St. James's (novel)

Last updated

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.

Contents

Background

While Ainsworth served as editor for his own magazine, Ainsworth's Magazine, he included many of his own works. Of these, Saint James's or the Court of Queen Anne, An Historical Romance ran from January 1844 until December 1844. It was also published as a three volume set in 1844 by John Mortimer. The work was illustrated by George Cruikshanks, which marks the last time that Ainsworth and Cruikshanks collaborated on a novel. [1]

Story

Of all of Ainsworth's novels, the plot of St. James's is almost non-existent. The story takes place during the end of Queen Anne's reign. [2] She was friends with the Duchess of Marlborough, [3] and two Tories, Robert Harley and Henry St John, want to separate the Duchess and the queen. After plotting, they are finally able to separate the two, which allows them to remove the Duke of Marlborough from the queen's favour. Without the Duke around, Harley is made Earl of Oxford and St. John made Viscount of Bolingbroke. When Queen Anne dies, Harley and St. John turn against each other and soon lose their status at court. [2]

Characters

Illustrations

The Ainsworth's Magazine edition of St. James's included 14 illustrations by Cruikshank. However, only seven appeared in the 3-volume edition of the work. Two of the illustrations not carried over in the book edition were of Cruikshank's best depictions: one titled "The Double Duel" and another titled "Sergeant Scales's Drum". A rift developed between Cruikshank and Ainsworth, and St. James's was the last work of Ainsworth that Cruikshank illustrated. It is possible that the rift came as Ainsworth was giving up his ownership of the Ainsworth's Magazine, but the cause is unknown. It is also possible that the dropping of illustrations from the three volume edition was either a cause or an effect of the rift. [4]

Themes

In terms of characters, Ainsworth's Queen Anne in Saint James's is controlled by fate and by others. When the novel starts, she is controlled by the Duchess of Marlborough. After the Duchess loses status, Queen Anne comes under the sway of Abigail Hill, a woman that is controlling the queen for Harley. Ainsworth uses the same kind of depiction for King James II, Queen Anne's father, in James the Second . In the opposite manner, King Henry VIII in Windsor Castle operates as the dominant figure and is unable to be controlled by others. [5]

St. James's contains a seemingly contradictory stance in Ainsworth's political views; Ainsworth had Jacobite sympathies but he favours the Duke of Marlborough, even though the real individual betrayed the Stuarts and the Jacobite cause many times. This defence carried over to Ainsworth's criticism of William Makepeace Thackeray's depiction of the duke within the novel Esmond. [6] In a letter to G. P. R. James on 26 October 1844, Ainsworth wrote, "One word as to my story. I know not whether my portraiture of Marlborough will please you. Very likely not. If I have painted him too much en beau, it is because almost every other writer has shaded his character too deeply; underrating his brilliant service, and dwelling upon his few failings, rather than upon his many and exalted qualities." [7]

Sources

St. James's is based on the events during Queen Anne's reign. In particular, it deals with the real events surrounding the Duke of Malborough and the political intrigue of Harley and St. John against him. [3] Queen Anne's character reflects the description by the Duchess of Marlborough: "she certainly ... meant well and was not a fool; but nobody can maintain that she was wise, nor entertaining in conversation. she was in everything what I described her: ignorant in everything but what the parsons had taught her as a child." [8] Other notable historical figures make minor appearances in the novel, including a dinner party hosted by St John in which those like William Congreve, John Vanbrugh, Joseph Addison, Richard Steele, Anne Oldfield and other notable politicians, writers, and actors attend. [9]

Critical response

In 1911, S. M. Ellis claims that the work "is in a very different category to the fine romances written by Ainsworth previously and to two, at least, that followed it; it has but little pretensions to literary merit, and the romantic glamour so characteristic, as a rule, of the author's work is lacking". [10] This was followed by Worth as he explains that the work was "A relatively plotless and formless novel." [2] Stephen Carver claims that Worth's description was correct and that it the problems could stem from history itself: "Perhaps it was the essentially wishy-washy nature of the reign of Queen Anne, the last Stuart sovereign, which made for such a dreary account of the Tories's successful strategy [...] to curv the political influence of the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough." [3]

Notes

  1. ↑ Carver 2003 pp. 305–306
  2. 1 2 3 Worth 1972 p. 118
  3. 1 2 3 Carver 2003 p. 305
  4. ↑ Ellis 1979 pp. 78–79
  5. ↑ Worth 1972 p. 66
  6. ↑ Ellis 1979 pp. 76–77
  7. ↑ Ellis 1979 qtd. p. 77
  8. ↑ Carver 2003 qtd. pp. 305–306
  9. ↑ Ellis 1979 p. 75
  10. ↑ Ellis 1979 pp. 74–75

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne, Queen of Great Britain</span> Queen of Great Britain and Ireland from 1702 to 1714

Anne was Queen of Great Britain and Ireland following the ratification of the Acts of Union on 1 May 1707, which merged the kingdoms of Scotland and England. Before this, she was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 8 March 1702.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough</span> British soldier and statesman (1650–1722)

General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, was an English soldier and statesman. From a gentry family, he served as a page at the court of the House of Stuart under James, Duke of York, through the 1670s and early 1680s, earning military and political advancement through his courage and diplomatic skill. He is known for never having lost a battle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough</span> British duchess (1660–1744)

Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, Princess of Mindelheim, Countess of Nellenburg, was an English courtier who rose to be one of the most influential women of her time through her close relationship with Anne, Queen of Great Britain. The Duchess of Marlborough's relationship and influence with Anne were widely known, and leading public figures often turned their attentions to her, hoping for favour from Anne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke</span> English politician and philosopher (1678–1751)

Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke was an English politician, government official and political philosopher. He was a leader of the Tories, and supported the Church of England politically despite his antireligious views and opposition to theology. He supported the Jacobite rebellion of 1715 which sought to overthrow the new king George I. Escaping to France he became foreign minister for James Francis Edward Stuart. He was attainted for treason, but reversed course and was allowed to return to England in 1723. According to Ruth Mack, "Bolingbroke is best known for his party politics, including the ideological history he disseminated in The Craftsman (1726–1735) by adopting the formerly Whig theory of the Ancient Constitution and giving it new life as an anti-Walpole Tory principle."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Harrison Ainsworth</span> English novelist

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer</span> British politician (1661–1724)

Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer, KG PC FRS was an English statesman and peer of the late Stuart and early Georgian periods. He began his career as a Whig, before defecting to a new Tory ministry. He was raised to the peerage of Great Britain as an earl in 1711. Between 1711 and 1714 he served as Lord High Treasurer, effectively Queen Anne's chief minister. He has been called a prime minister, although it is generally accepted that the de facto first minister to be a prime minister was Robert Walpole in 1721.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Godolphin–Marlborough ministry</span> English ministers during the reign of Queen Anne

This is a list of the principal Ministers of the Crown of the Kingdom of England, and then of the Kingdom of Great Britain, from May 1702, at the beginning of the reign of Queen Anne. During this period, the leaders of the ministry were Lord Godolphin and the Duke of Marlborough.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abigail Masham, Baroness Masham</span> English courtier

Abigail Masham, Baroness Masham, was an English courtier. She was a favourite of Queen Anne, and a cousin of Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough.

Major-General John "Jack" Hill was a British army officer and courtier during the reign of Queen Anne. While of no particular military ability, his family connections brought him promotion and office until the end of Anne's reign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harley ministry</span> British government

The Harleyministry was the British government that existed between 1710 and 1714 in the reign of Queen Anne. It was headed by Robert Harley and composed largely of Tories. Harley was a former Whig who had changed sides, bringing down the seemingly powerful Whig Junto and their moderate Tory ally Lord Godolphin. It came during the Rage of Party when divisions between the two factions were at their height, and a "paper war" broke out between their supporters. Amongst those writers supportive of Harley's government were Jonathan Swift, Daniel Defoe, Delarivier Manley, John Arbuthnot and Alexander Pope who clashed with members of the rival Kit-Kat Club.

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.

<i>Windsor Castle</i> (novel) 1842 novel

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.

<i>The Misers Daughter</i> Historical novel, 1842

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.

<i>Jack Sheppard</i> (novel) Novel by William Harrison Ainsworth

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.

<i>Guy Fawkes</i> (novel) 1840 novel by William Harrison Ainsworth

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.

<i>The Tower of London</i> (novel) Book by William Harrison Ainsworth

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.

<i>Old St. Pauls</i> (novel) Novel by William Harrison Ainsworth

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.

<i>Rookwood</i> (novel) 1834 novel by William Harrison Ainsworth

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.

A Glass of Water is a 1979 Soviet historical melodramatic comedy television film directed by Yuli Karasik and based on the 1840 play of the same title by Eugène Scribe, set in the court of Queen Anne of Great Britain at the start of the 18th century. The play was previously adapted for film in Russia in 1957.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Plunket (Jacobite)</span> United Kingdom legislation

John Plunket (1664–1738), was an Irish Jacobite, a key player in the Atterbury Plot of the 1720s aimed at restoring the House of Stuart to the throne of Great Britain. He sometimes used the alias of John Rogers.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.