A collection of Elizabeth Gaskell's early short stories. Following the publication of Mary Barton in 1848, Gaskell published many of her short works for Charles Dickens's Household Words magazine between 1850 and 1858. Her earlier works were published in a variety of venues including Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine , William Howitt's Visits to Remarkable Places , Howitt’s Journal of Literature and Popular Progress , the Sunday School Penny Magazine , Sartain’s Union Magazine and the Ladies Companion and Monthly Magazine . Summary by Phil Benson