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The English Monster

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The English Monster

By: Lloyd Shepherd
Narrated by: Steven Crossley
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About this listen

London, 1811: The twisting streets of Wapping hold many an untold sin. Bounded by the Ratcliffe Highway to the north and the Dock to the south, shameful secrets are largely hidden by the noise of Trade. But two families have fallen victim to foul murder, and a terrified populace calls for justice.

Based on the real-life story of the gruesome Ratcliffe Highway murders, The English Monster takes us on a voyage across centuries. A brilliantly imagined debut from a major new literary voice.

©2012 Lloyd Shepherd (P)2012 W F Howes Ltd Historical Fiction Fiction Murder Crime Africa

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All stars
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A bit of a funny book this one. Imagine something like a Dickens novel where the process of introducing the main characters in the tale are introduced slowly but without the wit and lightness of touch that characterises Dickens and you have most of the first part of this novel. It jumps around in time from the 1811 Rafcliffe Highway murders back to the 16th century, back to 1811, back in time again to the late 16th century and so on, with the flashbacks getting nearer to the 1811 murders. However it is quite confusing and very ponderous.



But stick with it, but the last half of the book is great as the main players in the story are drawn together into a climax that is suspenseful and frightening in equal measure. Overall it is a good listen but you will need to grit your teeth a little to get through the beginning.

Give it time

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It is difficult to emphasise how truly great this book is. The author has managed to pull together a detailed and honest history of England spanning centuries but also to include real life characters in a fantastical tale of corruption and horror. The story is about the notorious Ratcliffe Highway Murders. The characters he brings into the tale are people who really did exist at the time. It is very similar in tone to the brilliant 'Dan Leno and The Limehouse Golem' although I should emphase that 'The English Monster' is a very original work in its own right.
I would like to say a word about the East London setting. As a very young Northern jobseeker, I lived a stone's throw from the Highway in the late 70's. At first I was disappointed not to be living in the glamorous London I always envisaged but very quickly I grew to appreciate the strange character of the area. My neighbours were ex merchant seaman stranded without a ship and living in flats stuffed full of odd and sometimes frightening objects from around the world. I could walk around the last vestiges of the old London Docks before they were heavily developed into a mini New York. All the time I felt I was living somewhere that was not only old but actually ancient and still alive. Wapping still smelled of spices although the old warehouses were being turned into art galleries for the enlightened middle classes. There was not yet any sign of the new News International monster that was about to be erected, but plenty of evidence of the old slave trade and the existing sweatshops churning out clothing manufactured by poor exploited Bengali immigrants forced to work in lethal fire traps.
I lived on a street where one of Jack the Ripper's victims met her ghastly end. It was grim watching the tourists poking but I can never pretend I didn't share their fascination. This books brilliantly captures the murkiness of this area and the fact we remain on a continuous cycle of being prepared to do almost anything and overlook any inconvenient truths in order to achieve our own desires.
The English Monster is a fantastic creation but as you find out in the epilogue, much of it is true.

Our murky 'past'

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I just couldn't get into it. Overall I am disappointed with it. Not to my taste

Disappointing

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I think this is a bit of a Marmite book, You love it or hate it. It's really evocative, and interesting from a point of view of getting to know some history, but nothing happens. Well, that's not true. Things happen, big, dreadful things, but it's all really passive when it comes to the characters themselves. Nothing feels resolved, and you get to the end and think 'well, that was weird'.

Really not sure about this one.

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Would you try another book written by Lloyd Shepherd or narrated by Steven Crossley?

Possibly Shepherd but preferably not Crossley, whose narration is full of wrong inflections. He reads as if he doesn't care about the book or like it. His reading in the past has annoyed me equally. He does "voices" quite well, but that's just not enough. He detracts from the content of the book, which is a pity

What was one of the most memorable moments of The English Monster?

I loved the descriptions of London in times past. The author clearly has done great research and produces atmospheric descriptions. The plot is overly contrived and fantastical and one wonders what the point is. It is a book that doesn't seem to lead anywhere.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Wrong inflections - something condescending and unserious about his way of reading. Seems to trivialise the narrative

Was The English Monster worth the listening time?

On balance no.

Life and death in London

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Loved this book. Based on real events , the story weaves between Georgian London and Elizabthan England, seamlessly and atmospherically. Its not easy to say much about the book without giving away some of the strange and dark events it recounts but I would recommend it as a beautifully written and read tale.

Engrossing and atmospheric.

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enjoyed this evening immensely ... it was both engrossing and historically interesting / educational.
looking forward to the next one.

engrossing ...

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An onion layered version of history only spoilt by the neccesity to suspend disbelief around the longevity of the central character. However each historical cameo was on the money and served to reveal nuances which might otherwise be lost. Enjoyed.

History alive

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For those looking for an historic police procedural, that finally puts to rest an age-old mystery, this novel will be something of a disappointment. In order to pursue the allegory of the ‘English Monster’ the writer not only takes many liberties with the facts, but contrives a plot that of necessity invokes black magic and assigns, almost as an afterthought, the vaguest of motives to the ‘Ratcliffe Highway murders’. This is because the writer has much bigger game in his sights, a target that has often been pursued, but like the ‘Long Billy’ in the story, will never quite be done to death. For all that, it is a very good, well researched book and uncomfortably thought-provoking . To what extent progeny of the ‘English Monster’ should suffer vicarious guilt, or other equally comfortable souls should rage about injustice they can only suffer by proxy, is for the reader to judge. The facts of the matter will never be, in any sense, black and white. If it were not for the rolling news we might be tempted to say: ‘The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there’. But unfortunately the overriding impression is that of ‘Plus ça change.’ Anyway, it’s still a very fine book.

An allegory on the banks of the Thames

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I enjoyed this to a moderate extent: the scene setting of the murders to begin was great, and many parts of the far-flung travel afterwards atmospheric, but I thought the central premise (no spoilers!) was a bit of a cheat to be honest. Would prefer the author, whose very promising debut it is, to keep credibility stretched to the maximum and not beyond. I'll be interested in his next effort though.

Entertaining, but not exceptional

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