The Argosy, Vol. XIII

This issue of The Argos (January 1, 1872) features the opening of a serial novel titled Within the Maze, by the author of East Lynne. The story concerns the Andinnian family of Northamptonshire: widowed Mrs. Andinnian, her favored elder son Adam (age thirty-three, an idle gentleman with a passion for gardening), and younger son Karl, a gentle-natured military officer. Their late father Captain Andinnian left his modest estate divided among them; his brother Sir Joseph, a retired civil engineer, holds the family baronetcy and Foxwood Court in Kent. Captain Andinnian, dying years prior, reconciled with his estranged brother and secured assurances that Adam would inherit both title and property. The narrative opens with Mrs. Andinnian's suspicion that Adam is meeting with a local girl in the garden, contrary to her protective maternal wishes. A neighbor's invitation to an evening gathering arrives while Karl visits home.