In an 8 October 1839 letter to G. B. Davidge in praise of one of the productions, Ainsworth wrote, "The fact of the whole of the Scenery having been superintended by Mr. George Cruikshank, must be a sufficient guarantee to the Public for its excellence and accuracy.
"[7] Decades later, Cruikshank began publishing claims that he was the one responsible for many of Ainsworth's novels,[8] and it is possible that the reviews about the power of his illustrations encouraged him towards this belief.
These claims were limited until a theatrical version of The Miser's Daughter, called Hilda, was produced in April 1872 for the Adelphi Theatre by Andrew Halliday.
The letter was published and stated:[11] it is stated that Mr. W. Harrison Ainsworth's novel of The Miser's Daughter had been dramatised by Mr. Andrew Halliday, and produced at the Adelphi Theatre, and as my name is not mentioned in any way in connection with the novel—not even as the illustrator—I shall feel greatly obliged if you allow me to inform the public through the medium of your columns of the fact (which all my private friends are aware of) that this tale of The Miser's Daughter originated from me, and not from Mr. Ainsworth.
My idea suggested to that gentleman was to write a story in which the principal character should be a miser, who had a daughter, and that the struggles of feeling between the love for his child and his love of money, should produce certain effects and results; and as all my ancestors were mixed up in the Rebellion of '45, I suggested that the story should be of that date, in order that I might introduce some scenes and circumstances connected with that great party struggle, and also wishing to let the public of the present day have a peep at the places of public amusement of the period, I took considerable pains to give correct views and descriptions of those places which are now copied and produced upon the stage; and I take this opportunity of complimenting my friend Halliday for the very excellent and effective manner in which he has dramatised the story.
Mr. Cruikshank appears to labour under a singular delusion in regard to the novels he has illustrated, it is not long since he claimed to be the originator of Mr. Dickens's Oliver Twist.
Cruikshank quickly responded, on 10 April 1872, and claimed even more of Ainsworth's novels as being his own: I have to beg that you will permit me to express my regret that his memory should be in such a defective state, that he should have forgotten the circumstances and facts as to the origins of Oliver Twist, and of The Miser's Daughter; and I regret also this contradiction of his will compel me, in justice to myself, to give in a work I am preparing for the press a full, true, and particular account of all the professional transactions between Mr. Ainsworth and myself, in which I shall prove, beyond all fear of contradiction, that I am also the sole originator of what is called 'Ainsworth's Tower of London,' as well as another work bearing his name, but the ideas and suggestions of what were given to him by, Sir, your obedient servant, George Cruikshank.
[16] While being unable to continue the dispute in The Times, Cruikshank published a pamphlet called The Artist and the Author- "Proving that the Distinguished Author, Mr. W. Harrison Ainsworth, is 'labouring under a singular delusion' with respect to the origin of The Miser's Daughter, The Tower of London, etc.
28) listed 8 of Ainsworth's novels without mentioning him in any regard to them: Rookwood, Jack Sheppard, Guy Fawkes, The Tower of London, Old St. Paul's, The Miser's Daughter, Windsor Castle, and St. James's; or the Court of Queen Anne.
Following this list, he writes:[19] Now, Six of these works were illustrated entirely by me, and one-Windsor Castle-partly so, numbering altogether ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-FOUR of the very best designs and etchings which I have ever produced; and yet, in this Biographical Sketch, my name is not mentioned in any way as connected with these works-which omission, I thought, was not only very ungenerous, but also very unjust... And, when it was announced that Mr. Andrew Halliday had dramatized Ainsworth's 'Miser's Daughter,' I went to see the performance; and when I saw represented on the stage scenes and characters which had emanated from me, I then publicly claimed to be the originator of that romance, and to have suggested the original idea and characters to Mr.
In his response, Ainsworth states, I believe [Cruikshank] to be in his dotage, and was confirmed in the opinion when I found he laboured under a similar delusion in regard to Oliver Twist.
Another friend, Austin Dobsin, stated, "I certainly think Cruikshank was honestly deluded, but he was, no doubt a vain man" and "He was not exempt from a certain 'Roman infirmity' of exaggerating the importance of his own performances [...] It must also be conceded that he most signally seconded the text by his graphic interpretations; but that this aid or these suggestions were of such a nature as to transfer the credit [...] from authors to himself is more than can be reasonably allowed.