There is in the folklore of Shropshire and Herefordshire a figure known as Wild Eric who, with his pack of flying hounds (the Seven Whistlers) reins wild elemental terror on the woodlands in those parts. Windsor Castle is Ainsworth's tale of Herne the Hunter, and the hunter is an admixture of Wild Eric and a sort of Windsor Mephistopheles: in a very real way, this is a tale of the devil's special haunting of Henry VIII and all of those who so famously attended him.
Author Biography
William Harrison Ainsworth (1805 - 1882) was an English historical novelist born at King Street in Manchester. He trained as a lawyer, but the legal profession held no attraction for him. While completing his legal studies in London he met the publisher John Ebers, at that time manager of the King's Theatre, Haymarket. Ebers introduced Ainsworth to literary and dramatic circles and to his daughter, who became Ainsworth's wife. Ainsworth briefly tried the publishing business, but soon gave it up and devoted himself to journalism and literature. His first success as a writer came with Rookwood in 1834, which features Dick Turpin as its leading character. A stream of 39 novels followed, the last of which appeared in 1881.
