This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1834.
William Harrison Ainsworth was an English historical novelist born at King Street in Manchester. He trained as a lawyer, but the legal profession held no attraction for him. While completing his legal studies in London he met the publisher John Ebers, at that time manager of the King's Theatre, Haymarket. Ebers introduced Ainsworth to literary and dramatic circles, and to his daughter, who became Ainsworth's wife.
This is a list of works by the English historical novelist William Harrison Ainsworth (1805–1882).
Artist and the Author is a pamphlet written by George Cruikshank in 1872. During the late 1860s, Cruikshank claimed to be the author of works attributed to other writers, including Charles Dickens and William Harrison Ainsworth. After John Forster contradicted Cruikshank's claims to having "originated" Oliver Twist, Cruikshank began a dispute in The Times as being the creator of novels attributed to Ainsworth. After the newspaper stopped carrying the dispute, Cruikshank produced all of his claims in Artist and the Author, where he disputed his relationship to 8 of Ainsworth's novels.
Windsor Castle is a novel by William Harrison Ainsworth serially published in 1842. It is a historical romance with gothic elements that depicts Henry VIII's pursuit of Anne Boleyn. Intertwined with the story are the actions of Herne the Hunter, a legendary ghost that haunts Windsor woods.
The Miser's Daughter is a novel by William Harrison Ainsworth serially published in 1842. It is a historical romance that describes a young man pursuing the daughter of a miserly rich man during the 18th century.
Jack Sheppard is a novel by William Harrison Ainsworth serially published in Bentley's Miscellany from 1839 to 1840, with illustrations by George Cruikshank. It is a historical romance and a Newgate novel based on the real life of the 18th-century criminal Jack Sheppard.
The novel Guy Fawkes first appeared as a serial in Bentley's Miscellany, between January and November 1840. It was subsequently published as a three-volume set in July 1841, with illustrations by George Cruikshank. The first of William Harrison Ainsworth's seven "Lancashire novels", the story is based on the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, an unsuccessful attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament. Ainsworth relied heavily on historical documents describing the trial and execution of the conspirators, of whom Fawkes was one, but he also embellished the known facts. He invented the character of Viviana Radcliffe, daughter of the prominent Radcliffe family of Ordsall Hall – who becomes Fawkes's wife – and introduced gothic and supernatural elements into the story, such as the ability of the alchemist, John Dee, to raise the spirits of the dead.
The Tower of London is a novel by William Harrison Ainsworth serially published in 1840. It is a historical romance that describes the history of Lady Jane Grey from her short-lived time as Queen of England to her execution.
St. James's is a novel by William Harrison Ainsworth serially published in 1844. It describes the events surrounding the end of Queen Anne's reign and the dispute between the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough with two Tories for influence over the queen.
Old St. Paul's, also titled Old Saint Paul's: A Tale of the Plague and the Fire, is a novel by William Harrison Ainsworth serially published in 1841. It is a historical romance that describes the events of the Great Plague of London and the Great Fire of London. It was the basis for the 1914 silent film Old St. Paul's.
Rookwood is a novel by William Harrison Ainsworth published in 1834. It is a historical and gothic romance that describes a dispute over the legitimate claim for the inheritance of Rookwood Place and the Rookwood family name.
Crichton is an 1837 historical novel by the British writer William Harrison Ainsworth. It was published in three volumes by Richard Bentley. It is inspired by the life of the sixteenth century Scottish polymath James Crichton, known as the "Admiral Chrichton". It was Ainsworth's follow-up to the 1834 bestselling novel Rookwood.
The Flitch of Bacon is an 1854 historical novel by the British writer William Harrison Ainsworth. It was originally serialised in The New Monthly Magazine. He based it on the tradition of the Flitch of Bacon at Little Dunmow in Essex, awarded to the happiest married couple. It inspired a revival of the practice, with Ainsworth judging a competition the following year.
The Constable of the Tower is an 1861 historical novel by the British writher William Harrison Ainsworth. Originally serialised in Bentley's Miscellany it was then published in three volumes. It is set in Tudor England following the death of Henry VIII and focuses in particular in the rule of the Lord Protector Duke of Somerset and his subsequent downfall, imprisonment in the Tower of London and execution in 1552.. The illustrations were provided by John Gilbert. The sales of the novel were considered disappointing by his publishers Chapman and Hall.
John Law: The Projector is an 1864 historical novel by the British writer William Harrison Ainsworth. It was released in three volumes by the London publishing house Chapman and Hall. It focuses on the early eighteenth century Scottish financier John Law and his efforts to establish the Mississippi Company in Paris which ultimately went bankrupt after a speculative bubble.
Hilary St. Ives is an 1870 novel in three volumes by the British writer William Harrison Ainsworth. Originally serialised in The New Monthly Magazine during 1869, it was then published in London by Chapman and Hall. Although Ainsworth was best known for his historical novels, this was one of three novels in a row with contemporary settings along with Old Court (1867) and Myddleton Pomfret (1868). Stylistically it borrows from the sensation novels popular at the time. He then returned to his more usual historical settings with Boscobel (1872) which takes place in the mid-seventeenth century.
Old Court is an 1867 novel by the British writer William Harrison Ainsworth. It was initially serialised in Bentley's Miscellany before being published in three volumes by Chapman and Hall of London. It was the first of three novels in a row with present-day settings, in contrast to the historical novels for which the author was known for.
The Spanish Match is an 1865 three-volume historical novel by the British writer William Harrison Ainsworth. It was originally serialised in Bentley's Miscellany under the alternative title House of the Seven Chimneys, a reference to the English Embassy in Spain. It was then published in London by Chapman and Hall. It is based on the historic Spanish match, a proposed marriage between the English and Spanish royal families in the 1620s.
Boscobel is an 1872 historical novel by the British writer William Harrison Ainsworth. It first appeared as a serial in The New Monthly Magazine before being published in three volumes by the London publishing house Tinsley Brothers. It marked a return to the historical subjects he was best known for, after producing three novels with contemporary settings such as Old Court (1867) and Myddleton Pomfret (1868). It takes place in the weeks before and following the Battle of Worcester in 1651, in which Charles II avoided capture after his defeat by his republican enemies under Oliver Cromwell. His escape included hiding in the royal oak at Boscobel House in Shropshire, from which the novel takes its title. It also formed the first of a trio of "Jacobite" novels sympathetic to the Stuart Dynasty, followed by The Manchester Rebels (1873) and Preston Fight (1875).
