The Lady and The Highwayman by Sarah M. Eden
Published by Shadow Mountain on September 2019Genres: Adult Fiction, Romance
Pages: 352
Format: eBook
Source: Publisher
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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.
That was incredibly charming!
Miss Black is writing penny dreadful stories under the name Mr. King to hide her true identity, which is a problem when one rough around the edges author Fletcher Walker comes nosing about trying to decipher the identity of Mr. King. And even more problematic when they start falling for each other.
I really enjoyed this book. There are a lot of fun secondary plots including Fletcher’s own serialized story and Mr. King’s story told at the end of alternating chapters. And there’s the noble and secret danger of Fletcher is involved in that also adds a lot of mystery and intrigue.
It’s so easy to step into this time period with lots of wonderful descriptions of the streets and people. I fell easily into the world and enjoyed how Fletcher and Elizabeth Black’s romance developed, first based on flirtation and then a deeper mutual respect and understanding. The two main characters are so well suited for each other and the story leans heavily on romantic gestures such as hand holding and long stares into each other’s eyes. It’s very sweet and charming and exactly what I needed to read.
There are some unanswered questions so I’m assuming that Eden is in fact trying to start this as a series. I was hoping I would get all the answers by the end of the book, but sadly it wasn’t to be. That’s ok though as I liked reading it so much, I will be happy to follow their adventures or their friends’s adventures in the future.
Perfect for a night of romantic reading with a little mystery.
Kimberly majored in Songwriting and currently works full time in the music industry. When she's not listening to music, knitting or writing, you can find her outside reading her favorite genres: Young Adult, Adult Fiction, Mystery, and Romance.
