The English Monster cover art

The English Monster

 Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends December 16, 2025 11:59pm GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

The English Monster

By: Lloyd Shepherd
Narrated by: Steven Crossley
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends December 16, 2025 11:59pm GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Only £0.99 a month for the first 3 months. Pay £0.99 for the first 3 months, and £8.99/month thereafter. Renews automatically. Terms apply. Start my membership

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

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Seventy-Seven Clocks cover art
The Huguenot Chronicles, Books 1 - 3 cover art
Quicksilver cover art
South of Darkness cover art
An Honourable Thief cover art
Wake of the Perdido Star cover art
The Dead Men cover art
A Rustle of Silk cover art
The Bleeding cover art
Ahab's Return cover art
The Weather Woman cover art
Traveller and the Moonlight cover art
Slave to Fortune cover art
London in the Eighteenth Century cover art
Birthright cover art
Tales of Terror from the Black Ship cover art
All stars
Most relevant
enjoyed this evening immensely ... it was both engrossing and historically interesting / educational.
looking forward to the next one.

engrossing ...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

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

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
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.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
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

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
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.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews