The Argosy, Vol. 26

About this issue

This catalog documents the December 1878 installment (Chapter XXXIV-XXXV) of Pomeroy Abbey by Mrs. Henry Wood, serialized in The Argos. The domestic melodrama concerns Annaline Hetley, a companion to Mary Pomeroy at the family estate. Annaline has secretly loved Lord Rupert Pomeroy for months; he reciprocates. When Mrs. Pomeroy and Mary—who harbors her own romantic interest in Rupert—decide Annaline's position is untenable, she writes to a convent requesting employment as a teacher to escape her predicament. Annaline's father, Frank Hetley, writes Rupert requesting Annaline remain at the abbey until safe arrangements can be made for her return to Florence. Upon learning Annaline plans to leave for the convent, Rupert arrives and forbids it, insisting she stay at Pomeroy Abbey. The extract ends mid-conversation, with Annaline's protests unresolved. The narrative emphasizes romantic tension, family conflict, and the constraints on an unprotected woman's social position.