The American Claimant
The introduction outlines the idea of the American claimant, an American heir to a British estate, and traces it back to medieval lost-heir romances such as Havelok. In lost-heir romances, a hero is stolen or banished before he or she can inherit riches or power. She or he is thought to be dead, but by good fortune is saved. Often, she then works as a servant; certainly, her life is humble and obscure. But she thrives, and eventually returns, to be restored to her rightful position. The introduction also discusses real cases—James Annesley, the Tichborne Claimant, and those Nathaniel Hawthorne records in Our Old Home. It suggests a relationship with the figure of the confidence man, and discusses underlying preoccupations, including gentlemen and servants, and dress and undress.