In Guy Fawkes (1841), Ainsworth recounts a well-known historical event, but one not normally associated with the northwest region of England. Undaunted by such details, the author sets the whole of the first book (entitled ‘The Plot’) of this three-book novel in the Manchester region, specifically placing the plotters in Ordsall Hall, just a few miles from the city centre. The hall was once the residence of the wealthy and influential Radcliffe family, and Ainsworth employs Sir William Radcliffe in a minor role, giving him a beautiful daughter Viviana, who later becomes amorously involved with the dashing Guy Fawkes. This is an anachronism, as Sir William died in 1568; Viviana, if she had existed, should have been the daughter of Sir John Radcliffe (1581-1627). Such pedantic details were of no concern to Ainsworth, who went on to introduce two other local characters into the story: Humphrey Chetham, the Manchester merchant and philanthropist (founder of Chetham’s Hospital and Library), and Dr John Dee, at that time the Warden of Manchester who is introduced as ‘divine, mathematician and astrologer, - and if report speaks truly, conjuror.’ Ainsworth’s preferred modus operandi always involved a basis of fact, usually gleaned from authentic documents (supplied by James Crossley and other antiquarians, often members of the Chetham Society). On that foundation would be constructed elaborate sub-plots and characterisations, linked to a strong, linear narrative, which the reading public found instantly accessible and appealing.
