I’m over here reading my way through Mimi Matthew’s backlist of books and LOVING IT! She writes historically accurate Victorian fiction like no other.
A WORLD-WEARY RAKE
After years of unbridled debauchery, Tristan Sinclair, Viscount St. Ashton has hit proverbial rock bottom. Seeking to escape his melancholy, he takes refuge at one of Victorian society’s most notorious house parties. As the Christmas season approaches, he prepares to settle in for a month of heavy drinking…until an unexpected encounter changes his plans—and threatens his heart.
A PRIM VICAR’S DAUGHTER
Valentine March is not the drab little spinster she appears to be. When her new job as a lady’s companion lands her smack in the middle of Yorkshire with England’s most infamous rake, she resolves to keep her head down and her eyes fixed firmly on her future—a future which most definitely does not include a sinfully handsome viscount.
A MATCH MADE IN SCANDAL
A friendship is impossible. An affair out of the question. But when one reckless act binds them together, will two star-crossed souls discover there’s more to each other than meets the eye? Or will revelations from the past end their fragile romance before it begins?
The Viscount and the Vicar’s Daughter has the makings of a scandalous romance but what is found between its pages is a sweet romance and story of friendship. Tristan and Valentine have an unconventional beginning, but as their identities tie them together and more is revealed about their characters, an intriguing story of romance and second chances unfolds. Mimi’s subtle style of weaving all story elements together shines through in this novel, particularly where Valentine’s surprising history is concerned.
And oh, the themes of this story! How a person cannot be forced to change — it must be a personal choice. How faith in someone can encourage and uplift. How forgiveness, second chances, and love are all possibilities, no matter the negativity of circumstances. I also really loved the inclusion of Bible verses as a particular element and how they conversationally figure into the dynamic between Tristan and Valentine.
I was particularly happy to read this novel as it was hinted to as a distant and early-planned connection to her latest story, The Work of Art, in her draft of Art if it were to have been a Victorian piece. Alas, The Work of Art was rewritten for the Regency Era and it is a GEM of a story! But I had no qualms imaging Tristan’s story as a later-set version of Captain Arthur Heywood’s brother. (I hope all of these ramblings/gushings make sense!)
If you haven’t indulged in a Mimi Matthews novel yet, what are you waiting for?!
Content note: this novel is a clean romance but has a few mild expletives (all era appropriate) throughout.
The Green Mockingbird 