Ellen Wood’s

Anne Hereford

was the first novel serialised in

The Argosy

after Wood assumed her position as editor, and the work was described as the publication’s “most attractive feature” in its early days (

Gravesend Free Press

, qtd. in “Opinions” 6). It was released in thirteen parts, from December 1867 to December 1868, and republished as a three-volume novel by Tinsley Brothers in 1868. The novel is an exemplar of Wood’s unique combination of sensationalism and the domestic: as one contemporary review observed, “It was a happy thought to combine murder and maidservants, horrors and housekeeping” (

The Saturday Review,

14 Nov 1868, p. 660).

Anne Hereford is also a “governess novel”, a subgenre that Cecilia Wadsö Lecaros describes as a female Bildungsroman, in which

2043 words

Citation: Steere, Elizabeth. "Anne Hereford". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 12 February 2024 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=6569, accessed 03 October 2024.]

6569 Anne Hereford 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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