l Born in 1952, Christopher John Sansom grew up in Edinburgh, the only child of an English father and a Scottish mother, Trevor and Ann, to whom Dominion is dedicated.
l He has described his family upbringing as "traditional Presbyterian" and "in a very conservative household, with a small and a capital C".
l He studied history, a BA and then a PhD at Birmingham University.
l He studied law and practised in England in the legal profession before becoming a writer.
l Sansom came to prominence with his historical mystery series set in the reign of Henry VIII in the 16th century, with the main character of hunchbacked lawyer Matthew Shardlake.
l He has also written Winter in Madrid, a thriller set in Spain in 1940 in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War.
l There are five Shardlake books, set between 1537 and 1545.
l The Shardlake books have been published across the world, including Brazil, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Korea, Russia, Thailand and Turkey.
l He has twice been shortlisted and once awarded the Ellis Peters Historical Dagger Award by the Crime Writers' Association.
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