It took me a while to finish this book. I would read a little, then abandon it, them come back and start over and read a little further. Not sure why it just didn't resonant with me since I love historical fiction and the description of this one sounded great. In the end I did enjoy it once I really just stay focused and finished it. The combination of the main story along with the "penny dreadfuls" was what threw me off, but ultimately I found both sections to be interesting and I wanted to finish to find out what happened. So if you find yourself struggling, don't give up, it is worth the effort.

It's so refreshing to read a Victorian romance that doesn't have a Duke in it!
This novel centres around Elizabeth Black, who is a headmistress of a school and a well-renowned writer who also secretly writes Penny Dreadfuls, using the proceeds to keep her school for underprivileged girls afloat.

Penny Dreadfuls were serial stories that were not considered literature but were very popular with the public. Academics and "educated readers" used to scorn them as rubbish but the masses lap up these gothic romances with elements of the supernatural.

Fletcher Walker is the most popular Penny Dreadful author of them all but he is about to be usurped by the mysterious Mr King whose Highwayman stories are selling so well that they are cutting into Fletcher's profit. Fletcher needs his income to support the work that he and some of his fellow authors do for the urchins of London - important, sometimes very dangerous work.
Helping these children is more than a charitable act for Fletcher, as he used to be one of these urchins.

When Elizabeth and Fletcher cross paths they discover they have a lot in common. Together they enter into a cat and mouse game with the seedy underbelly of the city and, of course, discover many other shared passions. However, they are both keeping secrets from each other and is preventing them from forming a closer connection.

There's a lot I liked about this novel, not least the representation of women in Victorian England finding creative ways to assert their independence and survive. The decisions that the characters make are based on their empathy and intelligence, which makes a nice change from some of the other historical romances I have read.

I also liked the tongue-in-cheek references to the way some readers will turn their noses up at 'low brow writing' but who secretly devour these stories.

This story is not a guilty pleasure to read, just a pleasure.

Highly recommended - 4.5 stars.

This book was a refreshing historical fiction because of its romance. I thought the chemistry between the lead characters was so much more palpable than your typical historical fiction. Their relationship really influenced my opinion on the book as a whole.

Such a fascinating book!

I loved learning more about penny dreadfuls in this book. Our heroine is writing under her pseudonym (see summary), which was also fun. In a time when women couldn’t as easily compete for market space as authoresses, this let her have a means of earning an income while writing and expressing her creativity. She has a noble position caring for needy children as well.

The hero is also noble as he’s a member of the Penny Dreadful Society, and he helps rescue endangered children.

Each character in this populated novel has a unique voice, which I love. The author uses great prose, which I’ve come expect from her. She’s one of my favorites.

Every now and then we got to read the penny dreadfuls along with the characters. This was fascinating, but I admit I skimmed some of the less desirable passages. With their inclusion, we got to see this author write speculative fiction into her historicals.

Both of our MCs are writers of these serials, so we get to see inside their writerly minds. I loved when their “real lives” would cross over into their fiction. So much fun!

Because we read the extra stories within this story, I felt we missed a bit of the romantic thread development in favor of a reasonable overall word count. Sarah’s a master at writing tender romance, and we had that here, but I’d have loved to see that thread developed more. That said, the romance we had was delightful.
Another area where Sarah always shines is her humor. (Which is why I devour her work!) And this story never disappointed in that arena.

Such an enjoyable read! 4.5 stars Highly recommended!

Sarah M Eden is one of the quirkiest and most endearing writers to read! And how she has shown in her Victorian-era novel! Authentic and witty characters? Check. A hint of mystery? Check.

A fast fun read. I found myself wishing for more of the penny novels and a book twice as long. It was sad to see it end that quick.


I received an ARC from the publisher.

The Lady and the Highwayman is an engaging historical romance - I really enjoyed it. Elizabeth works by day as headmistress of a school for middle class girls and the author of proper fiction, but by night she's the author of penny dreadful novels under the pen name Mr. King. Penny dreadfuls are considered notorious and salacious by proper society people, so to ensure her school continues to be funded and to keep her place in society she keeps her side job (and passion) a secret. Meanwhile, Fletcher Walker, the reigning best selling author of penny dreadfuls, has noticed his sales are being eclipsed by the mysterious Mr. King. Walker, who grew up on the streets of London, uses his author proceeds to help fund a secret society that helps protect endangered children. That's where the book starts, but it's pretty plot heavy (though never confusing) - Elizabeth and Fletcher try to figure out each other's secrets while getting embroiled in thwarting some of London's criminals. The book also includes excerpts from both Elizabeth and Fletcher's novels. I thought that might get tedious, but I enjoyed it, and their plots mirror the concerns of the authors. It was clear that Eden did a lot of research for this book - it's a really interesting look at child welfare (and publishing) in Victorian England, and includes discussions of racism, slavery, and discrimination against the poor. My only complaint about the book is that there were a few loose ends - the identity of two important characters, as well as the exact machinations of a third. I'm not sure if this is going to be a series; if so, I guess that's why that was left unclear. But I would have felt more satisfied with the ending if I'd felt like all the mysteries had been cleared up. Overall, though, a great read.

I'm always happy when I get to read a Sarah M. Eden book. You can tell she really does a lot of research for the time period of the book. This is a Victorian, not a Regency, so society rules weren't quite as strict. This book is like getting three stories in one. There's the main story of Fletcher Walker and Elizabeth Black and then there are two Penny Dreadful stories told within Fletcher and Elizabeth's story.

Fletcher Walker has risen above his upbringing and works hard to help the boys and girls who are like he once was--street urchins getting by by their wits and stealing. He truly cares for these children, so when the source of income to help them--the Penny Dreadful stories he writes--is threatened by a new author taking his spot as the #1 author, he's determined to find and meet this Mr. King.

Elizabeth Black seems to be all that is proper. She runs a school for young ladies and writes "silver-fork" novels that the more educated people read, but we soon find out that Elizabeth as a secret that if exposed would mean the end of her school.

I loved these characters. Fletcher is the best!! He's extremely caring, yet fun. Because you can take the urchin off of the street, but you can't always take the street out of the urchin, he's sometimes not as proper as a "true" gentleman would be, but that's what makes him such a fun character. He's got so many wonderful qualities, there' no doubt Elizabeth would fall for him, I know I would have.

I loved the two Penny Dreadful stories and how they started to mirror what was going on between Fletcher and Elizabeth. And let's not forget the rest of the men in the Penny Dreadful Society. How cool is it that they dressed up in disguises to tail the people who are out to do harm to the children? The parts telling about the situations of some of the children made me so sad. Did anyone else wonder who the Dread Master is? I haven't a clue. I loved the ending of the book and look forward to more from the Dread Penny Society.

Thanks to NetGalley and Shadow Mountain for allowing me to read this wonderful book. All thoughts and opinions I've expressed in this review are my own.

Elizabeth Black is dedicated to the reputation of her school and the education of her girls despite the opinion of some in society that their education is a waste of time. Her deepest secret is as an author of the frowned upon Penny Dreadfuls. Elizabeth finds herself to be intrigued by the elusive Fletcher Walker whose humble beginnings only make him more attractive to her. She is drawn into Fletcher’s secret world where he and his friends try to rescue disadvantaged and maltreated children to put them onto a path to a better life. The narrative is interspersed with excepts from both Elizabeth’s and Fletcher’s stories heightening the tension. Enjoyable. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My Review: 8/10

This book was more off the beaten track for this author and this genre. I enjoyed the more gothic feel of the excerpts of the penny dreadful novels and it was a neat way to tie multiple characters and stories together.

Side note: loved that cover!!!

Sarah Eden, a well-known author of clean historical romances, shifts gears in this unusual twist on the genre: a kind of cat-and-mouse game between Elizabeth Black and Fletcher Walker, two Victorian era authors of “penny dreadful” novels. They really were a penny! And in all likelihood the writing was usually pretty dreadful, although I think the dreadful part was supposed to be the scary villains and monsters that usually populated these thriller-type books. :)

There's a subplot about people devoted to trying to improve the lot of poor children and teens in London (spoiler alert: the villains who prey on the poor take exception to having their schemes interfered with) and just a little romance, complete with the trope (view spoiler).

Fletcher is trying to unearth the identity of a “Mr. King,” who’s overtaken Fletcher as the best-selling author of penny dreadful novels. It’s not just pride; Fletcher, who was once a street orphan himself, needs the money to help fund his secret organization of men committed to helping rescue and educate London’s street children. (What exactly Fletcher and this organization plan to do about Mr. King, other than maybe ask him to join their group, isn't entirely clear. It sort of seems like they have something ominous in mind but ... maybe not?)

Anyway, Fletcher asks Miss Elizabeth Black, headmistress of a respectable girl’s school and author of “silver spoon” novels, to help him track down Mr. King - never dreaming that Elizabeth IS Mr. King. Besides the socially-approved silver spoon novels, she has a fondness for writing the more sensational penny dreadful novels ... and plus they make her way more money, which she ALSO needs to help fund her girl's school. Elizabeth, determined to keep her secret from him - it would ruin her socially and professionally if it became known - agrees to “help” Fletcher, really intending to mislead him. Hah!

These chapters about Fletcher and Elizabeth alternate with chapters from the pulpy novels that the two of them are currently writing, in which monsters of various types abound. It’s occasionally a bit slow, the main characters are almost too altruistic to be true, and the other characters are pretty one-dimensional, but overall it’s a fun and quite different kind of book if you like light historical romances. I enjoyed seeing how the chapters from Fletcher’s and Elizabeth’s penny dreadful novels tied into the main plot ... especially when it happened on purpose. :)

I enjoyed this book more than I would have ever have guessed! There are two stories within the story as the main characters also write "penny dreadfuls" which are chapters in a shorter book put out to the masses. Those were just as intriguing as the book itself!

This book addresses the issues in this era of uneducated children and the difference in classes.  The main characters, Elizabeth and Fletcher, both feel passionate about helping all children get a leg up over their circumstances.  For Fletcher, it is more personal because he was one of those children that were on the streets and had he not taken an education he might be where he is today.  Elizabeth has to be more secretive about her interest in helping educate the children because it could affect her position as the headmistress at the school she runs.

Both of these characters are engaging and endearing.  I enjoyed watching their relationship blossom over time as would be proper for this era.  I wondered how Elizabeth would reveal to Fletcher that she is Mr. King and I have to say it was quite a unique way to expose her penny dreadfuls.

This book kept me up too late several nights just trying to discover what would happen next.  We give it 5 paws up!

It’s author versus author in Sarah m. Eden’s latest Victorian-era release. And what a fun read this one is whenever Fletcher and Elizabeth are in each other’s company. The banter between these two is delightful.

I thoroughly enjoyed how two penny dreadful novels (one from Fletcher and one from Elizabeth) were included and paralleled with the two main characters’ lives. This device works well in The Lady and the Highwayman to partially expose secrets and identities.

As they use their success and situations to help the children of London’s slums avoid even worse situations, Fletcher and Elizabeth endear themselves to readers.

Do yourself a favor and add this one to your TBR.

Disclosure statement:
I receive complimentary books from publishers, publicists, and/or authors, including NetGalley. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

I thought this was a delightful story about two penny dreadful writers and a secret society that helps orphaned and under privileged children. There's just the right amount of mystery, adventure and romance to keep you entertained the whole way through. The penny dreadful stories written by the two competing authors are also woven in throughout the book so there's the added bonus of getting to read those on top of the main story. It was a little confusing in the ARC though, to determine where each penny dreadful story left off and the main story began again each time, because there weren't really any clear separations between the stories, but hopefully this was addressed before the book was published.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked up The Lady and the Highwayman. I'm a huge Sarah Eden fan, but this had a little different format. Both the hero and the heroine are "Penny Dreadful" authors, people who write serial stories that cost a penny, so the lower classes can have access to reading material. This book includes two penny dreadfuls in between the chapters of the main story. Once I got into the groove of the three stories, however, I really enjoyed it.

Prim and proper Elizabeth Black is a headmistress for a girls' school with a very big secret---she writes penny dreadfuls under the nom de plume, Mr. King. If her secret were discovered, it might force parents to withdraw their daughters from her school. Former street urchin Fletcher Walker is on a mission to try to save as many street urchins as he can, and it becomes imperative that he track down the elusive Mr. King. Fletcher thinks Elizabeth can help him unravel the mystery of Mr. King, but events unfold that puts them on an adventure that is full of intrigue, great villains, and the first stirrings of love. I was enthralled with the setting, the cant, and all the characters. As usual, Ms. Eden will draw you in with the emotion and truly feeling like her characters are real people. I hope this turns into a series!

This story is different from any other Sarah Eden book that I've read, and I loved it! Elizabeth was a strong lead character and I was rooting for her "side job" the whole time. Actually, it was the same with Fletcher. They both had their secrets and I was so intrigued to see how things would go once they each discovered what the other one was hiding. Watching their relationship develop was very entertaining.

This was my first time reading stories within a story, and it could have been a nightmare - difficult to keep track of all of the different plots, story lines and characters, but the author did a great job presenting each one. In fact, I found myself so caught up in Elizabeth's story that I almost didn't want to switch from that back to the main one! Thankfully, all three tales were equally entertaining and it was fun to switch back and forth.

Yet again, Sarah has a hit on her hands. I love her writing style and always look forward to the stories she creates.

I always know when I pick up a Sarah Eden book that I will get a wonderful story, relatable characters, accurate history and an overall entertaining reading experience. Her books are an experience, especially her historicals. I went into this one without reading the synopsis first, I have started doing this more with books and think it adds more surprises to the story. I was quickly sucked into this one, I don't want to give too much away, but as usual Ms. Eden has written a captivating story. I enjoy the characters she creates and how she is really able to bring them to life. I could be wrong, but I think this is her first Victorian novel and I really enjoyed the time period.

Our main characters Fletcher and Elizabeth were charming, unique and perfect for each other. I enjoyed their chemistry and what each brought to the story. It was an interesting take to have both of them authors with their stories woven into the overall story. It was handled well. I liked that it stayed light, while still addressing serious issue.

I would definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys historicals or just great stories!

Oh my, what a great story! Sarah Eden has long been one of my favorite authors; I recommend her to everyone looking for an entrancing romance. This latest offering is par-for-the-course wonderful. Set in Victorian England, we follow rags-to-riches Fletcher Walker and genteel Elizabeth Black as they each strive to serve humanity in their own way. Because they are both penny dreadful writers, we have the added fun of two short stories intermingled with chapters of intrigue, some danger, and some mystery. I know there will be more books in this series (can I beg for one featuring Hollis?), and I can’t wait! And if I had my way, the Dread Master would in some way be attached to the Jonquil family (I know, I know, lots of years separate the two series, but they could be a Jonquil descendant, right?). Seriously, read this book!

Rated PG-13 for some elements of mild danger and tactful mention of prostitution.
—no sex
—no language
—some violence (non-graphic)

This ebook was given to me free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I should know better than to start a Sarah Eden book at bedtime! By the time 3:30 am rolled around I finished the book with a happy sigh :) This one is unputdownable. (That should totally be a word). Sometimes I find novels set in Victorian times to be a bit stuffy, but this book is the exact opposite of that- the characters find liberation and freedom in their unconventional work and their vibrant personalities jump off the page. I loved that we got to know Fletcher first- he is so compelling with his confidence despite his tragic childhood circumstances. He's the best sort of person- using the pain of his experiences to improve the lives of others. He's a bit sassy and flirty which is tempered by his depth of compassion and willingness to sacrifice. Elizabeth has those same qualities, but because of her position as a headmistress, must be above reproach and begins to resent that she must stifle herself so much. The secrets and hidden identities are a fun plot device and the pace of the book is steady as Fletcher and Elizabeth get to know each other and grow in affection, all while rescuing the children of London's slums one at a time. Their banter and chemistry is entertaining and I loved their dynamic! Highly recommend!

(I received a complimentary copy of the book; all opinions in this review are my own)

I enjoyed this story, although aspects seem familiar. Perhaps it's the woman writer with a male nom de plume that had caught me.
Elizabeth Black, respectable headmistress of a gentile girl's school is that and a literary writer by day and the Penny Dreadful writer Charles King by night.
Fletcher Walker is the top Penny Dreadful writer by day and rescuer of downtrodden children and others, generally women, by night. His rescue operations, carried out with assistance from the illusive Penny Dreadful Society, with their own secret calling card, a penny, are funded in part by his successful writings.
The main story of Fletcher's publications being overtaken by King's thus putting in danger the wherewithal for the rescue activities for mistreated women and children of the lowest strata of London life is an inspired basis for the novel. We follow the rescue of Daniel, a chimney sweep and two sisters down from the country who were sold to a notorious Madame, Mrs George. Of course the determined Elizabeth becomes involved here.
I admired Eden's use of the artifice of Elizabeth's current Penny Dreadful and Fletcher's forming part of the tale, giving us somewhat of a commentary on the main story, on King's part at least.
Indeed I found myself hanging on every word of these Penny Dreadfuls
Here's the thing though, it seems that revolving through these three stories took an inordinate amount of time for me. In fact the story spread over four days rather than the couple of hours I normally take. I think that interruption allowed me to wander off to other tasks. Most unusual!
Don't get me wrong. I loved the way the story worked, I loved the gutsiness of our Victorian heroine, Elizabeth Black. Alarmingly however Fletcher sort of petered out for me.
I was disappointed that Alistair Headley, who looked like being a somewhat doubtful character faded into the background without resolution and I was left wondering what his purpose was.There are certainly characters aplenty to give their own story to, and perhaps that's what will happen.
An interesting and refreshingly clean Victorian romance, particularly with the included Penny Dreadfuls.

A Shadow Mountain ARC via NetGalley