Ainsworth William Harrison

Ainsworth, William Harrison, born at Manchester, 1805. His first novel, Rooknood, appeared in 1834, and - combining as it did considerable descriptive power and some archaeological knowledge with a romantic, not to say sensational, plot - attracted popular favour at once. This was followed by Jack Sheppard, The Tower of London, Old St. Paul's. Windsor Castle, and many other romances in the same style, numbering over thirty volumes. Ainsworth also wrote articles and poetry for various magazines, and was the proprietor first of The New Monthly, and afterwards of Bentleys Miscellany. Notwithstanding the immense success of his books, Ainsworth was not prosperous, and he died almost in poverty at the age of 77.