THE LADY AND THE HIGHWAYMAN by Sarah M. Eden

Elizabeth Black is the headmistress of a girls’ school in 1865 Victorian London. She is also a well-respected author of “silver-fork” novels, stories written both for and about the upper-class ladies of Victorian society. But by night, she writes very different kinds of stories—the Penny Dreadfuls that are all the rage among the working-class men. Under the pseudonym Mr. King, Elizabeth has written about dashing heroes fighting supernatural threats, intelligent detectives solving grisly murders, and dangerous outlaws romancing helpless women. They contain all the adventure and mystery that her real life lacks.

Fletcher Walker began life as a street urchin, but is now the most successful author in the Penny Dreadful market, that is until Mr. King started taking all of his readers. No one knows who King is, including Fletcher’s fellow members of the Dread Penny Society, a fraternity of  authors dedicated to secretly fighting for the social and political causes of their working-class readers. The group knows King could be an asset with his obvious monetary success, or he could be the group’s undoing as King’s readership continues to cut into their profits.

Determined to find the elusive Mr. King, Fletcher approaches Miss Black. As a fellow-author, she is well-known among the high-class writers; perhaps she could be persuaded to make some inquiries as to Mr. King’s whereabouts? Elizabeth agrees to help Fletcher, if only to insure her secret identity is never discovered. What neither author anticipated was the instant attraction, even though their social positions dictate the impossibility of a relationship.

For the first time Elizabeth experiences the thrill of a cat-and-mouse adventure reminiscent of one of her own novels as she tries to throw Fletcher off her scent. But the more time they spend together, the more she loses her heart. Its upper-class against working-class, author against author where readers, reputations, and romance are all on the line.

Opening line:
"Rumor had it, Fletcher Walker wasn't born but had simply appeared one day, swaggering down the streets of London."

GUYS! You get the bonus of THREE stories in one with this book!

Fletcher Walker writes a weekly series for the penny dreads (the lower class can buy the paper for a penny) called And Urchins of London Adventure (vampires in this one!). He uses the money to help fund the Dread Penny Society, which helps gets street urchins away from terrible masters and worse fate. Fletcher is street wise, funny, smart and always on the look out to help others. 

Elizabeth Black writes "silver fork" stories and she runs a school for the middle-classes girls. She loves her work and loves the girls. She's smart, kind and has a secret. She also writes a weekly series for the penny dreadfuls called The Lady and the Highwayman (there is the cutest romance in this one). But it's under the name Mr. King. She also uses her money to help the children of London. 

When the two meet, they are drawn to each other only because of their oppositeness. Fletcher wasn't expecting a woman of means to be witty and forthright and able to banter with the best of the men. She hadn't expected someone who acted in a higher station be so kind and honest. 

They are soon joined together in the mission to help the urchins who are being kidnapped and keeping them safe while also trying to find the circle of people who are taking the kid.

There is only one thing that bothered me and that was someone seemed to drop out of the story about three-fourths of the way into the story. I''m not sure why and maybe it's because he's a secret??

What a cute story. Okay, cute might not be the right adjective, but I loved  the main characters and their love story. 

Thanks to netgalley for the early read!!