The English Monster: or, The Melancholy Transactions of William Ablass by Lloyd Shepherd

Mar 06, 2012 Ellie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical

The year is 1811. On the streets of Wapping, a family have been brutally slaughtered in their home. There is no motive and the police on land have no interest in investigations. However the watermen who patrol the river have other ideas. Jump back in time to 1564 and a ship is setting sail to the coast of Africa, embarking on a mission that will change history, and not for the better.

The English Monster paints a murky picture of Britain's maritime history, there's a real sense of how the streets...more The year is 1811. On the streets of Wapping, a family have been brutally slaughtered in their home. There is no motive and the police on land have no interest in investigations. However the watermen who patrol the river have other ideas. Jump back in time to 1564 and a ship is setting sail to the coast of Africa, embarking on a mission that will change history, and not for the better.

The English Monster paints a murky picture of Britain's maritime history, there's a real sense of how the streets of around London's burgeoning docklands would have felt at the time. There are lots of historical elements woven into the fiction and there is a pretty comprehensive author's note to explain what is more fact than fiction and vice versa, just in case you keep putting the book down to google names and events. It is not straight historical fiction so history purists may want to back away now. It's hard to explain this novel without spoilers but it will help to keep an open mind that something other may be going on. I think the author has hinted enough to this fact in interviews that it will not be too big of a spoiler on my shoulders.

Based on the real life Ratcliffe Highway murders, it also highlights the huge difference between the early days of policing and what we know now. The city-based police did not care at all about solving crimes and were most likely to arrest criminals caught in the act or if they conveniently fell at their feet. Don't expect a riveting historical police procedure because, in all seriousness, they were no procedures. This is itself is a fascinating facet of the novel.

However not all the story is set in 1811 and it has what I like to call the Cloud Atlas Effect, in which the story jumps in time and place without any obvious connections, other than the maritime element. Unlike Cloud Atlas, it all does come together in the end but I felt it slowed down the pace. I would be getting into one plot-line and all of a sudden would have to reacquaint myself with another set of characters. And there are quite a lot of characters, so I never felt I got to know any of them very well. Perhaps that is the pitfall of historical fiction, there is only so much you can make up about real people, especially those whose lives are well documented. It would be fictional justice for John Hawkyns to fall overboard and be eaten by sharks but history means we (I had to look him up) know he goes on to live a life of praise. Boo hiss.

It occurred to me that the real English Monster of the title may not be the 19th century murderer but instead, the slave trade, sanctioned by the crown and responsible for so much suffering. Some of the scenes may be hard to read but unfortunately they are based on history that many would prefer to brush under the carpet.

Lloyd Shepherd has a journalistic and digital background which may explain the use of parentheses throughout the text. I am not used to these in fiction (but I do use them myself (quite a lot)) and they seem a little modern compared to the language used but I am no means an expert on the history of punctuation.

I had a bit of an immature giggle at the naked gunfight (piqued your interest have I?) and pendulous cocks but mostly it's a dark and sinister tale. I think it would make a great book group choice, there is plenty to discuss and you wouldn't have to tiptoe round spoilers either. Whilst it is a great standalone read it hopefully marks the start of a series which I look forward to seeing more of in the future.(less)

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Nov 06, 2011 Essie Fox rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Although it won't be published until early 2012,I've been lucky enough to read a proof copy of this book which I thoroughly enjoyed and admired.

The English Monster is a refreshing example of intelligent and cleverly constructed historical fiction which also has a tantalising plot.

With two separate narrative strands which start out as being centuries apart before gradually merging into an explosive climax, Lloyd Shepherd’s debut novel is at first glance a relatively straight-forward criminal myst...more Although it won't be published until early 2012,I've been lucky enough to read a proof copy of this book which I thoroughly enjoyed and admired.

The English Monster is a refreshing example of intelligent and cleverly constructed historical fiction which also has a tantalising plot.

With two separate narrative strands which start out as being centuries apart before gradually merging into an explosive climax, Lloyd Shepherd’s debut novel is at first glance a relatively straight-forward criminal mystery. But, do not be fooled. This compelling tale is something more unique than that.

The ‘present day’ strand of the story is based in 1811, at the end of the great Age of Wonder which has opened up advancements in politics, science and industry, and where London’s darker soul has been evolving and crystallising into a place where those early upholders of the law, such as the magistrate John Harriot and water-constable Charles Horton, are now investigating several violent and seemingly motiveless killings in the area of Wapping. The Ratcliffe Highway Murders are the terrible, real life events around which Lloyd Shepherd has woven these sections of his novel.

The earlier strand of the story is also based in reality, beginning in 1564 when the fictional young Billy Albass leaves his new bride in England to seek the financial fortune on which he hopes to secure the future of their married life. He joins a trading vessel - one that was actually owned by Queen Elizabeth and on which the young Francis Drake also sailed - which is setting out on a mission to seek lucrative ‘African Treasure’. But for African Treasure read human beings – and then watch in horror as Shepherd draws the shameful and vivid picture of the English slave trade's vile beginnings – a trade in which the young Billy is all too quickly converted to partake in whatever depravities will yield the best material rewards – not to mention those ‘magical’ darker events during which his heart and soul become blacker by far than the skins of those innocent wretches whose lives he all too willingly ruins.

By means of this assured and wonderful conceived allegory we follow the English Monster’s journey through time until his arrival in Regency London – at which point his seemingly indestructible path will cross with Horton and Harriot – the two men whose hearts are so intent on crushing the horror within their midst.

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Jun 14, 2012 D.E. Meredith rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

You can practically lick the sea salt off these pages. What an exuberant, daring, swashbuckling, deftly written, savagely delivered (epecially towards the end) story. Love the gothic, Frankensteinesque twist but I'm saying no more. Reminded me a bit of David Mitchel in parts. Patrick O'Brian, too. Shepherds not afraid to take a few risks, like Mitchel when it comes to pushing the envelope prose-wise and I like that in a writer. Lots of thematic ideas here, bursting at the seams to get your histo...more

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May 12, 2012 Melanie Trevelyan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Melanie by: The author

I enjoyed this book as it was quite different from most of the other books out there at the moment! Combining the grimy dockyards of Wapping and the exotic Jamaica.
The story combines a shipping expedition to collect slaves and the descriptions of the capture of the slaves and the treatment of them is detailed and disturbing making the title The English Monster very apt. What happens to Billy Ablass on one of these expeditions is startling and links the two parts of the story together.
Two centur...more

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Mar 15, 2012 David Cross rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Murders, detectives, pirates, London history. What more could you look for in a novel? What's that you say? A touch of magical realism? Well, you're in luck. It has that too.

It's hard to explain this novel without giving too much away. The story starts in two different historical periods - Wapping at the time of the Ratcliffe Highway murders and Plymouth in 1564 as Billy Ablass sets off for the Caribbean on board one of England's first slaving ships. There is a reason for these two different set...more

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Feb 06, 2012 Katie Ward rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Lloyd Shepherd’s debut, The English Monster, begins with a puzzle: six pirates are hanged from the gallows by a river; five of them are dead, but one of them is only pretending to be dead.
It is an enticing hook – macabre and gory – and sets the tone for a yarn which is part pirate adventure, part detective story, part historical fiction and part horror.
The novel is broadly set over two time periods, with two narratives.
In 1564 (during the reign of Queen Elizabeth) a flotilla of ships, captaine...more Lloyd Shepherd’s debut, The English Monster, begins with a puzzle: six pirates are hanged from the gallows by a river; five of them are dead, but one of them is only pretending to be dead.
It is an enticing hook – macabre and gory – and sets the tone for a yarn which is part pirate adventure, part detective story, part historical fiction and part horror.
The novel is broadly set over two time periods, with two narratives.
In 1564 (during the reign of Queen Elizabeth) a flotilla of ships, captained by John Hawkyns, is on a clandestine trade mission; his crew includes Billy Ablass, a young man seeking his fortune.
In ‘the present’ (1811), the local officials in Shadwell and Wapping bungle the investigation into a set of apparently motiveless killings, which will go down in history as the Ratcliffe Highway murders. The jaded magistrate, John Harriott, undertakes to catch the perpetrator, with the assistance of Waterman-Constable Charles Horton.
John Hawkyns’s voyage, a real historical event, was the first official attempt to exploit what Shepherd chillingly refers to as ‘African treasure’. Rumours fly above and below decks as Billy Abless pieces together the purpose of their grizzly assignment. It will spawn a global trade, generating fabulous wealth for some – and unimaginable suffering for a great many others. The riches seem to be guaranteed; the question becomes whether Billy will return to his beloved wife, Abigail, with his body and soul still intact?
Meanwhile, the 19th century murders take place in a filthy maritime metropolis on the Thames. Trade (with a capital ‘T’) is the lifeblood of the riverside community now living in fear. Law and Order, by comparison, is still in its infancy. There are no established procedures to run an effective murder investigation, only the intuition of Waterman-Constable Charles Horton, a character with a shady past and an undignified fascination with the facts that is ahead of his time. It is he who discovers the killer’s calling card, a silver piece of eight.
Shepherd’s imagination is dark and disconcerting. He has knitted together two distinct episodes from British history (or rather, English history) to make a ghoulish exploration of greed, bloodlust and perceived entitlement. This novel is very much a post-Credit Crunch work; it is a story of how the mindless pursuit wealth – at the expense of people – is ugly, immoral and devastating.
The corruption of young Billy Ablass is more successfully drawn than the Regency murder mystery. Occasionally, Shepherd is distracted by his admiration of the historical figure of John Harriott, when he has actually created a compelling new detective in Charles Horton who deserves more time centre stage.
Despite this, The English Monster is atmospheric, gruesome and compelling. With Shepherd as their quartermaster, readers who enjoyed ‘Perfume’ by Patrick Suskind will find plenty on this voyage to appal and intrigue them.
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Apr 25, 2012 Jim Gunnee rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: signed

First five star book for a while. Really a very good read. It is just possible however, that this book was specifically written for me - It's horror which is my first choice of genre, It's historical fiction, another favorite and it's mostly set in London, which I've always liked and am now growing to love. So you might not enjoy it quite as much as I did.

But even if it's not exactly to your tastes it's also properly researched and beautifully and evocatively written. Give it a go, I don't think...more

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Jan 20, 2013 Nick rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a strange book - doubly historical as we follow an early 19th century murder invesigation and a young lad, Billy Ablass, setting off in 1564 for the Americas as a cabin boy, dreaming of fortune. Gradually the two stories start to converge.

As is often the case with dual narratives, the reader prefers one to the other. In my case, I found the seafaring gripping, especially as Ablass's fate takes a strange twist whilst on a landing party. The atmosphere feels real, exciting as new lands are...more

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Jan 08, 2013 Linzena rated it 3 of 5 stars

POSSIBLE SPOILERS

I started off thinking this book was going to be a 4 or even 5 star read, in particular because of the quality of the writing. I liked the two threads, distinguished by the different use of tenses, and looked forward to how they would entwine in 1811 (although it turned out to be 1812 for those pedants among us!). The switch from 3rd person to 1st person was a little jarring, but clearly understood as a result of the preceding events.

Unfortunately the plotting then seemed to unr...more

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Jan 06, 2013 Crazyjamie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The English Monster is a rare type of book, because it is one that I will recommend to people without me being entirely sure how satisfied I was with it overall. Let me explain. As reading any random plot synopsis will tell you, this is a two thread story, with one part following the investigation into brutal murders carried out in Wapping in the 19th century, and the being set (initially) in the 16th century with a distinctly pirate flavour to it.

The genius behind this book is in the premise....more

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Jan 01, 2013 Tina Rath rated it 5 of 5 stars

Another excellent book, this one, amazingly, by a first time novelist. The narrative moves between 1811, when the Ratcliffe Highway murders bring horror to the docklands, and 1564 when what will prove to be a much greater horror has its insidious beginning in John Hawkyns African expedition, joined by a young man, Billy Ablass, in search of enough money to set himself and his wife up with some land and pigs to provide them with a decent living – but at what cost?
This is a fantasy, but it takes...more

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Oct 30, 2012 Victoria rated it 3 of 5 stars

I had really high hopes for this book, and after reading the opening chapters, I thought I was going to really enjoy it. Alas, half way through, I found myself skim reading in places and desperate to reach the end so I could read something else.

The story has promise - it is essentially two slow-moving plot-lines, which come together despite the 300 year gap between them. One concerns itself with the horrific Ratcliffe Highway murders, the other is a seafaring adventure rooted in the slave trade....more

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Oct 04, 2012 Hana Howard rated it 4 of 5 stars

The English Monster is an historical murder mystery taken from reality and embellished into a peculiar plot by Mr. Shepherd

This tale starts in 1564 with young innocent Billy Ablass seeking his fortune on the great English trading ships. It then jumps to Wapping in 1811 and the ghoulish murders of two ordinary families living on the border of this seafaring town. All through the book the reader is transferred from one time to another following the obscure plot and the changes in Billy Ablass’s li...more

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Jun 12, 2012 Roslyn rated it 4 of 5 stars

The English Monster
By Lloyd Shepherd

The English Monster is an historical murder mystery taken from reality and embellished into a peculiar plot by Mr. Shepherd

This tale starts in 1564 with young innocent Billy Ablass seeking his fortune on the great English trading ships. It then jumps to Wapping in 1811 and the ghoulish murders of two ordinary families living on the border of this seafaring town. All through the book the reader is transferred from one time to another following the obscure plot...more

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Mar 20, 2013 Ruth rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-historical, first-reads-goodreads

C2012: FWFTB: Regency, brutality, Wapping, sea-voyage, unprecedented. A very interesting read. POV changes along with the different time lines giving an interesting perspective. Pacing seemed a little erratic to me and sometimes the plot seemed to be overwhelmed by the wonderfully fascinating historical bon mots. There are several main characters but the strongest is by far Wapping and the Docks. Wonderfully evocative especially when the Author's Notes are read. I think that the reviews printed...more

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Oct 13, 2012 M rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In order to enjoy this book, I feel you need to turn to the words of the great Axl Rose: You need a little patience.

The first chapter, I thought, was brilliant. I thought, "Wow, this book is going to reward me for being adventurous and reading something I would never normally pick up." The 1811 stuff, at first was close to gripping. And then... Well, when the ships started sailing my grip on the plot went with them, and I was Very Confused.

But then, after 250 pages or so (I know, it's a big ask...more

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Jun 26, 2012 Jane Walker rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

An imaginative tour de force. I normally dislike the device of skipping about between different time frames; but this was essential to the story, and handled brilliantly. It's Shepherd's first novel. I hope there are more to come.

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Oct 04, 2012 Blodeuedd Finland rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal, historical-fiction

I am a bit torn since I liked one part of the book better than the other part. The other part was still good, but not for me. Let me explain:

In 1811 Charles Horton investigates the slaughter of two families. This was the part that was not for me. It's a good old detective story as he tries his best to find the murderer. The chase is on and he has new ideas that he tries. The Ratcliffe Highway murders are real but the authors takes his own twist to them. It's the beginning of real detective work....more

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Jul 17, 2012 Paul Dettmann rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is what I have learned: writers should not review fiction. Read it, yes, but do not review it. Quite recently, it was possible to blog a book review in the full knowledge that the author (or anyone connected with him) would never read it. That is no longer true. In Twitterage (that is a time between the last ice age and the next one) I am 90% certain the author will see a bit of this review. He may even read it all. And that compromises me. For tactics in similar circumstances, please see A...more This is what I have learned: writers should not review fiction. Read it, yes, but do not review it. Quite recently, it was possible to blog a book review in the full knowledge that the author (or anyone connected with him) would never read it. That is no longer true. In Twitterage (that is a time between the last ice age and the next one) I am 90% certain the author will see a bit of this review. He may even read it all. And that compromises me. For tactics in similar circumstances, please see Alan Bennett's article "Going Round". What would be the point in a review like that?

I happened upon a review in the Guardian by Judith Flanders, who I greatly respect and admire. She put a fair review together but was trapped, you see, by her expert knowledge of the periods in question. My enjoyment of the book was grazed ever so slightly and I resolved not to read any more reviews. Of this book, or of any of mine. Never never never. No, oh no. Not a chance.

So let's be as honest as I dare and record that this book is simply brilliant. It is true, I generally dislike novels which have two threads, especially when they are in different time periods. The effort required in getting to like two casts is too much for me. Or I get too attached to one thread, and tend to skim the other. But it happens here for a very good reason that I cannot possibly mention, and it did not throw me off at all. I properly enjoyed both threads. I love historical fiction which weaves in real, actual events, as this one does. If I really, really enjoy myself I can then read some more about those events in the non-fiction section. I feel less like a reader and more like a detective, and that is proper fun. Only yesterday I found myself a couple of stops down from Wapping. If I am a Londoner at all, I am a Westender. Crossed with a South-Westerner. I know nothing of the dirty, smelly East, to my chagrin. One day soon I am going to visit those old pubs around Shadwell and think of Charles Horton, and what happened there in 1811.(less)

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Dec 26, 2012 David Cheshire rated it 3 of 5 stars

A fascinating, flawed novel. I agree with reviewers who say it probably attempts too much. Each element is done well but it doesn't quite add up. Or, maybe, is it that we're so hung up on genres that a novel that doesn' t neatly fit confuses us? It certainly held my interest to the enigmatic end. The reviews which praised it for its ideas, symbolism and ideas about British empire history left me a bit disappointed. It probably works better on the crime and horror fronts. Yet as a first novel thi...more

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Oct 13, 2012 Emilie Rosson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

SOME IMPLIED SPOILERS

Lloyd Shepherd's debut novel The English Monster is a curious mix of historical character study, detective novel and sweeping fantasy. Incorporating the very real historical Ratcliffe Highway murders as well as many other truly monstrous events from English history, the novel follows the fictional life of William Ablass and the events that warp his existence into a darkly mirrored portrait of England itself: endlessly explorative, ruthlessly violent and obsessed with trade....more SOME IMPLIED SPOILERS

Lloyd Shepherd's debut novel The English Monster is a curious mix of historical character study, detective novel and sweeping fantasy. Incorporating the very real historical Ratcliffe Highway murders as well as many other truly monstrous events from English history, the novel follows the fictional life of William Ablass and the events that warp his existence into a darkly mirrored portrait of England itself: endlessly explorative, ruthlessly violent and obsessed with trade.

The main drive of the novel follows two parallel eras told in tandem: the life of William Ablass in the 1500s and the police investigation of the Highway murders in 1811. How these two separate worlds come together to create a full narrative is the novel's main mystery.

There's no denying this is a great story. The fantasy element is not superficial, but crucial to the themes of the story; the literalisation of England's character is accurate, enveloping and horrifying to behold. The detective story is interesting for being both true to the real life events and being in an era when official investigative practice was yet to be invented. The violence of the story is not gratuitous and is used to flesh out the events of the past that we are usually used to talking about in a whitewashed, diluted way. Over the years they may have lost their impact, their ability to shock the way they should. This novel tries to fix that. Also, I'd usually be uncomfortable with using real life murder to sensationalise a story, but this novel only employs the Ratcliffe Highway murders in order to outright condemn the culture which encouraged such violence and that is good.

The condemnation of the slave trade is another element of the book that I liked. The brutality, ruthlessness and sheer unadulterated hatefulness displayed by the English is both horrendous but also shockingly true to life. Whilst disturbing, this is the way such events should be portrayed - in all their horror. We should not be allowed to forget. Shepherd uses his narrative to such an effect, but I'm not sure that readers will like it: he writes his third-person passages from the POV of the English so black characters are often nameless, faceless, dehumanised, as seen through the eyes of their oppressors. This also makes us balk at the sins of the past, by showing us how differently we feel today, but it's also problematic.

I dallied between a 3 and 4 star rating for this novel because of that. Also because one central element of the book was really problematic. (DEFINITE SPOILERS UNTIL END OF PARAGRAPH.) The fantasy element is put in place to paint Billy as a dark portrait of England, of monstrousness, to condemn the sins of British history & its deep-seated racism. However, the means by which he becomes the monster in the novel is in fact tied into the ancient racist rhetoric of England past. The violent native Americans who "cast a curse" or something on him. This kind of superstitious belief was part of British racism & used to condemn "savage" peoples. For a story that is criticising that culture, I found it odd that the author chose to make that part true?

The last reason for my indecision between 3 & 4 was the over-use of description. This novel could have been half as long, but there was so much description. I usually like description, but only when there is a drive to read on due to a well-established plot or because the description had significance. This novel had really long passages that were ultimately without cause & it dragged the pace of an otherwise great story down to an irritating snail's pace.

If you love historical fiction, high-brow fantasy and a good detective story, this is for you. Dark, unsettling & uncompromising, this is a rare thing: a fantasy novel that truly has something important and enduring to say about past and modern culture. However, if you like your novels punchy & pacy, you'd best go elsewhere. This is for a reader who wants to indulge.(less)

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Aug 04, 2012 J.M. Cornwell rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to J.M. by: Authorlink

I go into every book I read with a sense of hope that it will transport me to another place and time with characters that make me look twice, make me uncomfortable, or even make me want to smile and laugh with joy. There are few of the joyful characters in The English Monster by Lloyd Shepherd, but there is much that made me uncomfortable and made me look twice, even starting at unusual sounds and shadows at the corner of my vision.

In 1494, Billy Ablass, a week since married, went to Wapping t

...more

I go into every book I read with a sense of hope that it will transport me to another place and time with characters that make me look twice, make me uncomfortable, or even make me want to smile and laugh with joy. There are few of the joyful characters in The English Monster by Lloyd Shepherd, but there is much that made me uncomfortable and made me look twice, even starting at unusual sounds and shadows at the corner of my vision.

In 1494, Billy Ablass, a week since married, went to Wapping to talk his way onto a ship where he could make his fortune, at least enough to buy some pigs and prime land in his home of Oxfordshire.

In 1811, a servant, Margaret, goes on two separate errands for her employers, Mr. and Mrs. Marr, and comes back to find the house locked and all the lights out. She hears someone inside and the baby's cries suddenly cut off. She pounds on the door, drawing a crowd, and a neighbor gets into the house from the back and discovers murder most foul. Both Marrs, their new baby, and the shop boy have been murdered and the weapon left clotted with blood and hair, brains splattering the walls and floors. In the basement, the baby's throat was slashed.

From these two events there can be no connection, not with 300 years between them, and yet there is a connection, one that grows with time and Shepherd's dark and razor sharp prose that drew me into these disparate tales and into the lives of the newly formed River Police.

Waterman Constable Charles Horton, with his own past to keep secret, is a different kind of police officer. He investigates, a word unknown until he began his inquiries into the nature of the crimes in and around the port, and even into the murder of the Marrs and their shop boy in spite of his lack of jurisdiction. The river police do not solve crimes on land. Magistrate Harriot believes that his duty lies wherever he finds crime and sets Horton to looking into the matter, though it cost him everything he has worked for and prizes.

What Shepherd does with clarity and the magic of prose that transports these horrific events into something wonderful is weave threads of various colors and kinds into a new cloth that presages the modern era and lays the foundation for the Britain and Scotland Yard to come. The English Monster is no simple police procedural, nor is it history overlaid with fantasy. This is a new kind of history more fantastical and palpably real that rises above the common historical novel into a realm all its own.

I foresee more novels featuring Harriot and Horton where mystery and marvel combine to create a crime solving duo as memorable and Holmes and Watson.

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May 31, 2012 Rose rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. It was Sherlock Holmes meets Pirates of the Caribbean. I enjoyed how Shepherd made the connection between the two stories. The story kept you in suspense, wanting an explanation for Billy Ablass' curse and who was the Ratcliffe Highway murderer. I also find it interesting that all the characters were real people from history.

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Aug 20, 2012 Michele Weiner rated it 3 of 5 stars

In the mid 1600's, young Billy leaves his girl to seek his fortune in Wapping, near London, where they are building new docks to accommodate the worldwide trade that England is developing. He signs on to a chip going to find riches that they hope will rival the Spanish successes in the new world. While in the Caribbean, Billy runs into a supernatural being who curses him to an eternal life of killing the Englishman who brought disease and violent death to the natives of the islands. Two hundred...more

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Jan 06, 2013 Chloé rated it 2 of 5 stars

Really don't bother with this. It takes almost 3/4 of the book for the link between the stories to be revealed and even then it's a disappointment. Painfully drawn out.

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Jul 26, 2012 !Tæmbuŝu marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-fiction, united-kingdom, ebook-available

KOBOBOOKS

Reviewed by The Independent

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Nov 05, 2012 Patrizia rated it 5 of 5 stars

As much as anyone, Lloyd Shepard reminds me of Christopher Priest at his most lucid and layered. In fact, The English Monster and The Prestige share a common theme -- a protagonist who's the consumate Outsider and who, during the course of the narrative, grows less and less human. The fault is not his own, of course, but you are still chilled by the transformation.

The novel is structured as parallel stories separated by some 250 years, which makes the first 100 pages or so confusing. Also, of co...more

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Sep 28, 2012 Cathy Cole rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

First Line: The ancient road began at the Tower and ran east to west along a terrace of gravel.

It's 1811, and from the ancient Ratcliffe Highway to the London Dock, the district of Wapping is the throbbing heart of the British Empire's meteoric rise in trade and the accumulation of wealth. Wapping is also the scene of the gruesome murders of two families, and John Harriott, creator of the newly established Thames River Police soon realizes two important facts.

The first fact is that petty jurisdi...more First Line: The ancient road began at the Tower and ran east to west along a terrace of gravel.

It's 1811, and from the ancient Ratcliffe Highway to the London Dock, the district of Wapping is the throbbing heart of the British Empire's meteoric rise in trade and the accumulation of wealth. Wapping is also the scene of the gruesome murders of two families, and John Harriott, creator of the newly established Thames River Police soon realizes two important facts.

The first fact is that petty jurisdictional squabbles are getting them nowhere. The second fact is that, after close observation of his waterman-constable, Charles Horton, Harriott believes that the old methods of policing aren't going to find the killers either; it's Horton's style of "detection" that Harriott believes will bring the murderers to justice.

The English Monster isn't just a story about the hunt for the killers of two families; however, there's another story told in alternating chapters that is intertwined with the investigation throughout. It is the story of William Ablass, a young Oxfordshire man who goes to Plymouth in 1564 to board a ship and make his fortune so he can come home and buy a farm for his beloved young wife and himself. He becomes a member of Jack Hawkins' crew, sanctioned by the Queen to raid Spanish shipping. "Long Billy" (as he's often called) changes in ways he never would have foreseen.

Shepherd's tale of the quest for trade and fortune is well-told, atmospheric, and often quite chilling. The growth of Wapping and the entire area of the Docklands in London sets a perfect stage for Long Billy, John Harriott and Charles Horton-- a man with his own secrets that come back to haunt him:

Death and beer always hang heavy in the air in Wapping.... And hulking over the whole area, visible through gaps in the buildings like a canvas on which Wapping has been painted, the walls of the new dock and its surrounding warehouses.... But even Harriott must admit that there is something massively dark about the dock, something of the gaol about its walls and the warehouses between it and the river, buildings which now glower over the High Street , each of them a good storey or more higher than the older buildings which cluster around the walls like supplicants at a cathedral.

Under the observant eye of Shepherd, Wapping and its docks become just as important a character as Long Billy, Harriott, Horton, and the other people who live there.

As much as I wanted Harriott and Horton to find the killers, I have to admit that the story of William Ablass was the one I found to be engrossing... and creepy. There are things about Long Billy that I'd love to share with you all, but that would ruin the book for you. Shepherd's tale is Dickensian in its detail and atmosphere, and the only real weakness in his story is that, when he shifts the focus to the 1811 investigation of the murders in the book's later stages, I missed the gaps in William Ablass's story. In many ways, Long Billy reminded me of a great white shark, and it didn't feel natural for me to turn my back on him.

Yes, William Ablass is the the English monster of the title, but as I read, I learned that there is more than one monster in this tale, and that is what money and greed have done to us all throughout the centuries. I still feel uneasy after reading The English Monster. It is a book that stays with the reader long after the last page is read. I've since learned that Shepherd has another book, The Poisoned Island, due out next year. I definitely want to read it!(less)

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Jan 23, 2013 Kathryn rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I am flummoxed as to how there are so many 4 or even 5 star reviews on this novel.

The first 100+ pages are almost unreadable they are so dull; the following 300 range from rubbish to brief elements of decent writing. The story - or stories, as it were - does not gain momentum in any interesting way, and there are no satisfying conclusions or results.

I don't think this book is particularly well written, either, although the Author's Note at the end demonstrates that the author is adept at journa...more

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Jan 14, 2013 Femmy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, mystery

3.5 stars - A friend offered this book to me as a gift, and I'm not one to pass up a free book. It's a historical novel, which is a genre that I enjoy translating but haven't read much.

The book has two story lines, which are narrated in alternating chapters. The first one is based on the events surrounding the Ratcliffe Highway murders in London, which actually happened in 1811. I really like this part of the story. It is interesting to read how, in an era when police investigative work as we k...more

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The English Monster: or, The Melancholy Transactions of William Ablass

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