About Liz Shakespeare

I have written seven books set in Devon. I draw my inspiration from the North Devon countryside, from the strong historical identity of the area and the sense of past lives that can be experienced in any long-inhabited area. I am interested in social history and particularly in the lives of the less advantaged.

I was born in Bideford and have lived in Devon for most of my life. My mother’s family is from the Bideford area and my father, although born and brought up in London, had fond memories of long childhood holidays with cousins on the North Devon/Cornwall border where his mother’s family originated. The family stories I have grown up with and the sense of being deeply rooted in the area have been a powerful influence on my writing.

When I was seventeen I moved to London where I worked in bookshops and acquired an honours degree in English. I then trained as a primary school teacher, returning to Devon after teaching in London for two years. I have lived ever since in Littleham, a small village three miles from Bideford.

My father introduced my brother and me to books at an early age and we have been fervent readers ever since. I wrote stories as a child but following my degree, which taught me above all to be critical, it was some years before I felt sufficiently confident to start writing again. I wrote short stories, some of which were published in small literary magazines, then embarked on an oral history project which I published as The Memory Be Green. This was originally conceived as research for a novel; the novel was never finished but I think the interviews I carried out have helped me when I am finding a voice for a particular character in fiction. The Memory Be Green was very well received and after an abandoned novel and more short stories, I started work on Fever: A Story from a Devon Churchyard. This took seven years to research and write. It concerns a nineteenth century epidemic. While I was writing it, I never imagined that I would live through something similar!

While researching Fever I became interested in the Workhouse and the lives of those unfortunate enough to spend time in one. The Turning of The Tide is a novel based on a true story; it is set in nineteenth century Bideford and concerns a young Clovelly girl, Selina Burman, who spent several years in the Bideford Workhouse. Her story is intertwined with that of Dr William Ackland of Bideford. Dr Ackland was a friend of Charles Kingsley and, like Kingsley, was concerned for the health and welfare of the poorer people.

Devon and its people were again the main inspiration for All Around The Year, despite the stories being purely fictional. For each month, I created a character whose life is in some way influenced by the landscape around them.

I returned to historical research for The Postman Poet, published in March 2017. You can read more about it here. I think it was my favourite book to write, and it is great fun working with Nick Wyke and Becki Driscoll to tell audiences throughout the southwest of England about the life and work of the Postman Poet. I was delighted that The Postman Poet was one of seven books selected for the Hall & Woodhouse DLF Writing Award.

The Song of the Skylark focuses on North Devon’s agricultural history and tells the true story of a young brother and sister who were sent to work as parish apprentices on a remote farm. They experience extreme hardship but in time the farming and chapel communities come together to help them start a new life.  I was again  busy researching parish registers, census returns and newspaper reports, and  included some examples so that readers can discover the factual basis of the story. You can order The Song of the Skylark here.

The Ordeal of Miss Lucy Jones was launched at the Plough Arts Centre in Torrington  on Thursday 25th April 2024 to a full house. It is again a novel based on a true story, this time set in Torrington in the nineteenth century.

I have successfully self-published all my books through my publishing company Letterbox Books. I enjoy the process of self-publishing which gives me more control of my books, from the design right through to distribution. I am fortunate in having well-read friends who are also authors; they help me through the editing process, another old friend does the proofreading for me, and I have two talented sons, the older of whom, Ben, designs my book covers. I have built up a large following of readers from the South-West of England and beyond who are generous with their appreciation, which is heartening after the years of solitary work.

– Last updated: 28/4/2024