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ABOUT THE BOOK
A silver-haired equestrienne and a charismatic artist turn a scandalous bargain into a vibrant portrait of love. Stella Hobhouse is a brilliant rider, stalwart friend, skilled sketch artist—and completely overlooked. Her outmodish gray hair makes her invisible to London society. Combined with her brother’s pious restrictions and her dwindling inheritance, Stella is on the verge of a lifetime marooned in Derbyshire as a spinster. Unless she does something drastic…like posing for a daring new style of portrait by the only man who’s ever really seen her. Aspiring painter Edward “Teddy” Hayes knows true beauty when he sees it. He would never ask Stella to risk her reputation as an artist’s model but in the five years since a virulent bout of scarlet fever left him partially paralyzed, Teddy has learned to heed good fortune when he finds it. He’ll do anything to persuade his muse to pose for him, even if he must offer her a marriage of convenience. After all, though Teddy has yearned to trace Stella’s luminous beauty on canvas since their chance meeting, her heart is what he truly aches to capture….
OPENING LINES
“Stella Hobhouse raced down the gaslit corridor, the voluminous skirts of her white silk and crepe ball gown clutched in her gloved hands, and the swelling notes of Strauss’s ‘Lava-Ströme’ waltz chasing at her heels.”
GUEST REVIEW BY SOPHIA ROSE
A unique pair of individuals have their own reasons for agreeing to a marriage of convenience and a scandalous artistic endeavor by high society’s standards. Mimi Matthew wraps up the Belles of London series set in the Victorian era with two colorful characters seen in previous books with their own emotional, difficult road to lasting love.
The Muse of Maiden Lane is the fourth book in an inter-connected series that still works well as an individual romance if the reader doesn’t mind encountering the previous happy couples from not only this "Belles of London" series but also Matthew's first series, "Orphans of Devon." But you will find more enjoyment should you read the other books in the series, too.
Miss Stella Hobhouse would love to be truly seen and not for her odd, premature graying hair. Edward Hayes, despite his artistic talent, is first noticed as a man in a wheelchair. Stella's prim preacher brother and his even primmer lady are determined to pawn her off on a local, aged widower and squelch her spirited equestrian pursuits. Her previous reluctance to be Mr. Hayes’s art muse is overcome by his honest, earnest desire to see her as special and lovely, but also his wish for something more.
A holiday country house party and her friend Anne’s surprising engagement (Anne and Hartford from book three) allow Stella and Mr. Hayes, Teddy, to enjoy the treats of the season. A sleigh ride and a bit of mistletoe are meant to bolster Stella against a dreary future in Derbyshire. Their secret correspondence draws a deeper connection. Only Teddy is aware that he wants her love, too, and not just her need to escape her brother’s plans.
I loved the layered character development and friendship, starting at the country house holiday party and then through the discreet correspondence. There was also the magnificent support of Stella's Belles of London friends as well as Teddy's Orphans of Devon group that had me cheering for this unlikely couple from the beginning. They both always saw each other as worthy and attractive when others overlooked them. Gradually, love supplanted doubt. Such a tender and sometimes sultry romance without worry about stigmas and ready to face the challenges together.
This series is now complete, but what a satisfying and heartwarming finale. I hope to spot this pair and others as crossover characters in future books just to spend more time with them. Those who enjoy their historical romance full of authentic backdrop, diversity, variety, and compelling characters and plots must add this one to the must-read stack.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mimi Matthews is a USA Today bestselling, award-winning author of historical romances. Her critically acclaimed works include The Siren of Sussex, a 2023 RUSA Reading List shortlist pick for Best Romance; Fair as a Star, a Library Journal Best Romance of 2020; Gentleman Jim, a Kirkus Best Book of 2020; and The Work of Art, winner of the 2020 HOLT Medallion and a 2021 Daphne du Maurier Award nominee. Mimi’s novels have received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Booklist, Kirkus, and Shelf Awareness, and have been mentioned in The New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, NPR, Oprah Daily, PopSugar, Goop, Paste Magazine, BookPage, Book Riot, and BuzzFeed. They have been translated into eight languages.
When not writing historical romance, Mimi authors nonfiction books and articles on all aspects of nineteenth-century history—from animals, art, and etiquette to fashion, beauty, feminism, and law. Her work has been featured on the Victorian Web, the Journal of Victorian Culture, the Costume Society UK, and in syndication at BUST Magazine.
ABOUT SOPHIA ROSE, GUEST REVIEWER
Sophia is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, piano-playing, and gardening. Road trips and campouts, museums and monuments, restaurants and theaters are her jam. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, baseball, cats, Scooby Doo, and chocolate.
As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing. In 2012, she submitted her first book review and is currently an associate reviewer.
Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener which allows her to experience many wonderful books, authors, and narrators. Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance. Sorry, no horror...or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby.
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