pulps
The Argosy, Vol. 22
Edina October 1876 issue of *The Argos*, containing Chapter XXVIII of "Edina" by Mrs. Henry Wood, author of *East Lynne*. The serialized novel follows the impoverished Raynor family at Laurel Cottage near London. Edina manages household expenses—barely eight shillings weekly from her one-pound annual income—while doing piecework making hair nets with her mother. Charles Raynor desperately seeks employment as a clerk but faces constant rejection despite tramping daily through London responding to advertisements. Alfred fetches cheap skimmed milk; Alice teaches near Richmond; the family subsists on toasted bread and potatoes. Charles contemplates enlisting or emigrating to Australia but cannot abandon his family. The chapter concludes with a fortuitous encounter: Charles's schoolfellow Peter Tanting introduces him to the solicitors' firm Prestleigh and Preen, offering potential employment prospects.