Historian, Author
Press or contributor enquiries for Victoria Shepherd via Matilda Warner at Oneworld mwarner@oneworld-publications.com Rep’d Tim Bates at PFD tbates@pfd.co.uk. (For literary rights to Stony Jack and A History of Delusions contact Luigi Bonomi at LBA Books luigi@lbabooks.com.)
Listen now: Victoria talks to Professor Susannah Lipscomb about the Cheapside Hoard on Not Just the Tudors Podcast for History Hit https://open.spotify.com/episode/79gCE2rsCS5BD6wApZAzD0
New non-fiction published by Oneworld, 5 June 2025! Stony Jack and the Lost Jewels of Cheapside: Treasure and Ghosts in the London Clay. Available bookshops now: https://linktr.ee/victoriashepherdwriter
The story of the 1912 discovery of a dazzling Treasure Trove of Tudor and Stuart Jewellery by labourers working in a cellar in the City of London, and the enigmatic antiquarian known as ‘Stony Jack’ who trafficked the ‘Cheapside Hoard’ into London society just before the First World War. What happened to the gems and jewels after they were dug up, as rich and poor alike, even Queen Mary herself, put their hands in the treasure chest?
Praise for Stony Jack and the Lost Jewels of Cheapside:
What a story and how skilfully told! A tale about treasure, as twisty and thrilling as any of the adventures of Indiana Jones. Lucy Worsley
A spellbinding dive into the murky world of London’s antiquities. Totally captivating. Lara Maiklem
In this tantalizing account…Shepherd meticulously examines the Hoard’s possible origins and its murky fate…Full of fascinating asides, including a tangent on the similar fate of artefacts later recovered from Tutankhamun’s tomb, this rivets. Publishers Weekly
News of events for 2025 to follow soon!
Also by Victoria Shepherd: A History of Delusions: the Glass King, a Substitute Husband and a Walking Corpse, published by Oneworld, June 2022/paperback June 2023 (Simon and Schuster U.S.), a social history exploring an intriguing psychological phenomenon, told through the lives of ten people from the past who have lived inside an alternative reality.
Read a review of A History of Delusions in the The Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/08/05/historys-famous-delusions-those-who-believed-them-why/
Read starred review Publishers Weekly https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780861540914
Victoria Shepherd Podcast Contributor
Press or Podcast contributor enquiries for Victoria Shepherd: Matilda Warner at Oneworld mwarner@oneworld-publications.com
Talking Stony Jack and the Cheapside Hoard with Professor Suzannah Lipscomb on History Hit’s ‘Not Just the Tudors’ podcast. Listen now: https://open.spotify.com/episode/79gCE2rsCS5BD6wApZAzD0
Contributor appearances for A History of Delusions include:
BBC History Extra podcast ‘Glass Men and Killer Doubles’ Listen on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/history-extra-podcast/id256580326?i=1000576584323
This American Life radio and podcast, in association with WBEZ Chicago. ‘The Glass King’, Kelsey Padgett reporter
Psych Central with Gabe Howard podcast https://psychcentral.com/blog/podcast-delusions-through-the-ages-with-bbc-documentarian-and-historian-victoria-shepherd
ABC Radio National with Julian Morrow https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/sundayextra/history-s-famous-delusions/101492568
Psychologists Off the Clock podcast https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc4L99K72uM
Bookin’ Quail Ridge Books North Carolina podcast https://www.quailridgebooks.com/podcast/ep203
Rethink Mental Illness podcast https://open.spotify.com/episode/60alZbCm8Lg6frsB0lMzTe
Before You Kill Yourself with Leo Flowers podcast https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebYGQyFPPUo
Times Radio Breakfast show Wednesday 1st June 2022 at 9.45am
A selection of written pieces for A History of Delusions:
https://www.sciencefocus.com/author/victoria-shepherd
https://www.writersdigest.com/be-inspired/10-memorable-delusions-in-fiction
https://smartthinkingbooks.com/smart-thinking-books-interview-victoria-shepherd.html
Victoria Shepherd, the briefest of biogs
I’m a born and bred south Londoner exploring the city’s streets and archives in search of revelatory social history…
Long-form narrative storytelling for podcasts and radio
Currently with Raconteur Studios, from 2022-2023 I was Podcast Development Producer for BBC Studios Factual Podcast Unit/Natural History Unit; Previously: Senior Producer/Editor for the BBC Radio 4 strands ‘The Kitchen Cabinet’ with Jay Rayner and Gardeners’ Question Time, producer for R4 strands ‘Open Book’ and’The Film Programme’ as well as Night Waves’ (Free Thinking) for Radio 3, and feature reporter for R4’s ‘Woman’s Hour’.
Much of my archive of over a hundred credits as producer of history/science documentaries can be found on BBC Sounds. Highlights: ‘A History of Delusions’, presented by Professor Daniel Freeman (10×15′ series co-produced with Eve Streeter) https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m0001d95, ‘This Old Heart of Mine’, presented by Giles Fraser (5×10′ series) https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/b09jhv0w ‘The History of the Future’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01mnsns/episodes/guide (10×15′ series) ‘A Natural History of the Banker’ presented by Andrew Ross Sorkin https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07zv3gt ‘The Glass Delusion’, presented by Adam Phillips https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05sy63b and ‘Experiments in Living’ presented by Juliet Gardiner; ‘The Periodic Table’ (5×15′) presented by Chris Addison; ‘Headstrong and Proud’ (10×15) presented by Michael Crick, ‘The Wizard of Oz’, presented by Salman Rushdie.
Historical Consultant
victoriashepherd.org 