Summary: The Lady and The Higwayman (Proper Romance) by Sarah M. Eden
Elizabeth Black is the headmistress
of a girls’ school and 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 Mr. King,
Elizabeth has written about dashing heroes fighting supernatural threats 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 Mr. King
started taking all of his readers--and his profits. 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 rights of the less-fortunate.
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.
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 (copied from
Goodreads).
My thoughts about The Lady and The Higwayman
Grown-up street urchin Fletcher Walker and elusive Mr.
King are competing for the extremely profitable penny dreadful market. They
both write to fund help for poor children. Mr. King is actually school
Principal Elizabeth Black who hides her identity because she is afraid to ruin her
reputation. While drama intensifies Elizabeth and Fletcher have to work together
to keep both the children and themselves out of danger.
The Lady and The Higwayman is installment #1 in the Proper Romance Victorian series by Sarah M. Eden published by Shadow Mountain Publishing. The setting of the plot is London 1865 when penny dreadful stories where cheap and very profitable serial literature published weekly at just one penny.
The focus is on Fletcher Walker and Elizabeth Black
who are passionate about children’s education and are both funding their work by
writing penny dreadful stories. While Fletcher is actively rescuing urchins off
the streets, Elizabeth is running a very proper upscale middle class girls’
school.
Fletcher Walker has
a good heart but undermines himself quite a lot because of his background. It
is pleasing to see that he keeps his head held high when moving in up-scale
circles and does not hold back from using his colorful language.
Elizabeth Black seems a caring and warm hearted person very
careful about her reputation. Her character changes throughout the story and
she becomes more assertive and courageous in keeping with the plot and the slightly
new company she keeps.
In a story with such superb character building and some seriously unsavory personalities, it feels difficult to decide who my favorite character is, so I just have to say both Elizabeth and Fletcher. They both feel authentic, nice and warm hearted people trying to make a difference for children on the streets of Victorian London. The descriptions of the rescue operations of street urchins were my favorite part of this story.
The
Lady and The Higwayman (Proper Romance Victorian) by Sarah
M. Eden was excellent entertainment and a quick and easy read. The
research was impressive and the writing captivating as I felt transferred to Victorian
London 1865. The Dickensian vibe I got from
this multi layered and complex plot was very enjoyable. The dialogue felt
authentic and interesting; particularly the funny bantering. The Lady and
The Highwayman had a surprise ending I cannot stop thinking about, as it must
have lead to some very interesting consequences.
The
Lady and The Higwayman (Proper Romance Victorian) by Sarah
M. Eden was excellent entertainment. It was a quick and easy read with
impressive research, great dialog and a surprise ending. The plot was new and
refreshing and my favorite part was descriptions of street life in London 1865.
Fans of Sarah
M. Eden will enjoy The
Lady and The Higwayman (Proper Romance), as will readers of historical
romance fiction. Similar authors to explore might be Esther Hatch and Anita
Stansfield.
Thank you to Shadow Mountain Publishing and Edelweiss+/Above The Treeline for this digital review ebook which gave me the opportunity to share my honest review. All
opinions are completely my own.
My rating: 5 stars
/ 5
Main reasons: Interesting plot, superb research,
excellent crafting of characters, great writing and dialogue
Get your copy here:
Book Details (from Amazon):
Print Length: 384 pages
Publisher: Shadow Mountain (September 2, 2019)
Publication Date: September 2, 2019
About The Author
Sarah is represented by Pam Pho at D4EO Literary Agency.
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