The Muse of Maiden Lane - (Belles of London) by Mimi Matthews (Paperback)

About the Book

Includes a reader's guide and an excerpt from Rules for ruin.

Book Synopsis

A 2024 BookBub Best Historical Romance!
One of Parade's Best New Books of November 2024!
One of Amazon's and Apple's Best Romance Books of November 2024!

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....

Review Quotes

Praise for Mimi Matthews

"Shiveringly Gothic...For best effect, save this one for a windy night when trees scrape against the windowpanes."--New York Times Book Review on The Belle of Belgrave Square

"Mimi Matthews never disappoints."--Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"No one writes Victorian romance like Mimi Matthews."--Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author

"Mimi is truly a national treasure. All of her books are filled with such delicious chemistry and heart, and her writing is superb."--Isabel Ibañez, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"Mimi Matthews just doesn't miss."--Evie Dunmore, USA Today bestselling author

"An effortlessly elegant slow-burn romance."--Kirkus, starred review

"Full of both wit and heart, this is another winner from Matthews."--Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Matthews builds the romance as skillfully as Teddy layers the brushstrokes in his paintings. Balancing witty banter and historical detail and practical concerns about living with a disability, Matthews renders a romance that's both realistic and as luminous as the starlight--and the woman--Teddy loves."--Shelf Awareness

About the Author

USA Today bestselling author Mimi Matthews writes both historical nonfiction and award-winning Victorian romances. Her novels have received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Booklist, Kirkus, and Shelf Awareness, and her articles have been featured on the Victorian Web, the Journal of Victorian Culture, and in syndication at BUST Magazine. In her other life, Mimi is an attorney. She resides in California with her family, which includes an Andalusian dressage horse, a miniature poodle, a Sheltie, and two Siamese cats.