The Lady and the Highwayman by Sarah M. Eden
Paperback, 352 pages
Published
September 3rd 2019
by Shadow Mountain
Source: I received a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own and were voluntarily given
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.
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.
My Review: 5 StarsI love learning a bit of history in a fiction setting. I hadn't ever heard of "penny dreadfuls" before and this unique book combined many enjoyable elements into a complex story that was very entertaining from the start. Just in case you don't know what penny dreadfuls are either, they were sold for a penny and told tales of adventure, pirates, highwaymen, crime, and detection. In this book, the reader is treated to not only a love and adventure main story, but as Fletcher and Elizabeth are both authors, books they're each writing also make appearances, including penny dreadfuls. I love how Elizabeth uses one of her stories to try and throw Fletcher off the trail.Eden does a great job in portraying a fairly accurate (in my opinion) view of Victorian social life, including issues. While the story goes back and forth, a cat and mouse game emerges and kept me eagerly flipping the pages. I thought this book was very well-written and engaging and look forward to more of this Proper Victorian line.Content: mild romance; mild violence/danger
No comments:
Post a Comment