The Muse of Maiden Lane (Belles of London)
I confess: I’ve been waiting for this book. Stella’s meeting with the outspoken artist in Book 3 of the Belles of London series, The Lily of Ludgate Hill, was electrifying. Book 4 opens with Stella fleeing the ball at a house party because she’s done something outrageous and dyed her silver hair auburn, and this gentleman, Teddy Hayes, will know it. Teddy tracks her down with a yet more scandalous request: he wants to sketch her. Teddy knows how it feels to draw scrutiny from others: no one around him can see beyond the wheeled chair he uses, save Stella. Teddy’s vulnerabilities and ambition lure Stella out from under the thumb of her disapproving brother, and when Teddy proposed a marriage of mutual convenience, I actually cheered.
Matthews develops dimensional characters, and fans will enjoy seeing the return of couples from previous series; Teddy himself first appears in A Convenient Fiction. Matthews gently tilts tropes to suit her characters’ circumstances and is particularly interested in the restrictions on women of the Victorian age. Stella and Teddy’s romance is soulful and sweetly satisfying as each supplies what the other needs to thrive. Readers will love this gentle, uplifting conclusion to the series, along with the faultless prose.
