A PROPER ROMANCE : The Lady and the Highwayman by Sarah M. Eden

THE LADY AND THE HIGHWAYMAN

by Sarah M. Eden

Shadow Mountain, 2019

ISBN: 9781629726052

Source: ARC from publisher for review

Historical Romance

All opinions expressed are solely my own.

 

ABOUT THE BOOK

Elizabeth Black is the headmistress of a girls’ school in 1830s Victorian London. She is also a well-respected author of ”silver-fork” novels, stories written both for and about the upper-class ladies of Victorian society. But by night, she writes very different kinds of stories--the Penny Dreadfuls that are all the rage among the working-class men. Under the pseudonym Charles King, Elizabeth has written about dashing heroes fighting supernatural threats, intelligent detectives solving grisly murders, and dangerous outlaws romancing helpless women. They contain all the adventure and mystery that her real life lacks.

Fletcher Walker began life as a street urchin, but is now the most successful author in the Penny Dreadful market, that is until Charles King started taking all of his readers. No one knows who King is, including Fletcher’s fellow members of the Dread Penny Society, a fraternity of authors dedicated to secretly fighting for the social and political causes of their working-class readers. The group knows King could be an asset with his obvious monetary success, or he could be the group’s undoing as King’s readership continues to cut into their profits.

Determined to find the elusive Mr. King, Fletcher approaches Miss Black. As a fellow-author, she is well-known among the high-class writers; perhaps she could be persuaded to make some inquiries as to Mr. King’s whereabouts? Elizabeth agrees to help Fletcher, if only to insure her secret identity is never discovered. What neither author anticipated was the instant attraction, even though their social positions dictate the impossibility of a relationship.

For the first time Elizabeth experiences the thrill of a cat-and-mouse adventure reminiscent of one of her own novels as she tries to throw Fletcher off her scent. But the more time they spend together, the more she loses her heart. Its upper-class against working-class, author against author where readers, reputations, and romance are all on the line.

REVIEW

Sarah Eden has created another delightful series with enjoyable characters and unusual story lines.  I never get tired of reading her stories.  This book is especially intriguing because of the stories within the story.  Both main characters are writers of penny dreadful stories, the shocking but adventurous stories that the working class loves but which are considered inappropriate and poorly written by the upper classes.  Elizabeth, as the headmistress of a girl's school can't afford to let the world know of her side hobby, it would ruin her reputation, so she runs her school and writes literature for the upper class. 

 

Fletcher Walker on the other hand knows little of the upper class as he grew up as a street urchin, struggling to survive each day.  As an adult, he makes a living writing penny dreadfuls and working with a secret organization to help others.  When Elizabeth and Fletcher meet, an attraction develops despite their different backgrounds.  And Elizabeth's efforts to help Fletcher and his secret organization leads to some unexpected danger for her and her school.

 

The inclusion of Fletcher's and Elizabeth's current penny dreadful stories in episodes adds to the entertainment to be found in the book.  The stories are quite different but both enjoyable.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading about an aspect of the Regency world that isn't addressed as often as the upper classes.  The character's banter was witty and smile-inducing as Eden's dialogue often tends to be. Once again, Eden has presented readers with an engaging, entertaining historical tale that still manages to address serious issues in a way that makes a reader care.