{"id":1803,"date":"2022-11-22T19:33:37","date_gmt":"2022-11-22T19:33:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/library-dev.umbc.edu\/wp\/specialcollections\/cruikshank\/?page_id=1803"},"modified":"2022-11-22T19:33:37","modified_gmt":"2022-11-22T19:33:37","slug":"william-harrison-ainsworth","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/cruikshank\/book-illustration\/novel-collaborations\/william-harrison-ainsworth\/","title":{"rendered":"William Harrison Ainsworth"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The gothic romance Rookwood<\/em> was Cruikshank and Ainsworth’s first collaboration, though Cruikshank\u2019s images illuminated the novel\u2019s fourth edition when it was already a bestseller. The novel was published by Richard Bentley who went on to serialize the Cruikshank-illustrated Oliver Twist<\/em> (1838) in his periodical Bentley\u2019s Miscellany<\/em>. Ainsworth and Cruikshank collaborated successfully on eight novels. After leaving Bentley’s<\/em>, Ainsworth began his own literary miscellany, Ainsworth’s Magazine<\/em>, retaining Cruikshank exclusively and pulling him away from his own Omnibus<\/em> magazine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 1842 \u201cPreliminary Address\u201d to Ainsworth\u2019s hails the arrival of Cruikshank: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In securing the co-operation of this admirable artist, the strongest assurance is given, not only of unequaled excellence in tragic and humorous illustration, but of an anxious and thoughtful principle of responsibility in the exercise of that power […] George Cruikshank will be the illustrator of Ainsworth\u2019s Magazine<\/em>.<\/p><\/p>\n\u201cPreliminary Address,\u201d 1842. <\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The final novel Ainsworth and Cruikshank worked on together was St. James’s <\/em>(1844). Their falling out had a similar character to Cruikshank’s with Dickens. In his pamphlet The Artist and the Author <\/em>(1872)<\/a><\/em>, Cruikshank not only takes credit for inspiring Ainsworth\u2019s novels but is also furious that Ainsworth selected another artist to work with on Old St. Paul\u2019s<\/em> (1841). Though Ainsworth decried his \u201cpreposterous assertions,\u201d in a series of public exchanges in the Times<\/em>, Cruikshank insisted he was the \u201csole originator\u201d of many of Ainsworth\u2019s plots and characters.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This section provides 10 plates of steel and wood engravings from Rookwood <\/em>(1836) <\/em>and Windsor Castle <\/em>(1844). Rookwood <\/em>is a family drama set in the early eighteenth century featuring disputed claims to fortunes and property. Windsor Castle<\/em> was serially published in 1844 and is a gothic historical romance recounting Henry VIII\u2019s pursuit of Anne Boleyn. Intertwined with the story are the actions of Herne the Hunter, a legendary ghost that haunts Windsor woods.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click on the images below to learn more about each illustration <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Dozens<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Henry<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Dozens<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The gothic romance Rookwood was Cruikshank and Ainsworth’s first collaboration, though Cruikshank\u2019s images illuminated the novel\u2019s fourth edition when it was already a bestseller. The novel was published by Richard…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2540,"parent":1152,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1803","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/cruikshank\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/cruikshank\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/cruikshank\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/cruikshank\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/cruikshank\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/cruikshank\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1803\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/cruikshank\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1152"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/cruikshank\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.umbc.edu\/cruikshank\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}