Mary Shepherd was born in Scotland at her family's estate on December 31, 1777, the second daughter of Neil Primrose, Earl of Rosebery; she died in London on January 7, 1847. Relatively few details of her life and education are available. She married an English barrister, Henry Shepherd, in 1808. She published at least two works in philosophy, An Essay upon the Relation of Cause and Effect (1824), and Essays on the Perception of an External Universe and other Subjects Connected with the Doctrine of Causation (1827). A third work, originally published anonymously in 1819, Enquiry respecting the Relation of Cause and Effect, has been credited to her, but it differs so significantly from her other work, both in style and content, as to make this attribution dubious. She was as well a participant in an exchange of views with a contemporary, John Fearn, which appeared in various venues.

Shepherd's work reflects...