Caricature from Punch, 1881: "TO THE GREATEST AXE-AND-NECK-ROMANCER OF OUR TIME, WHO IS QUITE AT THE HEAD OF HIS PROFESSION, WE DEDICATE THIS BLOCK AD MULTOS ANNOS!

William Harrison Ainsworth (1805 - 1882) was a British writer. He was born in Manchester, England on February 4, 1805. A solicitor's son, he was himself trained in the law, but some adventures in journalism led him finally to the literary life, his first success as a writer of romance being scored with "Rookwood" in 1834. "Tower of London" was the fourth work of the novelist, and, according to Ainsworth himself, it was written chiefly with the aim of interesting his fellow-countrymen in the historical associations of the Tower. Ainsworth died at Reigate on January 3, 1882.

Notable works

• Jack Sheppard (1830)
• Rookwood (1834)
• The Tower of London (1840)
• Old St Paul's, A Tale of the Plague and the Fire (1841)
• Windsor Castle (1843)
• The Lancashire Witches

External link

• eTexts (http://www.gutenberg.net/catalog/world/authrec?fk_authors=1056) of Ainsworth's works, at Project Gutenberg