The Muse of Maiden Lane

The Muse of Maiden Lane (2024) Mimi Matthews (Belles of London #4)

Hampshire, Derbyshire & London, England in 1863

This is the final book in the Belles of London series.

Stella wants to marry to escape her older brother, but as she turned completely gray by 16, she doesn’t see how she’s going to manage it.

As a young lady with gray hair, possessed of modest breeding and little fortune, she was often dismissed and ignored. No one ever saw her. Not really. Indeed, no one seemed to notice her at all.

And if she doesn’t marry, she’ll have the spend the rest of her life either with her brother and the odious woman he wants to marry.

Stella’s mouth twisted in a bitter smile. “Miss Trent takes my riding as a personal affront.”

Anne was incredulous. “She objects to horses?”

“She objects to the expense.”

“An expense you subsidize out of your own inheritance,” Anne retorted indignantly.

“Exactly. She’d rather I let my brother have my income for good works than waste it on my own selfish pleasures.”

Or with the even more odious Squire Smalljoy.

Squire Smalljoy was the first to break the appalled silence. “A politician’s personal indiscretions don’t matter a jot when his policies are in good order.”

Teddy has come to England with his sister and her husband, but while they plan to return to France to the perfumery Teddy and Laura own, Teddy wants to remain in England and paint. Unfortunately, Laura fears for him living on his own.

It had been the only way to set Laura’s mind at ease. He’d been in his chair for nearly five years, the first several of which she’d been his caregiver. It was a difficult role for her to relinquish.

Laura had her own book, A Convenient Fiction in the Parish Orphans of Devon series, and we saw Teddy there when he would hardly leave his room. But he was convinced to study art, and a wheeled chair allowed him to move about with some freedom.

Custom built for him in France, it sat upon a carriage axel, boasting a high-backed seat of well-padded wood, with two large, spoked wheels on either side, and a smaller wheel at the rear, which aided in turning.

One of the things I found most interesting about this story was how Teddy managed–and the development (although slightly earlier than was historically correct) of a chair that would give him greater mobility and freedom.

Two matching brass brackets immediately descended to the wheels, locking them into place.

Teddy rolled forward in his own chair to examine the apparatus. “A hand brake,” he said in amazement. “Is that what it is?”

“Exactly, sir.”

“Is that important?” Stella asked, frowning.

“Why, it’s essential, ma’am,” Mr. Abbott said. “As Mr. Hayes can no doubt tell you. The invalid generally relies on an attendant to place him into his chair.”

Yes, there is also plenty about Teddy’s art and the changes that would eventually become Impressionism, but I found the development of the wheelchair to be more interesting (because I am a heathen).

In addition to not being interested in the art, I skimmed the bits about Stella when she returned to her brother’s house, because I just was not up for reading a lot of details about males holding power over women and just how horrible they could be.

Characters: Stella Hobhouse, Edward / Teddy Hayes, Alex Archer, Laura Archer, Lady Anne Deveril, Mr. Felix Hartford, Ahmad Malik, Evelyn Malik nee Maltravers, Mrs. Julia Blunt nee Wychwood, Captain Jasper Blunt, The Countess of Arundell, Justin and Helena Thornhill, Tom and Jenny Finchley, Neville and Clara Cross, Jennings, John Turvey, Daniel Hobhouse, Miss Amanda Trent, Marcus Neale, Viscount Brookdale, Mariah Spriggs, Jeanette, Turvey, Mrs. Waltham, Mr. Chakrabarty, Mr. Tariq Jones, Mira, Mrs. Mukherjee, Mr. Fielding, Dr. Jepson, Mrs. Jarrow, Squire Smalljoy

Publisher: Berkley Romance

Rating: 7/10

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