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Passage Illustrated: Recalling a long-lost landmark

As the party approached the aquatic hotel, they perceived a number of persons of both sexes, seated on the roof, and in the little turret parlours, smoking, drinking, or otherwise amusing themselves, while lively strains proceeded from within. Several small craft were landing their passengers, and from one, a tilt boat, there issued a very pretty young woman, though of rather bold appearance, who, as she took the hand of a young man, in her ascent of the steps, displayed a remarkably neat foot and ankle. On reaching the deck, she turned for a moment to survey the scene, and her eye alighting on Randulph, his good looks appeared to rivet her attention.

This fascinating creature seemed to be about twenty, had auburn hair, very regular features, a brilliant complexion — whether wholly indebted to art might be questioned — but there could be no question as to the natural brilliancy of her hazel eyes, and wore a pink silk hooped gown, made very low in front, so as to display her beautifully formed and radiantly white neck and shoulders. Her sleeves were very short, probably so contrived with a view of exhibiting her rounded arms, and edged with lace. A white silk apron, embroidered with silver, a pretty fly cap, and a necklace of precious stones, from which depended a diamond cross, completed her attire. The young man by whom she was attended had a slight thin figure, and sharp disagreeable features, with rather an apish expression. He was dressed with much smartness, but had by no means the air of a gentleman, and seemed to be regarded with indifference, almost amounting to contempt, by his female companion. [Chapter XIII, "The Folly on the Thames — Kitty Conway — Randulph Placed in an Awkward Situation by Philip Frewin," page 79]

Commentary: The Folly opposite Old Somerset House on the Thames

As an avid antiquarian of English landmarks associated with the Thames, Harrison Ainsworth had already enshrined the Tower of London and Windsor Castle in historical romances. In The Miser's Daughter he and Cruikshank sought to remind the magazine's readers of the architectural features of the eighteenth-century city, then rapidly being erased by the developments of the Railway Age. At this point in the novel, the writer and illustrator had already recalled for their readers the pre-Buckingham Palace centrality of the Court of St. James and the fashionable walk known as The Mall in Randulph Crew introduced to Beau Villiers on the Mall, and in setting the scene in London of the 1740s in successive illustrations incorporate the cloisters of Westminster Abbey, Mary-le-bone and Ranelagh Gardens, fashionable Vauxhall, and Tothill Fields, scene of many a duel. In his 1872 letter to the Times Cruikshank asserted that, since part of his design was to allow "the public of the present day to have a peep at the places of amusement of that period, I took a considerable pains to give correct views and descriptions of those places" (published 8 April 1872; cited in Patten, p. 167). The illustration of the Thames Folly exemplifies the "pains" that Cruikshank took to re-create for Ainsworth's readers the London of the 1740s. Thus, when in the thirteenth chapter, the novelist and artist have their hero visit a long-gone London landmark associated with the somewhat licentious Restoration period, they both describe the place of entertainment in some detail:

In​ The Miser's Daughter, the chapter entitled "The Folly on the Thames" gives a detailed description, and an equally detailed illustration by Cruikshank, of the barge constructed for the amusement of Charles II which, by 1744, had become the resort of "a very disreputable part of the community"​ [p. 78].​Here normal rules of morality and decorum are suspended. A young man is described as "dressed with much smartness, but [having] by no means the air of a gentleman"​ [p. 79],​ revealing that, in this environment, the usual indicators of social rank are unreliable and the rigid class stratification encountered on land becomes unstable on the river. The Folly is aptly named: the narrator presents it as a scene of license, rather than of innocent freedom. It is no place for respectable people and characters seen at ease there are suspect.​ [Nicola Minott-Ahl]

The reader in the March 1842 number would naturally have compared this public, social scene with that depicting Hilda's private interview with Randulf's uncle, Hilda's visit to Abel Beechcroft, in the same instalment in the original serialisation in Ainsworth's Magazine. This, the second of the third instalment's plates, accompanied chapters 9 through 14 in Book One. Ainsworth uses the wooden structure and its patrons to establish the ambience or tone of life among the fashionable denizens of the metropolis in the 1740s:

The Folly on the Thames, whither Beau Villiers and his party were steering their course, was a large floating house of entertainment moored in the centre of the stream, immediately opposite Old Somerset House. It was constructed in the latter part of the reign of Charles the Second; and thither the Merry Monarch, who was excessively fond of aquatic amusements of all kinds, would frequently repair with his courtiers and frolic dames. Thither also Queen Mary, the consort of William the Third, repaired on the occasion of a grand musical entertainment; and the place continued in vogue for many years, until at length, degenerating in its character, it became the haunt of a very disreputable part of the community. The Folly resembled a large one-storied house, very long in proportion to its width, built upon an immense barge. There was a platform at the top, defended by a strong wooden balustrade, and flanked at each corner by a little wooden turret, with a pointed top, surmounted by a small streamer. These turrets constituted small drinking and smoking rooms, and were fitted up with seats and tables. In the centre of the structure was a sort of open belvidere, covering the main staircase leading to the roof. On this a large flag was planted. The Folly was approached from the water by steps on three sides. It was lighted by a range of large and handsome windows, and entered by two doors, one at the end, and the other at the side. Within, it contained a long music-hall, with a frescoed ceiling, gilded and painted walls, an orchestra, and the necessary complement of benches, chairs, and small tables. There was, moreover, a bar, where all sorts of liquors, materials for smoking, and other tavern luxuries were dispensed. The rest of the structure was divided into a number of small apartments for private parties, and in short, boasted every sort of accommodation afforded by a similar place of entertainment on shore. In summer it was delightful — the view of the Thames from its summit being enchanting. The coolness and freshness, combined with the enlivening influences of beauty, wine, and music, must have made it, on its first establishment, a charming place of recreation; and it cannot be wondered that the Merry Monarch and his merrier court, found it so much to their taste. [Page 78]

In order to accommodate this broad building to his narrow plate, Cruikshank has selected a corner of the folly, and is describing the scene from one side as the young actress, Kitty Conway (at the top of the stairs), arrives. She is apparently a member of the company of "The Little Theatre in the Hay" which John Potter built in 1720; however, since between the passing of the Theatre Licensing Act in 1737 and Samuel Foote's reviving it in 1747, Ainsworth's associating Kitty with the Haymarket in 1744 is an obvious anachronism — surprising in a writer who prided himself upon the accuracy of his historical research. The young actress, assisted by a fashionably dressed youth who is not, however, Randulph Crew, despite his resemblance to Crew in previous plates. Although the onlooker to the left of centre is Beau Villiers, already introduced visually in Randulph Crew introduced to Beau Villiers on the Mall in Chapter 3, the other continuing characters are not immediately evident.

Just weeks after volume publication, on 24 October 1842, The Adelphi​ Theatre staged Edward Stirling's adaptation of the novel, Hilda, with music by George Rodwell. Billed as a "(Spectacle) original romance . . . abounding in novel situations or effects; 3 acts," the adaptation featured Stirling himself playing the Crew's antagonist, Philip Frewin, and a Cupid — "a water sneak at 'The Folly' on the Thames," confirming that The Folly was one of the sets. This production was followed a month later by the City of London's staging of T. P. Taylor's version. Patten notes that the Stirling production "relied heavily on Cruikshank's suite of tableaux, and the reviews noted that the etchings have been 'vivified'" (172).​ Whereas recreating the library of Abel Beechcroft and the office of Scarve could have been managed by painted sets, the Thames folly would have required several practicable features, including the stairs and the turret, as well as an approximation of the surrounding river and its ferry traffic. The​ scene​therefore​ must have been a challenge for the set designers of the​two​London dramatic adaptations.

Related Material

• The Eighteenth-Century Taste for Follies

References

Ainsworth, William Harrison. The Miser's Daughter: A Tale. With 20 illustrations by George Cruikshank. First published in 3 volumes by Cunningham and Mortimer, London, 1842. London, Glasgow, and New York: George Routledge, 1892.

Hartnoll, Phyllis (ed.). "The Haymarket Theatre." The Concise Oxford Companion to Theatre. Oxford & New York: Oxford U. P., 1972, rpt., 1987. Pp. 241-42.

Minott-Ahl, Nicola. "Building Consensus: London, the Thames, and Collective Memory in the Novels of William Harrison Ainsworth."​ London Literary Society. Accessed 11 June 2018. http://literarylondon.org/the-literary-london-journal/archive-of-the-literary-london-journal/issue-4-2/building-consensus-london-the-thames-and-collective-memory-in-the-novels-of-william-harrison-ainsworth/

Patten, Robert L. George Cruikshank's Life, Times, and Art, vol. 2: 1835-1878. Cambridge: The Lutterworth Press, 1992.

Vann, J. Don. "The Miser's Daughter in Ainsworth's Magazine January-October 1842." Victorian Novels in Serial. New York: MLA, 1988. Pp. 22-23.

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