Lynn Shepherd – författare

Samuel Richardson's novels have always been a particularly fertile seam for literary study, and in recent years they have been the subject of a whole range of different approaches, from the political and feminist, to those concerned with formal questions such as genre and epistolary technique. Richardson has also attracted considerable interest from an interdisciplinary perspective, with studies focusing on the pictorial and spatial elements of his works, and the illustrations he commissioned for Pamela. This extensively-illustrated monograph takes this approach one step further, and looks at issues of visual and verbal representation in Richardson from the perspective of eighteenth-century portraiture. Richardson first became conversant with the conventions of contemporary portraiture in the wake of the phenomenal success of Pamela. It was then that he commissioned his first portrait, and became involved in the process of producing illustrations for the lavish sixth edition of the novel. This study makes the case that these two events combined to give Richardson a new vocabulary for the depiction of individual character, and the articulation of power, affection, and control within the family, and between men and women. We can see the first signs of this in Pamela II, which is so often dismissed and so little read, but it reaches its full maturity in the rich three-dimensionality of Clarissa. Moreover it is Richardson's use of the conventions of contemporary portraiture in Sir Charles Grandison that explains many of the tensions and inconsistencies within that text, and makes the reader's response to Richardson's 'good man' so ambivalent.

A Jane Austen heroine murdered. A literary villain turned hero. And an investigator between it all.The year is 1814 when Fanny Price is found murdered in Mansfield Park. Once a rich heiress who was spoiled, condescending, and generally hated throughout the county. But her death is none-the-less haunting.It then takes Mary Crawford, who is now as good as Fanny was bad, to team up with a thief-taker, Charles Maddox, from London to solve the brutal crime. But with dramatic confrontations comes consequences... some even deadly.A twisted take on Mansfield Park, Shepherd brings a brilliantly entertaining novel that offers Jane Austen fans an engaging new heroine and mystery laced in every chapter.Previously published as Murder at Mansfield Park.

'A grisly period detective story.' The TimesLondon, 1850: The Dickensian streets grow darker by the day.Private investigator Charles Maddox is surprised when he is approached by Edward Tulkinghorn for help. The feared and shadowy attorney offers Charles a handsome price he can't refuse to do some sleuthing for a client. Charles learns that Sir Julius Cremorne has been receiving threatening letters, and now Tulkinghorn wants him to find and stop whoever is responsible.But what starts as a simple, open-and-shut case swiftly escalates into something bigger and much darker. As he cascades toward a collision with powerful forces, Charles will need all the assistance he can getThe Man in Black takes a classic Charles Dickens novel and plummets readers into a newly reimagined and mysterious world. Fans of The Confessions of Frannie Langton and Stacey Halls will love this.Previously published as The Solitary House.Readers are loving The Man in Black:'An intelligent and gripping post-modern crime novel. Beautifully written and cleverly plotted.' Lancashire Post'You'll be guaranteed to enjoy.' Guardian 'This is a wonderful mystery... It has a dark Victorian tone, and is a gripping story. If you like literary historical mysteries, this is for you.' Reader Review '

Not all monsters remain fictionalPercy Shelley's legendary poetry lives on long after his death in 1850s England. But when his son and famed widow, Mary, are approached by a stranger offering to sell rare papers allegedly by Percy, Charles Maddox is called to look at the suspicious texts.But the case is not as simple as it appears, with Mary's bitter stepsister, Claire Clairmont, also on the scene. As the investigation grows more disturbing, shocking evidence of foul play is discovered, leaving Maddox hunting for an even darker truthTaking inspiration from Mary Shelley's classic Frankenstein, Lynn Shepherd turns a literary legend into an otherworldly tale.Previously called A Treacherous Likeness.