“We can do something with the back garden, so the children have a place to play, run about.”

“I knew you’d embrace the notion, come up with an idea for improving it. Now if I can just decide what to call it.”

“I had an idea this morning. What do you think of the Fancy Center for Adult Learning? No apostrophe S. A play on your name.”

“That makes it sound as though it’s all mine, when it’s really ours. What do you say to the Rosemont Center for Adult Learning?”

“I say I’d like very much to kiss you, Lady Rosemont.”

“I do wish you would, Lord Rosemont.”

And he did.

Author’s Notes

The primer in this era contained the fairy tale of Cinderella, but it was spelled Cinderilla. It was only later that the spelling became Cinderella.

In addition, Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies does not contain an apostrophe as originally printed.

It was not until the passage of the Women’s Property Act of 1882 that married women were allowed to own and control property.

Boating was an extremely popular pastime during the Victorian era. One company in particular set up stations along the Thames where people could lease rowboats and punts. They could then travel upriver, disembark at another station, and be returned to their original starting point.

The first balloon to fly from England to France was in 1785. It landed in Calais.

As for the Fire King, he was based on a real Victorian street performer who revealed how he managed to swallow fire, and the moment I read his personal account, he filled my imagination with possibilities. I have a feeling we haven’t seen the last of him.

Acknowledgments

I’m not certain why I struggled so much writing this story, but from the beginning I couldn’t seem to make it work. Eventually it became a Frankenstein project, scenes hobbled together as I came to better understand the characters. As a writer, I am always amazed by how a word, thought, or experience can open up a world of possibilities within my imagination.

I owe a great deal to the three people who played a role in bringing the story to life. My editor, May Chen, whose insights helped me to understand where I’d gone wrong; Addison Fox, who helped me see my heroine more clearly; and my son, Alex, who read the draft and offered suggestions for improving the depth of the story and also said, “I can’t believe you didn’t have him tell her, ‘You were never a passing fancy.’” And thus, a different hero came to be.

An Excerpt from BEAUTY TEMPTS THE BEAST

Chapter 1

Whitechapel

December 1873

The woman didn’t belong here.

Not at the Mermaid and Unicorn, not serving spirits.