In my historical romance novels, I often have characters who have experienced a catastrophic injury or illness. As many of you know, several years ago, I broke my neck, so the journey of coming to terms with a disability is a very personal subject to me, and one I suppose I’m constantly working out through my art.
To that end, I’m extra sensitive about criticisms that claim a hero or heroine is “weak” because of their disability. In my opinion, physical strength has very little to do with being a strong person. I do, however, often begin an injured or ill character’s journey—such as with Arthur Heywood in The Work of Art or Maggie Honeywell in Gentleman Jim—from a point of their having given up hope. Again, this is based on my own experience.
A sudden health catastrophe brings up all sorts of emotions. When that catastrophe has the effect of robbing you of the one thing you valued most about yourself—your athletic ability, for example, or your independence—it can lead to a period of extreme depression as you struggle to come to terms with your limitations. I know it did for me.
This is not the end of the journey.
With support and encouragement from friends and family, it is possible to forge a new sort of life and to find happiness and fulfillment in that life. At the start, it may take a little prodding from your loved ones. In The Work of Art, Philly had to encourage Arthur to walk and ride again. Similarly, in Gentleman Jim, Maggie’s best friend, Jane, is initially the one to help draw Maggie out of her malaise.
This is not about “fixing” a disability. This is about reclaiming one’s sense of self. By the end of my stories, I always hope I’ve shown that characters have regained their fire. That they’ve embraced life again on their own terms, and are ready to move forward in whatever way best suits them.
It may not be the way you have handled your own injury or illness—or the way you imagine you might if you had one—but it’s reflective of what happened to me.
Top Image: A Convalescent by James Tissot, 1876 via Sheffield City Art Galleries.
Available Now
The Belle of Belgrave Square
(Belles of London, Book 2)
A PopSugar and BookBub Best Romance of 2022
A London heiress rides out to the wilds of the English countryside to honor a marriage of convenience with a mysterious and reclusive stranger.
Tall, dark, and dour, the notorious Captain Jasper Blunt was once hailed a military hero, but tales abound of his bastard children and his haunted estate in Yorkshire. What he requires now is a rich wife to ornament his isolated ruin, and he has his sights set on the enchanting Julia Wychwood.
For Julia, an incurable romantic cursed with a crippling social anxiety, navigating a London ballroom is absolute torture. The only time Julia feels any degree of confidence is when she’s on her horse. Unfortunately, a young lady can’t spend the whole of her life in the saddle, so Julia makes an impetuous decision to take her future by the reins—she proposes to Captain Blunt.
In exchange for her dowry and her hand, Jasper must promise to grant her freedom to do as she pleases. To ride—and to read—as much as she likes without masculine interference. He readily agrees to her conditions, with one provision of his own: Julia is forbidden from going into the tower rooms of his estate and snooping around his affairs. But the more she learns of the beastly former hero, the more intrigued she becomes…
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“Shiveringly Gothic.”
—New York Times Book Review“Mimi Matthews never disappoints.”
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—Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author“A grand cross-class romance.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review“An intoxicating, suspenseful romance.”
—Library Journal, starred review
© 2015-2023 Mimi Matthews
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About Mimi Matthews
USA Today bestselling author Mimi Matthews writes both historical nonfiction and award-winning Victorian romances. Her novels have received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Booklist, Kirkus, and Shelf Awareness, and her articles have been featured on the Victorian Web, the Journal of Victorian Culture, and in syndication at BUST Magazine. In her other life, Mimi is an attorney. She resides in California with her family, which includes a retired Andalusian dressage horse, a Sheltie, and two Siamese cats.
