The New York Ledger, first published by Robert Bonner in 1855, was one of the earliest and most successful storypapers. Storypapers, also called “six-cent weeklies,” were weekly newspapers that featured an array of serialized stories, poems, humor, fashion, and current events intended for the entire family. These papers enjoyed enormous circulation. By 1870, the New York Ledger claimed an audience of 377,000 readers. With columns devoted to love, marriage, and baby care, the Ledger catered to a predominantly female readership. Its serialized stories focussed heavily on romance (domestic and historical) and its illustrations included many images of women. Format: 8 pages, with a front-page illustration (sometimes signed by the artist and/or engraver) and additional images inside each issue.
Volume 35, Number 5 (March 22, 1879) contained a story titled “The Heir of the Castle. A Tale of the Norman Conquest.” The story a “tale of Norman conquest” and involves a beautiful lady lost in the Druid caverns. Could this be the story Laura mentioned in By the Shores of Silver Lake, Chapter 22, “Happy Winter Days”?
