James Crossley 1800-1883: A Manchester Man of Letters

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin; Heruitgave edition (6 Jun. 2024)
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0241983096
• RRP : £9.99

Along with William Harrison Ainsworth, the other major character in this fascinating story is Eliza Touchet, who is described by Ainsworth's first biographer, S. M. Ellis, as 'Mrs James Touchet, ... widow of Ainsworth's cousin. She was formerly Mrs Eliza Buckley, of Manchester, her family being merchants of that city.' (Ellis, vol 1, p. 229, and note)  

She is introduced by Ellis when the twenty-six-year-old would-be novelist was pursuing desultory legal studies and writing the occasional article for Fraser's Magazine. En route from London he paused to visit his cousin at Chesterfield, where she was then living. Ellis continues the story in parenthesis:

(However, there was a delay, Mrs Touchet, his hostess, was a talented woman, of brilliant conversational powers, and, although fifteen years older than Ainsworth, had a very considerable influence over him to the end of her life.)

Ainsworth's feelings were hinted at in a letter to James Crossley:

You must excuse me a day or two longer ... I will not fix a day, therefore don't expect me till you receive a positive letter to say so. You are a man of feeling - a man of philosophy, and will overlook my errors, I am sure. Chesterfield has charms for me; that you know, and therefore I throw myself upon your mercy. (Ellis, vol. 1, p. 230)

'Ainsworth found Chesterfield so attractive, and full of imagination for his embryonic romance, that, after visiting Manchester, he returned to the Derbyshire town for several weeks, and there he commenced writing Rookwood [his first successful novel].'

So what was this relationship with Eliza Touchet?  Well, your guess is as good as mine. There are hints and innuendo in the letters to Crossley and Zadie picks them up (of course). We are not sure how Eliza came to be in Chesterfield in the first place, but in 1835, she and her unmarried sister were at Kensal Lodge in the Harrow Road, famous as Ainsworth's residence for the next six years, where he hosted literary soirees with the great and good, including Dickens and Thackeray, but Ellis suggests that the sisters were already there when Ainsworth joined them, after separating from his wife: 'he [Ainsworth] went to reside with his connections, Mrs James Touchet and her sister, Miss Buckley.' (Ellis, vol. 1, p.270).

Zadie Smith really has fun with Eliza though, making her a Scottish Catholic, lover of Ainsworth; a bisexual dominatrix who eventually became his housekeeper, adviser and muse, as well as a passionate abolitionist and impartial observer of the Tichborne trials. This is truly a virtuoso performance of the author's imagination. 

But what of James Crossley in all this? Sadly, he is relegated to a minor role, an extra, without a speaking part, who is imaginatively described in Book 1, chapter 17 as follows:

 For the next few years, whenever he returned to Manchester, William made a secret detour to see Mrs Touchet in Chesterfield. His Manchester alibi, always partially true, was that of his visits to an old schoolfriend, James Crossley, he of the ‘finest library in England.’ This Crossley person was in Eliza’s view as responsible for William's graphomania as distilleries are for the drunkards, as sweet tooths for the continued existence of the slaves. Crossley it was who supplied William with his research materials: Defoe’s accounts of the old city, the original transcripts of the Lancaster Witches trial, the architectural layout of the Tower of London, the Newgate Calendar. He found all the old letters and old books of costume re-enarmor as suggested topics, prompting and pushing until William took them up. Much later in life, Mrs Touchet seriously considered the possibility that her cousin was a fraud, and James Crossley the true author of all those thousands upon thousands of words. The reality was less exciting. Crossley was a big man, with gout, a terrific collection of books, and only one friend: William. He was the kind of fellow who always promised to come to London, but never actually did, nor did he trust the mail coach with his rare editions,  so William was obliged to go to Crossley, and on the way, though it was not really on the way, he stopped at Chesterfield. He transcribed his notes naked in bed in the morning; in the afternoon sat across from her, and wrote. She saw for herself how much pleasure writing brought him. He dipped his nib with a smile on his face …

It seems almost churlish to add that:

1) There is no evidence that Crossley ever suffered from gout.

2) Crossley was an extremely sociable and even clubbable person with many friends and in fact was a well-known figure about Manchester.

3) He frequently went to London, and in fact he died, at the age of 83, shortly after a fall sustained when alighting from the train at Euston Station. 

But why spoil a good story? 

Here's the Guardian review of the hardback version of the book, which published last year:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/aug/27/the-by-zadie-smith-review-a-trial-and-no-errors