{"id":12143,"date":"2019-10-08T17:08:39","date_gmt":"2019-10-08T21:08:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=12143"},"modified":"2021-12-15T21:44:31","modified_gmt":"2021-12-16T02:44:31","slug":"the-work-of-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/12143","title":{"rendered":"The Work of Art"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Work of Art<\/a><\/em> (2019) Mimi Matthews<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Set in England in 1814<\/p>\n

Phyllida Satterthwaite lived with her grandparents until their death, at which point she was taken to London to live with her uncle, who Had Plans For Her.<\/p>\n

both of her cousins immediately perked up, as if they expected Philly to receive the harshest reproof.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Captain Arthur Heywood is a second son who was seriously wounded and has spent the past several years recovering in solitude. He is sent by his father into London to conduct some business, and it is there he meets Philly.<\/p>\n

I actually had difficulty starting this story, because I was worried that Uncle Edgar’s plans for Philly would actually take place, and I did not want to read that story. Luckily, Arthur rescues Philly, and the heart of the story is their coming to know each other–and discover just who is behind the threats to Philly.<\/p>\n

One of the things I particularly liked about this story was 1) that both characters talked to each other, and 2) that neither’s concerns were overblown. Arthur truly believed that he could accidentally kill Philly, because of what had happened to him during the war, and once he explained this to her, she understood his fears and tried not to make things more difficult for him.<\/p>\n

Philly went very still in his arms. \u201cThat\u2019s why you were so certain that you might have killed me? Because of what you did to this other man?\u201d <\/p>\n

Arthur felt a sinking sensation in his stomach as he looked down at her. \u201cI\u2019ve frightened you.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cYes. Perhaps a little. I didn\u2019t believe you when you said you could have harmed me. I thought you were merely distraught. But now\u2026\u201d She was trembling.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Generally in romances, in situations like that, the man is overly worried and the women isn’t worried at all. This story makes it clear that Arthur’s fears were justified, but also that Philly wasn’t wrong to trust him.<\/p>\n

And for pure amusement:<\/p>\n

\u201cI say, ma\u2019am. \u2019Tis not safe!\u201d Greene trotted up to join her, his words coming out in gasps as if it were he, and not his horse, who had just ascended the hill. \u201cUneven ground hereabouts\u2026 poachers\u2026 sheep!\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This wasn’t completely unreasonable, but it is still funny.<\/p>\n

It was a very lovely story, and I quite liked the way the bit of mystery turned out–I hadn’t seen the ending coming at all.<\/p>\n

Publisher: Perfectly Proper Press
\nRating: 7.5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Work of Art (2019) Mimi Matthews Set in England in 1814 Phyllida Satterthwaite lived with her grandparents until their death, at which point she was taken to London to live with her uncle, who Had Plans For Her. both of her cousins immediately perked up, as if they expected Philly to receive the harshest […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[194,30,48,33,26],"tags":[181,547],"class_list":["post-12143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-7-5-10","category-british","category-female","category-historical","category-romance","tag-mimi-matthews","tag-napoleonic-era"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-39R","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":24118,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24118","url_meta":{"origin":12143,"position":0},"title":"The Siren of Sussex","author":"Michelle","date":"December 7, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The Siren of Sussex (2022) Mimi Matthews (Belles of London #1) Set in London in 1862 Ahmad Malik and his cousin Mira came to England after her mother died, and after her father died, Ahmad took whatever work he could to care for her. Now he is a tailor, hoping\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Siren of Sussex","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/The-Siren-of-Sussex.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/The-Siren-of-Sussex.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/The-Siren-of-Sussex.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11792,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/11792","url_meta":{"origin":12143,"position":1},"title":"The Matrimonial Advertisement","author":"Michelle","date":"March 27, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The Matrimonial Advertisement (Parish Orphans of Devon) (2018) Mimi Matthews Set in England in 1859. Helena Reynolds has fled London. She's in Devon responding to a matrimonial advertisement, but if this doesn't work, she return to London. Justin Thornhill was a captain in the British army who served in India,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/The-Matrimonial-Advertisement.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12313,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/12313","url_meta":{"origin":12143,"position":2},"title":"A Holiday By Gaslight","author":"Michelle","date":"December 8, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"A Holiday By Gaslight (2018) Mimi Matthews Set in England in 1861. Sophie Appersett has decided that although Mr Edward Sharpe is handsome as well as wealthy, they do not suit. After months, she still knows nothing about him, other than that he and his best friend made their money\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"A Holiday By Gaslight","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/A-Holiday-By-Gaslight.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":19491,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/19491","url_meta":{"origin":12143,"position":3},"title":"A Holiday By Gaslight","author":"Michelle","date":"December 30, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"A Holiday By Gaslight (2018) Mimi Matthews Set in England in 1861 I love a good novella \/ short story. I have tremendous respect for an author who can build characters and an immersive story in under 200 pages. What I particularly liked about this story is Sophie has a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"A Holiday By Gaslight","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/A-Holiday-By-Gaslight.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12661,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/12661","url_meta":{"origin":12143,"position":4},"title":"The Lost Letter","author":"Michelle","date":"March 28, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The Lost Letter (2017) Mimi Matthews Set in England in 1860. Sylvia Stafford now works as a governess. The suicide of her father left her destitute, abandoned by society and her friends. So she is shocked when a young lady appears, asking her to come to the country. Sebastian Conrad,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British"","block_context":{"text":"British","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/british"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Lost Letter","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/The-Lost-Letter.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":22717,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/22717","url_meta":{"origin":12143,"position":5},"title":"A Holiday By Gaslight","author":"Michelle","date":"January 17, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"A Holiday By Gaslight (2018) Mimi Matthews Set in England in 1861 Sophie's father keeps improving their country estate--whether they have the funds to do so or not--so when wealthy manufacturer asks permission to court her, the family agrees. 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