The Fraud

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses racism and enslavement, including explicitly racist ideas from the 19th century.

A boy arrives at the house of author William Harrison Ainsworth to help fix a hole in the second floor of the house. Ainsworth’s housekeeper, Eliza Touchet, is disappointed because she requested two men for such a large job.

Eliza brings the boy up to the library. Joseph speculates that it’s the weight of the books in the library that have created the crater in the library floor.

Eliza notices that Ainsworth hasn’t eaten his breakfast. She cleans up after him even though it’s the maid Sarah’s job. Ainsworth seems off, so Eliza checks the newspaper for notice of any friends who have died or become famous. She discovers a package with the book A New Spirit of the Age by R. H. Horne addressed to Ainsworth with an insult about Ainsworth’s work.