Old Saint Paul annotated William Harrison Ainsworth Books
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Old Saint Paul's is a classic English historical novl by William Harrison Ainsworth that relates a gripping tale of the black plague and the fire. 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. His first success as a writer came with Rookwood in 1834, which features Dick Turpin as its leading character. A stream of 39 novels followed, the last of which appeared in 1881. Ainsworth died in Reigate on 3 January 1882.
Old Saint Paul annotated William Harrison Ainsworth Books
One thing I learned long ago is that just because a book is old and written in a style modern readers may no longer appreciate, doesn't mean it should be ignored, and this book is a fine example of it. Ainsworth proves he is an outstanding writer as he tells his tale of romance and horror as he describes the way the plague ravaged London in the 1660s, and ends the book with an incredible description of the great fire of London.Ainsworth tells us upfront that the book is based on a small volume called "preparations against the plague" that is attributed to Defoe. I have not read that particular work, so I can't comment on on how much of it was copied from that work. I can only talk about "Old St. Paul's" itself.
Like a lot of works from this time period (1841) you need to have a bit of patience while the plot develops, although it develops more quickly than many works from this era. The author focuses on a single family of London, a successful grocer, Stephen Bloundel and his family, and especially on his daughter, Amabel (that is not a typo, that is the correct spelling) and his apprentice, Leonard Holt.
Leonard is infatuated with Amabel. But, unfortunately, so is just about every other male in London, including a notorious libertine well known for seducing and ruining the lives of attractive young women.
Meanwhile the plague is approaching London, and beginning to attack the outskirts of the city. The grocer develops a plan for locking himself and his household into his large home, isolating the entire family from the rest of the city, and hoping to avoid the plague.
I thought the book was going to turn out to be a mere romance novel, but it is far, far more than that. The descriptions of the way the plague ravages London are incredible. It's hard to imagine the horror of it, the way the sick were teated, and the 'plague pits', the mass graves where bodies of the victims were unceremoniously dumped. And as is the case during every tragedy, there are people who are willing to take advantage of the situation to make a profit. The town abounds with quacks selling every manner of fake remedies, taking advantage of the desperate and the sick.
The book is long and convoluted and detailed, and I was fascinated with it right up until the very end. It concludes with an incredible description of the great fire of London.
I just don't have the space to delve into everything that goes on in the book, and I don't want to spoil anything for potential readers. So take a look at the book. After all, the price is right.
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Old Saint Paul annotated William Harrison Ainsworth Books Reviews
This was really good. This is also a very long book. Researched very well. You have to like detail plus
If anyone is interested in history, this is a great book.
great
I thoroughly enjoyed this interesting take on historical events. Written in the style of the time, in which it was written, the vivid descriptions gloriously bring Old London to life.
I really love to read old books. This made the world of the olden days live. I could feel the fear of the plague and understand why they thought everyone would die
It was a little long and sometimes wordy, but I didn't want the story to end. I Love historical novels. This is the first I've read about the plague of the 1660's. It's hard to imagine the atrocities that were an every day occurrence of that period but this described many of them.
Warning! Never submit a positive review before finalizing the purchase soon after I submitted this, the price of the same book already in my cart increased by 60¢ - they even posted a message saying it had risen!! Thanks .
The price was right but I was surprised that this is a large format paperback, 11" x 8-1/2" with very small print and poor spacing. The chapters are crammed together. It's obviously a digital reprint but I don't see any scanning errors.
I bought this to replace a copy that's 30 years old. As a native of London, I especially enjoy the vivid historical descriptions and experiences from the point of view of common folk.
Ainsworth was a leading Victorian historical novelist. He appears to be well-researched, and his characters and dialog are believable (more or less). The romantic parts are brief, mostly skippable and don't detract from the plot!
Old St. Paul's covers the Great Plague of 1665 and the cleansing destruction of the Great Fire of London the following year. The protagonist is a young man in love with his master's daughter, whom he has to rescue from a fate worse than infection.
The story goes into fascinating detail of the symptoms of the plague and attempts by families and authorities to prevent, contain and cure it, finally disposing of loved ones in communal pits (which lie beneath London today). Those who acquired immunity profited and sometimes helped in several ways. Inevitably, the nobility just get in the way.
The fire and its effect on St. Paul's Church (site of the current St. Paul's Cathedral) is vividly described and fleshes out Solomon Eagle, an eccentric character who achieved a folk-loric reputation due to the Diary of Samuel Peyps. See Wikipedia "Solomon Eccles".
One thing I learned long ago is that just because a book is old and written in a style modern readers may no longer appreciate, doesn't mean it should be ignored, and this book is a fine example of it. Ainsworth proves he is an outstanding writer as he tells his tale of romance and horror as he describes the way the plague ravaged London in the 1660s, and ends the book with an incredible description of the great fire of London.
Ainsworth tells us upfront that the book is based on a small volume called "preparations against the plague" that is attributed to Defoe. I have not read that particular work, so I can't comment on on how much of it was copied from that work. I can only talk about "Old St. Paul's" itself.
Like a lot of works from this time period (1841) you need to have a bit of patience while the plot develops, although it develops more quickly than many works from this era. The author focuses on a single family of London, a successful grocer, Stephen Bloundel and his family, and especially on his daughter, Amabel (that is not a typo, that is the correct spelling) and his apprentice, Leonard Holt.
Leonard is infatuated with Amabel. But, unfortunately, so is just about every other male in London, including a notorious libertine well known for seducing and ruining the lives of attractive young women.
Meanwhile the plague is approaching London, and beginning to attack the outskirts of the city. The grocer develops a plan for locking himself and his household into his large home, isolating the entire family from the rest of the city, and hoping to avoid the plague.
I thought the book was going to turn out to be a mere romance novel, but it is far, far more than that. The descriptions of the way the plague ravages London are incredible. It's hard to imagine the horror of it, the way the sick were teated, and the 'plague pits', the mass graves where bodies of the victims were unceremoniously dumped. And as is the case during every tragedy, there are people who are willing to take advantage of the situation to make a profit. The town abounds with quacks selling every manner of fake remedies, taking advantage of the desperate and the sick.
The book is long and convoluted and detailed, and I was fascinated with it right up until the very end. It concludes with an incredible description of the great fire of London.
I just don't have the space to delve into everything that goes on in the book, and I don't want to spoil anything for potential readers. So take a look at the book. After all, the price is right.
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