Love at the Loom

This issue (No. 1091) of the New Eagle Series contains the complete serialized novella Love at the Loom; or, Her Gallant Sweetheart by Geraldine Fleming, author of Hearts of Stone and The Curse of Beauty. The story centers on a wager between wealthy factory owner Charles Selden, his haughty daughter Mildred, and visiting Southern gentleman Donald Irwin. Selden boasts of an exceptionally beautiful factory worker named Goldie Mowbray, with violet eyes and golden curls. Mildred wagers a diamond necklace that Goldie cannot successfully pass through an evening in their drawing-room dressed in silk; Irwin bets cigars that she has a coarse voice. The narrative follows the consequences of these bets as Goldie and the aristocratic Irwin meet at the factory. The story explores themes of class distinction, beauty, and romantic entanglement across social boundaries.