The hero of In the Thrill of the Night, Adam Cazenove, and his late friend David Nesbitt were conoisseurs of art who were sponsors of the British Institution. The Institution is not fictional, but played a significant role in British art during the 19th century. It was founded 1805 by a group of connoisseurs as an alternative to the Royal Academy, which was run by artists. The Prince of Wales was one of the connoisseurs who sponsored the Institution. There were generally two exhibitions per year. The first was of new paintings for sale by contemporary artists. These sales were extremely successful. The second exhibiton was of old master paintings, borrowed from the private collections of the Institution's sponsors and their wealthy friends, that were meant to be exemplars for students, who were encouraged to make copies of the paintings as a form of study.