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Passage Illustrated: The Reconciliation Scene Overheard

Meanwhile, word having reached Wolsey and Campeggio of the new cause of jealousy which the king had received, it was instantly resolved that the former should present to him, while in his present favourable mood, a despatch received that morning from Catherine of Arragon.

Armed with the letter, Wolsey repaired to the king's closet. Not finding him there, and being given to understand by an usher that he was in the great gallery, he proceeded thither. As he walked softly along the polished oak floor, he heard voices in one of the recesses, and distinguished the tones of Henry and Anne Boleyn.

Henry was clasping the snowy fingers of his favourite, and gazing passionately at her, as the cardinal approached.

"Your majesty shall not detain my hand,"​said Anne, "unless you swear to me, by your crown, that you will not again be jealous without cause."

"I swear it," replied Henry.

"Were your majesty as devoted to me as you would have me believe, you would soon bring this matter of the divorce to an issue,"​said Anne.

"I would fain do so, sweetheart,"​ rejoined Henry; "but these cardinals perplex me sorely."

"I am told by one who overheard him, that Wolsey has declared the divorce shall not be settled these two years," said Anne; "in which case it had better not be settled at all; for I care not to avow I cannot brook so much delay. The warmth of my affection will grow icy cold by that time."

"It were enough to try the patience of the most forbearing,"​rejoined the king, smiling​— "but it shall not be so​— by this lily hand it shall not! And now, sweetheart, are we entirely reconciled?"

"Not yet," replied Anne. "I shall claim a boon from your majesty before I accord my entire forgiveness."

"Name it," said the king, still clasping her hand tenderly, and intoxicated by the witchery of her glance.

"I ask an important favour,"​said Anne, "but as it is one which will benefit your majesty as much as myself, I have the less scruple in requesting it. I ask the dismissal of one who has abused your favour, who, by his extortion and rapacity, has in some degree alienated the affections of your subjects from you, and who solely opposes your divorce from Catherine of Arragon because he fears my influence may be prejudicial to him."

"You cannot mean Wolsey?"​ said Henry uneasily.

"Your majesty has guessed aright," replied Anne.

"Wolsey has incurred my displeasure oft of late,"​said Henry; "and yet his fidelity​—"

"Be not deceived, my liege," said Anne; "he is faithful to you only so far as serves his turn. He thinks he rules you."

Before Henry could reply, the cardinal stepped forward.​ [Chapter IX, "By what means Sir Thomas Wyat obtained an Interview with Anne Boleyn; And how the Earl of Surrey saved them from the King’s anger," p. 73-74]

Commentary: Cruikshank replaces Johanott as Chief Illustrator

When Tony Johannot suddenly left the serial enterprise in the autumn of 1842, Ainsworth (one imagines, somewhat reluctantly) approached George Cruikshank, who had just completed the illustrations for The Miser's Daughter in October 1842, to undertake the fourteen remaining steel-engravings he would require for Windsor Castle. Since the novelist's conception of this historical romance seems to have been consistent with that for The Tower of London, the new commission would not have been too challenging for the veteran illustrator. Indeed, he may have relished the opportunity to demonstrate to the reading public the superiority of his art to Johannot's. However, whereas for the 1840 romance Cruikshank was readily able to undertake extensive sketching expeditions to the Tower of London, he could not so easily prowl the grounds and corridors of Windsor, somewhat removed from the metropolis. Nevertheless, he would have had access to Alfred Delamotte's precise sketches that served as the basis for the wood-engravings. Cruikshank recalled for his biographer the circumstances under which he superseded Johannot in the autumn of 1842:

"The next romance​ by Mr. Ainsworth," says Cruikshank, "which appeared in his magazine, was Windsor Castle, and the illustrations to the first part of that work were done by Tony Johannot — the remainder by me; and I will now explain how it came to pass that we two brother artists came to be employed upon the same work. After Mr. Ainsworth had finished Old St. Paul's,​he, of course, wanted to produce another work, and to have it illustrated; and, as under the then existing circumstances he could not apply to me, he had to engage another artist. And why he did not employ Mr. Franklin on this occasion I know not, but I believe he went over to Paris, and engaged Tony Johannot to make the drawings and etchings for Windsor Castle; and these illustrations were done whilst I was working on my Omnibus. But whether he found this plan to be too inconvenient or otherwise, I cannot tell; but, as he induced my friend Pettigrew to come to me and negotiate for a 'treaty of peace,' it is, I think, pretty evident that he wanted the assistance of my head and hand work again. After Windsor Castle came the Romance of St. James's; or, The Court of Queen Anne​; and after that, Mr. Harrison Ainsworth​sold his magazine to his publishers! So it really appeared as if all this gentleman's promises, like pie-crust, were made to be broken; and, as in this instance, also, there was not any written agreement, the arrangements which he had made, and the engagements he had entered into with me when I agreed to work with him in his magazine, all broke down, and I, as it were, again 'thrown overboard,' or 'left in the lurch.' And thus ended the second edition of this author[']s extraordinary conduct towards the artist."​[Blanchard Jerrold, Chapter 9, "Illustrations to Harrison Ainsworth's Romances"]

Quickly Cruikshank separated himself from Johannot in terms of style by providing a clear realisation of the characters in the scene, which Ainsworth seems to have written with illustration in mind. As Henry admits to Anne that he has begun to question Wolsey's loyalty, particularly with respect to the matter of the royal divorce, Wolsey himself is conveniently in the corridor, hidden in the shadows and overhearing their every word. The model for Cruikshank was probably his own illustration for The Tower of London, Queen Mary surprising Courtenay and the Princess Elizabeth (July 1840), which again involves this stock plot gambit, the overheard conversation. Here, Ainsworth makes it clear that Queen Anne has made an implacable enemy of Wolsey​ as he overhears Anne denounce him as a self-serving politician rather than a loyal member of Henry's administration.​Such a moment of the behind-the-scenes machinations was ideal for Cruikshank's theatrical close-up, studying the varying reactions of a​few key players — here, the jealous monarch, now somewhat mollified; the beautiful, self-confident,​ strategic-thinking​paramour who is determined to have Henry act precipitately to effect the divorce which​she knows Wolsey and the Church of Rome oppose, not entirely out of religious scruple; and​the​unscrupulous​Cardinal himself, lurking in the shadows, and now aware that he will have struggle to hold onto power​despite his growing unpopularity with the English nation. Cruikshank's juxtaposition of the three figures communicates the relationship between the three with great economy.

Where Cruikshank excels is in filling in the scene's background details. Take, for example, Cruikshank's handling of the "magnificent stained glass" (73) window of the alcove or recess in the long gallery. The illustrator adds some obvious heraldic emblems: the surmounting crown, the three lions of England, and the three fleurs-de-lis, representing the Tudor claim to the French throne. On the wall Cruikshank has provided three portraits that may suggest Anne Boleyn's family: her father, the recently elevated Sir Thomas Boleyn, a former mercer; her mother, the noble Lady Elizabeth Howard; and her brother George, with whom Anne was close. Absent is Anne's sister, Mary, one of Henry's discarded mistresses.​ This is mere conjecture since only the maternal image (centre) is clear. On the small table is a vase of flowers "arranged by Anne's own hand" (73), and suggestive of her fecundity, her ability to bear Henry a male heir. The​ prayer book may be simply a decorative touch, but it may also imply Anne's show of personal piety, and perhaps (despite​ her French education) her Protestant leanings. Certainly Henry's abandoning the Roman Catholic Church in order to divorce Catherine will bring his kingdom into the Reformation. At the centre of the composition is the smitten Henry, clasping Anne's hand fervently, and looking earnestly into her face, and the Lady Anne, another wasp-waisted Cruikshank heroine, but one with an unflinching, masculine gaze, suggestive of her perceptiveness and determination.

References

Ainsworth, William Harrison. Windsor Castle. An Historical Romance. Illustrated by George Cruikshank and Tony Johannot. With designs on wood by W. Alfred Delamotte. London: Routledge, 1880. Based on the Henry Colburn edition of 1844.

Jerrold, Blanchard. The Life of George Cruikshank. In Two Epochs. Illustrated by George Cruikshank. 2 vols. London: Chatto and Windus, 1882.

Johnson, E. D. H. "The George Cruikshank Collection at Princeton." George Cruikshank: A Revaluation. Ed. Robert L. Patten. Princeton, NJ: Princeton U. P., 1974, rpt. 1992. Pp. 1-34.

Patten, Robert L. Chapter 30, "The 'Hoc' Goes Down." George Cruikshank's Life, Times, and Art, vol. 2: 1835-1878. Rutgers, NJ: Rutgers U. P., 1991; London: The Lutterworth Press, 1996. Pp. 153-186.

Vann, J. Don. "Windsor Castle in Ainsworth's Magazine, June 1842-June 1843." Victorian Novels in Serial. New York: MLA, 1985. P. 23.

Worth, George J. William Harrison Ainsworth. New York: Twayne, 1972.

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