[ Yonge / Pillars of the House ]
An examination of family and inheritance (hugely important in middle- and upper-class Victorian life). The first Newf reference is in Chapter 1:
"Felix, do you know that Charlie Froggatt says he would sell that big Newfoundland for a pound? and that would be among us all."
"Nonsense, Fulbert! a big dog is always eating. . . ."
(While it's hard to say definitively, a British pound in the early 1870s would probably be worth about $120 US in 2020 — a steal when it comes to buying a purebreed.)
The next reference is in Chapter 6, in which some of the main characters discuss the consequences of a fire:
"No wonder. His father must be an unmitigated brute," said Felix. "He came to the inquest, and talked just as if it had been an old Newfoundland dog; I really think he cared rather less than if it had been."