The English Monster cover art

The English Monster

 Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 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 29 January 2026 at 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

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

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.
Having found this to be a reasonably interesting, but not outstanding narrative and struggled with the central presumption of the plot - which is not at all my cup of tea - I really only came to a full appreciation of the craftsmanship of this novel when reading the epilogue. With further research, what really becomes apparent is how little of this is fiction, how much is fact and the audacious job that has been done in pulling all the disparate pieces of this story together.



The literal drawing in of the two plot lines works really well, the placing of the action in the Caribbean and London is faultless but by far the most enjoyable aspect of Lloyd Shepherd’s work is the cast of characters.



It has to be said that the author seems to have a weather-eye for a film or TV adaptation - let’s see if that comes - and the plot line seems a little compromised in the final drawing together. That said, I loved the characterisations of John Hawkins, Francis Drake and Henry Morgan and all the Potosi Pieces of Eight nonsense as well as being totally taken in by the ‘Long’ Billy Ablass conflation. A grown up Boy’s Own Pirate Adventure - but as a grown up boy what better recommendation could there be.....haaa haaa!!

And now the epilogue...

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

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