C.D. Warner, et al., comp.
The Library of the World’s Best Literature. An Anthology in Thirty Volumes. 1917.
William Harrison Ainsworth (1805–1882)
Ainsworth, William Harrison. An English novelist; born in Manchester, Feb. 4, 1805; died in Reigate, Jan. 3, 1882. Educated in Manchester, he went to London, edited Bentley’s Magazine in 1840, Ainsworth’s Magazine, 1842–53, and the New Monthly Magazine. He wrote 250 novels and enjoyed enormous popularity. His books are still read for their vivacious narrative and powerful descriptions. The most widely known among them is probably ‘Jack Sheppard’ (1839). (See Critical and Biographical Introduction).