Jack Sheppard (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: William Harrison Ainsworth
- First Published: 1839
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Picaresque
- Time of Work: 1702-1724
- Setting: London, England, and its environs
- Genres: Long fiction, Picaresque fiction
- Subjects: Prisoners, Love or romance, Crime or criminals, Murder or homicide, Escapes, Mistaken or secret identity, Robbery or robbers, Eighteenth century, Inheritance or succession, London, Adventure
- Locales: London, England
Characters Discussed
Jack Sheppard, a housebreaker and popular jailbreaker. After many crimes and several escapes, he is seized at his mother’s funeral and executed at Tyburn.
Joan Sheppard, his mother, widow of Tom Sheppard (executed for theft). Insane from worry over Jack’s dissolute, criminal life, she is put in Bedlam hospital; recovering her senses, she is released. Jonathan Wild reveals that she is Sir Rowland’s long-lost sister Constance, stolen in childhood by a gypsy. She kills herself rather than marry Wild after his brutal murder of Sir Rowland.
...[The entire page is 593 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
See Also
