R. H. Horne, in A New Spirit of the Age claimed that Old St. Paul's is a copy of Defoe's Journal of the Plague Year in addition to being "generally dull, except when it is revolting".Carver 2003 qtd. p. 29 Others viewed the connection more positively. The Bell's Life of London wrote, "Although the horrors of the Plague and Fire have already been described by various writers, and especially by Defoe, Mr. Ainsworth has in these volumes clothed those events in a manner the most exciting."Carver 2003 qtd pp. 275–276 The Courier said, "In this work, Mr. Ainsworth has portrayed many of the horrible incidents of the Great Plague with historical fidelity [...] The scenes described are all founded on well-authenticated accounts, presented by Mr. Ainsworth with a forcible semblance of reality, which his pen can so well accomplish."Carver 2003 qtd. p. 276
