Elizabeth Sara Sheppard (1830–1862) was a 19th-century

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novelist.

Life

Sheppard was born in 1830 in

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. Her father, of

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

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. He died soon after Sheppard's birth. 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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, French, 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.

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, 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 Romance'' 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 the auth ...

''" (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

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. ''Rumour: A Novel'' incorporates

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

iconoclasm Iconoclasm (from Ancient Greek, Greek: grc, wikt:εἰκών, εἰκών, lit=figure, icon, translit=eikṓn, label=none + grc, wikt:κλάω, κλάω, lit=to break, translit=kláō, label=none)From grc, wikt:εἰκών, εἰκών + wi ...

, and eventual

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

nom de plume A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, 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 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

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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, 200
accessed 13 Nov 2014
/ref>

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 1830 births 1862 deaths 19th-century British novelists 19th-century British poets 19th-century British women writers 19th-century British writers British women novelists British women poets Linguists from the United Kingdom Women linguists People from Blackheath, London Writers from London British people of Jewish descent