Elizabeth Sara Sheppard (1826 – 13 March 1862) was a 19th-century

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novelist.

Life

Sheppard was born in 1826 in

Blackheath, London Blackheath is an area in Southeast London, straddling the border of the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Lewisham. Historically within the county of Kent, it is located northeast of Lewisham, south of Greenwich, London, G ...

. Her father, John Sheppard, of

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descent on his mother's side, was a clergyman of the

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. Sheppard taught music in the school that her mother had opened. In addition to being a musician, Sheppard was an accomplished linguist in

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, and

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. She died on 13 March 1862 in

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Writing career

She began her most notable novel, '' Charles Auchester'', at age sixteen.

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a ...

, a British

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politician and author, who served twice as

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, agreed to help Sheppard. He not only recommended her book to his own publisher, but he also wrote to the aspiring writer, saying, "No greater book will ever be written upon music, and it will one day be recognised as the imaginative classic of divine art." ''Charles Auchester'' was published in 1853 as a

three-volume novel The three-volume novel (sometimes three-decker or triple decker) was a standard form of publishing for British fiction during the nineteenth century. It was a significant stage in the development of the modern novel as a form of popular literatur ...

. It was dedicated to Disraeli as "the author of ''

Contarini Fleming ''Contarini Fleming: A Psychological Autobiography'' is the fourth and most autobiographical novel written by Benjamin Disraeli, who would later become a Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. It was published anonymously in May 1832 but despite t ...

''" (his autobiographical novel of 1832). Sheppard later dedicated another one of her three volume novels, ''Counterparts, or the Cross of Love'', to Mrs. Disraeli in 1854. Sheppard's writing was modeled after Disraeli's, and, like him, she used real characters in her novels. Sheppard's novels have musical influences. ''Charles Auchester'', a musical romance, was a memorial to the composer

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions inc ...

. ''Rumour: A Novel'' incorporates

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

as a character named " Rodomant." This character features traits, including a short-tempered nature, belief in

iconoclasm Iconoclasm ()From . ''Iconoclasm'' may also be considered as a back-formation from ''iconoclast'' (Greek: εἰκοκλάστης). The corresponding Greek word for iconoclasm is εἰκονοκλασία, ''eikonoklasia''. is the social belie ...

, and eventual

deafness Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is writte ...

, attributed to Beethoven. The name "E. Berger" appeared as a

nom de plume A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

on the title page of ''Charles Auchester'', although it was initially published without an acknowledged author. This was a translation of ''Sheppard'' into French. Sheppard wrote under this pseudonym for some years. She first received praise in America before gaining recognition in her homeland. However, comments on her work were not always complimentary.Elizabeth Lee, 'Sheppard, Elizabeth Sara (1830–1862)’, rev. Megan A. Stephan, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 201
accessed 16 Mar 2024

Publications

*''Charles Auchester'' 1853. *''Counterparts or the Cross of Love'' 1854. *''My First Season'' by Beatrice Reynolds, edited by Sheppard. 1855. *''The Double Coronet'' 1856. *''Rumour: A Novel'' 1858. *''Almost a Heroine'' 1859.''Almost a Heroine''.
Oxford University Collection.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sheppard, Elizabeth Sara 1826 births 1862 deaths 19th-century British novelists 19th-century British poets 19th-century British women writers British women novelists British women poets Linguists from the United Kingdom British women linguists People from Blackheath, London Writers from the Royal Borough of Greenwich Writers from the London Borough of Lewisham British people of Jewish descent