Marion Marlowe's Money, or, Brave Work in the Slums

# Marion Marlowe's Money; Or, Brave Work in the Slums

This serial by Grace Shirley, published November 10, 1900, features Marion Marlowe, an ambitious young woman from Connecticut who has come to New York to study voice and pursue an opera career. Walking on Fourth Avenue, she aids a crippled elderly woman emerging from a savings bank. The woman, claiming to fear robbery, asks Marion to escort her home. When a rough man intercepts them demanding money, Marion protects her charge. The old woman reveals herself as "Mother Nance," a shrewd and wealthy operator with three thousand dollars hidden on her person—far more than the "few dollars" she initially claimed. She has deliberately deceived Marion and led her into a basement lair, locking the door behind them. The old woman, amused by Marion's naiveté, hints at offering her luxurious lodgings in exchange for Marion's apparent virtue and inexperience.