The Quiet Wife

All he wants is a quiet wife. But she wants something more . . .

1867, Liverpool. Wife to an errant husband, the art patron Frederick Leyland, Frances is losing her sense of self. So when Frederick announces they are moving into the crumbling Speke Hall, she throws herself into the all-consuming task of renovating their once-magnificent new home.

But when one of Frederick’s protegés – the handsome, brooding American artist James Whistler – offers to help Frances decorate, she and the painter form an instant connection. And under the painter’s gaze, Frances begins to see that like the house, there is neglected splendour within her, too. Inspired by the possibilities the artist arouses in her, she begins to wonder if love might still be in the picture for her, after all…

Based on a true story, this is the heady, slow-burn tale of a woman reinventing herself, while embarking on a daring, forbidden love affair with James Whistler.

About the author

Felicity York lives in Lancashire. A freelance further education consultant by day, she is the author of nine male/male Regency romance novels under the name Ruby Moone. She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, whose blog she runs alongside two colleagues, and she was a founding member of the RNA’s Rainbow Chapter to increase diversity and improve the visibility of queer romance in the genre. She’s now seeking to broaden her publishing platform by writing women’s historical fiction for a broad commercial readership. She is active on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram under the name Ruby Moone, and has grown an e-newsletter following of 2,000 subscribers.