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.
The Battle of Preston was the final action of the Jacobite rising of 1715, an attempt to put James Francis Edward Stuart on the British throne in place of George I. After two days of street-fighting, the Jacobite commander Thomas Forster surrendered to government troops under General Charles Wills. It was arguably the last battle fought on English soil.
Thomas Forster, of Adderstone Hall, Northumberland, was an English landowner and Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1708 to 1716. He served as a general of the Jacobite army in the 1715 Uprising and subsequently fled to France.
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.
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.
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.
The Jacobite rising of 1745 was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took place during the War of the Austrian Succession, when the bulk of the British Army was fighting in mainland Europe, and proved to be the last in a series of revolts that began in March 1689, with major outbreaks in 1715 and 1719.
The Jacobite rising of 1715 was the attempt by James Edward Stuart to regain the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland for the exiled Stuarts.
'Mad' Jack Hall was an English Jacobite leader and property owner and a Justice of Peace in Northumberland. He was a member of Clan Hall, a Scottish clan of Norman descent and owned the Otterburn Tower in Redesdale, Northumberland; his initials are still carved over a doorway today.
Henry Oxburgh was an Irish soldier and Jacobite who was one of the leaders of the Jacobite rising of 1715 in England. Captured by forces loyal to the Hanoverian Dynasty following the Battle of Preston, he was executed at Tyburn for high treason.
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.
Myddleton Pomfret is an 1868 novel by the British writer William Harrison Ainsworth, published in three volumes by Chapman and Hall. It was originally serialised in Bentley's Miscellany between July 1867 and March 1868. This was the last of his novels to feature in the magazine which ceased publication in 1868.
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).
James the Second is an 1848 historical novel by the British writer William Harrison Ainsworth. It was published in three volumes by Henry Colburn. It is set during the reign of James II and the Glorious Revolution of 1688. It was published the same year as a series of European revolutions broke out.
The Spendthrift is an 1857 historical novel by the British author William Harrison Ainsworth. It was published in a single volume by London publisher Routledge. It was initially serialised in Bentley's Miscellany from January 1855. Illustrations were provided by Hablot Knight Browne. It is set in the eighteenth century and follows the misadventures of a young man who inherits a fortune.
