his legacy.
Each was charged with the task of writing after his image. They could set their stories in any time or place but had to follow his signature narrative arc: a protagonist and their assistant, located in a real historical time period and located in real historical events, investigate a crime that threatens to entangle them in the political and/or religious tensions of their day.
This event is in collaboration with
at the sensational community . I was delighted to join Erica for a Live session to talk about the event and highlight the growing historical fiction community on Substack. You can read her post and watch our Live HERE.In Memoriam Maximi: Stories in Honour of CJ Sansom
The stories are linked below, organised alphabetically.
This is not a collection to be read in a hurry but rather to be savoured over, as we would have read one of his novels. I would encourage you, perhaps, to work through the collection over the next week or so (though, of course, if you love to binge-read historical fiction feel free to read it in one sitting!), commenting to encourage the writer by sharing what you particularly enjoyed and re-stacking so that others might join with us in celebrating the life of a master of historical fiction.
Holly, I will read these slowly. But meanwhile, I have a request - I'm teaching a class - In the Trenches with Historical Fiction at a big-deal conference in Denver in June. I'd love to quote you, with attribution of course, beginning with "Each novel, though new..." through to "useful entry point for the gently interested." That is an exact description of what I'd like the class to understand about HistFic.