A review by rungemaille
Jack Sheppard by William Harrison Ainsworth
3.0
Set in the eighteenth century, Jack Sheppard is a retelling of the story of real-life criminal turned tragic anti-hero Jack Sheppard. A sensationalist melodrama, the novel follows the life of its eponymous anti-hero from infancy to his death by hanging at the age of twenty-two years old. It combines the sensationalism of Newgate novels and Victorian historical realism.
There are many aspects to enjoy in Ainsworth's novel.
Jack's life is marked by fate and determinism -social and environmental-; a theme underscored by the novel's structure in three epochs (Jack's infancy, teenage years and early twenties) which follow Jack's inexorable descent into criminality and towards the gallows. This, as well as the comparisons established between Jack and his fellow apprentice and virtuous counterpart Thames Darrell, marks the novel's appartenance to Victorian literature's tradition of social criticism. It also echoes back to Ancient Greek tragedy — the irrevocable downfall of the Sheppard family, after Mr Sheppard's initial transgression is reminiscent of that of Tantalus and the House of Atreus (after Tantalus's initial transgression — feeding his own son to the gods - the House of Atreus is hit with a malediction: the destiny of its descendants is fraught with murder, parricide, infanticide and incest. Similarly, after Mr. Sheppard's hanging, Mrs. Sheppard starts drinking, and meets Van Galgebrok who predicts Jack’s own hanging, which he read into the baby's mole "shaped like a coffin", and the "deep line just above the middle of [his] left thumb, meeting round about in the form of a noose".) Having expected a clichéd succession of action, horror, and melodrama, I was certainly not disappointed, but nevertheless pleasantly surprised to find these themes revisited and developped upon.
The novel's historical content - its descriptions of 18th-century London, such as that of the Old Mint or Bedlam are fascinating in their details (I would recommend glancing at pictural representations of the Old London Bridge, which is faithfully and impressively described in the first epoch of the novel).
Other "authentic" details such as the use of slang in dialogue, or the various occurences of gallows songs and ballads are, if not necessarily convincing, still interesting to study.
Jack Sheppard’s closeness to Oliver Twist also offers many parallels to explore. Both novels were published in Bentley’s Miscellany as serials at a very close interval, and both were illustrated by George Cruikshank (Those were unfortunately not present in my edition of the novel, and my only impression of them was the grainy reproductions I found in an article I read while preparing my dissertation). The two novels' immediate popularity with the general public and their dissimilar reception within literary circles offer an insight into the conflict between Victorian literary movements. The two novels also have a connection to Hogarth’s works, as they both draw inspiration from Industry and Idleness (1747), or A Rake’s Progress (1735): their plots are very similar to Hogarth’s prints in that they oppose virtuous boys to idle boys in a quest for one’s identity.
All in all, an enjoyable read for readers of Victorian literature, fast-paced, overly dramatic, and packed with mystery. The ending did feel slightly rushed, however, and the virtuous/criminal character oppositions, while more nuanced than in Oliver Twist, ended up making respectable Thames Darrell and Winifred Wood seem a bit too saintly, flavourless and predictable.
There are many aspects to enjoy in Ainsworth's novel.
Jack's life is marked by fate and determinism -social and environmental-; a theme underscored by the novel's structure in three epochs (Jack's infancy, teenage years and early twenties) which follow Jack's inexorable descent into criminality and towards the gallows. This, as well as the comparisons established between Jack and his fellow apprentice and virtuous counterpart Thames Darrell, marks the novel's appartenance to Victorian literature's tradition of social criticism. It also echoes back to Ancient Greek tragedy — the irrevocable downfall of the Sheppard family, after Mr Sheppard's initial transgression is reminiscent of that of Tantalus and the House of Atreus (after Tantalus's initial transgression — feeding his own son to the gods - the House of Atreus is hit with a malediction: the destiny of its descendants is fraught with murder, parricide, infanticide and incest. Similarly, after Mr. Sheppard's hanging, Mrs. Sheppard starts drinking, and meets Van Galgebrok who predicts Jack’s own hanging, which he read into the baby's mole "shaped like a coffin", and the "deep line just above the middle of [his] left thumb, meeting round about in the form of a noose".) Having expected a clichéd succession of action, horror, and melodrama, I was certainly not disappointed, but nevertheless pleasantly surprised to find these themes revisited and developped upon.
The novel's historical content - its descriptions of 18th-century London, such as that of the Old Mint or Bedlam are fascinating in their details (I would recommend glancing at pictural representations of the Old London Bridge, which is faithfully and impressively described in the first epoch of the novel).
Other "authentic" details such as the use of slang in dialogue, or the various occurences of gallows songs and ballads are, if not necessarily convincing, still interesting to study.
Jack Sheppard’s closeness to Oliver Twist also offers many parallels to explore. Both novels were published in Bentley’s Miscellany as serials at a very close interval, and both were illustrated by George Cruikshank (Those were unfortunately not present in my edition of the novel, and my only impression of them was the grainy reproductions I found in an article I read while preparing my dissertation). The two novels' immediate popularity with the general public and their dissimilar reception within literary circles offer an insight into the conflict between Victorian literary movements. The two novels also have a connection to Hogarth’s works, as they both draw inspiration from Industry and Idleness (1747), or A Rake’s Progress (1735): their plots are very similar to Hogarth’s prints in that they oppose virtuous boys to idle boys in a quest for one’s identity.
All in all, an enjoyable read for readers of Victorian literature, fast-paced, overly dramatic, and packed with mystery. The ending did feel slightly rushed, however, and the virtuous/criminal character oppositions, while more nuanced than in Oliver Twist, ended up making respectable Thames Darrell and Winifred Wood seem a bit too saintly, flavourless and predictable.