Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Sovereign, published in 2006, is a crime novel by British author C. J. Sansom. It is Sansom's fourth novel, and the third in the Shardlake series. Set in the 16th century during the reign of King Henry VIII, it follows hunchbacked lawyer Matthew Shardlake and his assistant, Jack Barak as they investigate a series of murders and a plot to question the legitimacy of the line of succession to the English throne. The book contains a dedication to well-known British crime writer P. D. James and has received favourable reviews in several broadsheet newspapers. Set in the autumn of 1541, the novel describes fictional events surrounding Henry VIII's 'Progress' to the North (a state visit accompanied by the royal court and its attendants, the purpose of which was to formally accept surrender from those who had rebelled during the Pilgrimage of Grace).