George Cruikshank





George Cruikshank's Illustrations of the Miser's Daughter


The Miser's Daughter


This section contains illustrations from the Miser's Daughter, a novel by William Ainsworth.






The Miser's Daughter



George Cruikshank was a frequent illustrator of the works of William Ainsworth. Ainsworth published his historical romance, The Miser's Daughter in serial installments in Ainsworth's Magazine in 1842. Cruikshank served as illustrator.

The novel was later published in book form, and made into a play called Hilda, named after the Miser's Daughter. The novel deals with the efforts of a man named Randulph Crew to woo Hilda, despite the objections of her miserly father who wishes her to marry someone else in order to gain a financial advantage. After a series of misadventures, the miser dies and Hilda is free to marry the man she loves, as well as inheriting her father's fortune.

A very public controversy developed between Cruikshank and Ainsworth (reminiscent of the dispute between Cruikshank and Dickens) in which Cruikshank claimed that he had contributed to the text of the novel and the play, and should be given author's credit. The dispute escalated to the point where Cruikshank wrote letters to the newspapers repeating his allegations, and led to a permanent break between the one time collaborators. It is difficult to tell whether Cruikshank was in fact cheated by both Dickens and Ainsworth, or whether Cruikshank had an inflated view of the importance of his contributions as illustrator.

Here are several illustrations from The Miser's Daughter all by George Cruikshank. The book itself and the controversy it generated are now largely forgotten, but the drawings are of high quality and rich in realistic detail.





Randulph Crew Delivering the Packet to Ms Scarve





Randulph Crew Delivering the Packet to Ms Scarve




Randulph Crew Being Introduced to Beau Villiers in Vauxhall Park





Randulph Crew Being Introduced to Beau Villiers in Vauxhall Park




Bringing the Mortgage Money









Hilda's Visit





Hilda's Visit




A subplot involved a Jacobite plot. The Jacobites were a rebel and sometimes terrorist organization deidcated to restoring James II to the throne of England. Here Randulph conducts a clandestine meeting at Westminster Abbey.





Wesminster Abbey - The Cloisters




The Miser Discovers the Loss of the Mortgage Money





The Miser Loses His Money




Randulph and Hilda Dancing





Dancing




Randulph Refusing to Drink to the King's Health





Drinking to the King's Health




Jacobite terrorists are pursued by the Guards over the rooftops of London. It is interesting that both in this novel, as well as in Jack Sheppard and various works of Dickens such as Oliver Twist, criminals are often depicted as using the rooftops as a means of escape, often jumping from one house to the next while pursued by the police.














More Illustrations from The Miser's Daughter