When I write a story, I love to add little “tidbits,” which, first, make the tale more interesting, and, secondly, adds to the reader’s knowledge. In my tale, Taming Lord Truist, I introduced my readers to a place a bit north of London, where Truist kept his long-time mistress. played a big part in a section of that tale.
A bit farther north of London, one finds Palmer’s Village. First, let us discover something about Palmer Street.
Nowadays, Palmer Street is a street in the City of Westminster in London that runs between Petty France in the north and Victoria Street in the south. It is crossed by Caxton Street and Butler Place. The lower half of Palmer Street, below Caxton Street, is pedestrianized. Of course, none of this was true for my tale. London was just beginning its scrawl. Palmer Street and Palmer Village were outside of London proper by several (meaning 10+) miles.
The street is named after the priest and philanthropist James Palmer whose almshouses stood on the east side from 1654 to 1881. In the 19th century the lower part was known as Palmer’s Passage and the upper part as Gardner’s Lane.
The Abandoned Communities Website tells us, “In 1853 Charles Manby Smith wrote a quite wonderful description of “A Deserted Village in London”, a place known as Palmer’s Village. He tells us that he had lived in the village during many happy years of his youth, some twenty or thirty years earlier. He deplored the way that the village had been swallowed up by the expansion of London and then disappeared altogether when Victoria Street was created between 1845 and 1851.
“A Deserted Village in London” is a chapter in Charles Manby Smith’s “Curiosities of London Life”. You can read it on the Victorian London website.
“The story of Palmer’s Village begins in 1656 with the founding of a school for 20 boys and almshouses for 12 elderly people by Rev. James Palmer. I am going to take the liberty of quoting in full the tribute to James Palmer that formed part of his memorial when his remains were buried in St Margaret’s Church, Westminster:
“Heerunder is interred ye body of James Palmer Batchelor in Divinity borne in this parish of St Margarets in July 1595. A most pious and charitable man exprest in severall places by many remarkeable actions & particularly to this parish in building fayer almes houses for 12 poor olde people with a free school and a comodious habitation for the scoolmaster and a convenient chappell for prayers and preaching where he constantly for divers yeares before his death once a week gave a comfortable sermon. He indowed ye same with a competent yearly revinew of free hold estate comitted to ye trust & care of 10 considerable persons of ye place to be renewed as any dye. He cheerfully ended this life ye 5 of January 1659.
“Palmer’s almshouses were built at the western end of Westminster, adjacent to the burial ground for the parish of St Margaret’s. They occupied a strip of land at the north eastern corner of Tothill Fields, a large area of scattered market gardens among waste ground that became marshy during wet weather. A lot of shooting went on in Tothill Fields. Men would go there to practice shooting, an activity still commemorated in the name of Artillery Row. Those who lacked peaceful means of dealing with disputes would go there to resolve their quarrels by duelling.”
One man wants her dead. Another may love her forever.
For over a year, Lord Richard Orson has been quietly captivated by the unconventional Lady Emma Donoghue. Headstrong, brilliant, and unapologetically involved in causes that rattle Society’s comfort, Emma is nothing like the debutantes he’s expected to court.
But when he finds her bruised, confused, and alone in Covent Garden after midnight, Richard is thrust into a far more dangerous game.
Someone wants Emma silenced. And now, Richard has only moments to uncover the truth, protect her from harm, and keep her out of scandal’s reach. But staying focused is harder than he imagined—especially when every glance, every accidental touch, reminds him how perfectly she fits in his arms.
Tropes you’ll love:
Protective hero / damsel in distress (with a twist) Bluestocking heroine Rescue & recovery romance Unlikely match / opposites attract Slow burn with rising suspense One bed (forced proximity) Hero falls first
As danger closes in and secrets are revealed, Richard must decide whether he’s willing to risk his life—and his heart—for a woman who’s always been worth the fight.
A suspenseful, slow-burn Regency romance where danger ignites desire, and love must outpace the clock.
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Enjoy book one in a new series within The Lyon’s Den Connected world by Regina Jeffers.
Book 1 – Lyon in the Way
Book 2 – Lyon’s Obsession
Book 3 – Lyon in Disguise
Book 4 – Lost in the Lyon’s Garden
Book 5 – Lyon on the Inside
Every Woman Dreams... 