Jack Sheppard: A Romance, Vol. 1 (of 3)

by William Harrison Ainsworth

"Jack Sheppard: A Romance, Vol. 1 (of 3)" by William Harrison Ainsworth is a historical romance serially published from 1839 to 1840. Based on the life of real 18th-century criminal Jack Sheppard, this Newgate novel traces a boy's corruption into a life of theft under the shadow of the notorious thief-catcher Jonathan Wild. Through daring prison escapes and criminal exploits, Sheppard emerges as both rogue and tragic hero, caught between his crimes and his conscience in the dangerous London underworld.