<P> The Tower of London is based on the events following the death of Edward VI . Various groups tried to seize the throne, and Mary I was crowned . This brought about a restoration of Catholicism and the rebellion of Thomas Wyatt . In depicting Mary, Ainsworth tried to overcome the view of her as "Bloody Mary" and any anti-Catholic bigotry . He felt that he could depict her without any bias as he focused on what was known about her knowledge and religious aspects . Ainsworth was accused of sensationalising violence in his novels; for instance critic Richard Church remarked that Ainsworth "brought sensationalism and an atmosphere of the Chamber of Horrors into the historical novel". Despite these assertions, Ainsworth was faithful to the sources he worked from . Most of his information was derived from David Jardine's A Reading on the Use of Torture in the Criminal Law of England (1837), and details such as the use of the Scavenger's Daughter are based on Jardine's description of torture in the Tudor period . By recounting suffering and torture in The Tower of London, Ainsworth made plain the consequences of failed political intrigue in the Tudor period . Jardine notes that members of the nobility were not tortured; Ainsworth overlooks this with the intention of showing that failure in political machinations came at a high price . In this, Ligocki feels that Ainsworth was true to the nature of the Tudor period, reflecting the "cruelty and ruthlessness of the politically ambitious of the age". </P> <P> Edgar Allan Poe believes that "The authorship of this work does a little, and but a little, more credit to Mr. Ainsworth than that of' Jack Sheppard' . It is in no spirit cavilling that we say it is rarely our lot to review a work more utterly destitute of every ingredient requisite to a good romance". </P> <P> In 1934, Malcolm Elwin argues, "several of his novels--particularly Tower of London and Old St. Paul's, in spite of the absurd antics of the hero of the latter--have undoubtedly the quality of durability . No writer could hope to surpass either as romantic histories of their particular subject ." Leo Mason, in a 1939 article, says that "History through the eyes of romance is the essence of Ainsworth at his best--The Lancashire Witches, Tower of London, Old St. Paul's, are romantic histories and will no doubt endure ." Worth, in 1972, explains that Ainsworth "spaces his (architectural) descriptions judiciously throughout the novel in such a way as to heighten the effect of the novel rather than detract from it ." In 1975, Nicholas Rance claims that The Tower of London is an "incongruous merging of historical romance and guide book". </P> <P> The enduring image of the Tower of London as a grim place of torture and imprisonment was largely shaped by the works of 19th - century authors, particularly Ainsworth's novel . Such was its influence in emphasising the Tudor epoch of the Tower's history, in the late 20th century historians R Allen Brown and P Curnow felt it still dominated the public perception of the castle . In their official handbook to the Tower, published in 1986, the noted that "Still an innocent visitor to the place today might be led to suppose by guides and guidebooks, that it was built almost entirely for the Tudor monarchs". </P>

The tower of london by william harrison ainsworth