William Harrison Ainsworth
Personal Information
Description
William Harrison Ainsworth (4 February 1805 – 3 January 1882) 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. Ainsworth briefly tried the publishing business, but soon gave it up and devoted himself to journalism and literature.
Books
The Tower of London
The Admirable Crichton
The story of the play concerns an aristocratic English family who revert to the state of Nature when shipwrecked on a desert island. While there, they are willing slaves to their former butler, but on return to civilization, the positions are shifted.
Old Saint Paul's, a Tale of the Plague And the Fire
For sensational incident this novel has the two most melodramatic events in London's history - the Great Plague and the Great Fire.
Windsor Castle, an historical romance
Historical romance dealing with the love story of Henry VIII with Anne Boleyn and his subsequent attachment to Jane Seymour. It is beautifully illustrated.
Merry England
Book digitized by Google from the library of Harvard University and uploaded to the Internet Archive by user tpb.
The Works of William Harrison Ainsworth
Volumes 1-2 -- Windsor Castle: A Romance Volumes 3-4 -- The Tower of London Volumes 5-6 -- Guy Fawkes: or the Gunpowder Treason Volumes 7-8 -- Jack Sheppard: A Romance