Rookwood (novel)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
|
"Wishing to describe somewhat minutely the trim gardens, the picturesque domains, the rook-haunted groves, the gloomy chambers and gloomier galleries of an ancient hall with which I was acquainted, I resolved to attempt a story in the bygone style of Mrs. Radcliffe, substituting an old English squire, an old manorial residence and an old English highwayman for the Italian marchise, the castle and the brigand of that great mistress of romance. . . . The attempt has succeeded beyond my most sanguine expectation. Romance, if I am not mistaken, is destined shortly to undergo an important change. Modified by the German and French writers Hoffmann, Tieck, Victor Hugo, Alexander Dumas, Balzac and Paul Lacroix the structure commenced in our land by Horace Walpole, ' Monk ' Lewis, Mrs. Radcliffe and Maturin, but, left imperfect and inharmonious, requires, now that the rubbish which choked up its approach is removed, only the hand of the skilful architect to its entire renovation and perfection."--Rookwood (1834) by William Harrison Ainsworth |
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
Rookwood (1834) is a novel by William Harrison Ainsworth. It is a historical and gothic romance that describes a dispute over the legitimate claim for the inheritance of Rookwood Place and the Rookwood family name.
Themes
Ainsworth employs many genres within Rookwood. The novel follows Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto in its use of the gothic genre, an action which helped revive the gothic genre in British literature. However, Ainsworth did not rely on many of the clichés of gothic fiction, in addition to moving the setting of the story from medieval Europe to contemporary England. Ainsworth explained this in his preface to Rookwood: "I resolved to attempt a story in the bygone style of Mrs. Radcliffe [...] substituting an old English highwayman, for the Italian marchese, the castle, and the brigand of the great mistress of Romance."
The gothic elements were merged with the use of historical figures, such as Turpin. In its use of highwaymen, the novel is similar to works such as John Gay's The Beggar's Opera, Henry Fielding's Jonathan Wild, Friedrich Schiller's play The Robbers, and Edward Bulwer-Lytton's Paul Clifford and Eugene Aram. Additionally, Rookwood join's Lytton's novels in being classified as Newgate novels, works published during the early 19th century that focus on the life of famous criminals. In terms of tradition, the novel is related to the works of Horace Walpole and 'Monk' Lewis in its reliance on the supernatural.
The characters of Rookwood take pleasure in the ruin of others. The characters seek out power and indulge in lust, greed, and desires for revenge, which connects them to characters in gothic novels like Walpole's Manfred. The character Luke Bradley is first described in a positive manner, but he is truly corrupt. Ranulph Rookwood, however, is the opposite of Luke, but this causes his character to be less dynamic. Bradley is unpredictable, yet always after power. This, in addition to use of the fantastic within his gothic style, distances Rookwood from the works of both Sir Walter Scott and Mrs Radcliffe, as the latter two prefer a focus on psychology than external effects. Ainsworth relies on externals when he emphasises the idea of prophecy and prophecy's power over the characters.
Some of the characters are secondary and are used just to advance the plot. One such character is Turpin, but Turpin is described in a manner that makes him more lively than any of the other characters. The scene with Black Bess and the escape has little connection to the gothic elements of the novel, but it also appealed more to readers than the rest of the work. The appeal of the scene was to create a new legend about Turpin and his exploits, since Turpin was depicted as a likeable character who made the criminal life appealing. Included with the Turpin scenes and throughout the book are many songs that praise famous criminals in addition to other songs, with a total of 23 songs in the original edition of Rookwood and many more added in later editions. Of the other songs, some were sung by gypsies about love, some were hymns, and some were used to further the gothic setting.
