"The first of William Harrison Ainsworth's seven "Lancashire novels", the story is based on the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, an unsuccessful attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament. Ainsworth relied heavily on historical documents describing the trial and execution of the conspirators, of whom Fawkes was one, but he also embellished the known facts. He invented the character of Viviana Radcliffe, daughter of the prominent Radcliffe family of Ordsall Hall - who becomes Fawkes's wife - and introduced gothic and supernatural elements into the story, such as the ability of the alchemist, John Dee, to raise the spirits of the dead"--From Wikipedia, viewed January 16, 2024.

In the sweeping historical epic Guy Fawkes, renowned author William Harrison Ainsworth takes on one of the boldest rebels of all time. Pro-Catholic agitator Guy Fawkes was at the center of a failed scheme to blow up the English Parliament and force then-Princess Elizabeth onto the throne. Now regarded as an archetypal traitor, Fawkes looms large in the British imagination, due in large part to Ainsworth's complex and nuanced portrayal of him in this novel.