Once a Fallen Lady

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Pub Date 29 Jan 2020 | Archive Date 8 Feb 2020

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Description

He woos her with chocolate, flowers, and novels. She can’t say no to him, but can’t say yes to love.
Lydia Taylor's roof is leaking, her chickens are out of control, and she can’t afford the rent. When her daughter falls ill, the last person she wants knocking at her door is gorgeous school teacher Alfred Lowe. His scowl makes her feel like he can see through her façade of a respectable widow and judge all her secrets.


To achieve his dream of his own school, Alfred Lowe needs to marry a wealthy lady. But from the moment Lydia Taylor fell at his feet, he's been awkwardly attracted to her. What begins as duty to support one of his pupil's mother soon becomes much more complicated. Maybe even... love?


But amongst kisses, tears, and savory pies, the past creeps into the present, casting a long shadow. If they risk love, they could lose everything they’ve ever wanted.

* Characters: hot teacher hero; heroine with a secret;

* Setting: mid-Victorian England

* Feel: soft yet angsty; family drama; homely and domestic; countryside; romantic; bucolic; all-the-feels;

* Content Notes can be found at the front of the book

* Length: 45,000 words (long novella/short novel)

He woos her with chocolate, flowers, and novels. She can’t say no to him, but can’t say yes to love.
Lydia Taylor's roof is leaking, her chickens are out of control, and she can’t afford the rent...


Advance Praise

"How I loved this story! Alfred Lowe was the ultimate hero, he was handsome, caring and kindhearted." Cheryl, GoodReads

"Excuse me while I squeal in utter delight but this book was so good. I was instantly bewitched by Lydia and Alfred." Mikku-chan, GoodReads

"How I loved this story! Alfred Lowe was the ultimate hero, he was handsome, caring and kindhearted." Cheryl, GoodReads

"Excuse me while I squeal in utter delight but this book was so good. I was...


Available Editions

ISBN 9781656452320
PRICE US$0.99 (USD)

Available on NetGalley

Send to Kindle (EPUB)
Download (EPUB)

Average rating from 34 members


Featured Reviews

Once a Fallen Lady is a surprisingly well-developed and well-paced historical romance novella. I really enjoyed this and would seek out more by this author. If you are looking for something short and satisfying, this is a great pick.

Lydia Taylor is raising a 10-year-old daughter and living on the brink of poverty. Her secret is that she is a ruined woman and her daughter is a bastard child. But when the child falls seriously ill, she develops a sweet relationship with the local school teacher.

I thought the romance her was very sweet and enjoyable. The hero is definitely a beta-type and I was all for it. He brings her books and chocolate and is so incredibly sweet with the daughter. Lovely and well-executed. I received an advance copy of this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

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Once a Fallen Lady by Eve Pendle is a nice, sweet romance. It is written nicely and i enjoyed the characters. Lydia the MC, is a woman who had a child out of wedlock and went to many lengths to cover it up, even so far as letting her parents think she was dead. She meets a lovely gentleman who falls for her immediately. He is a teacher of her daughter Annie and she falls ill with polio. He makes everyday visits to check on the child and eventually romance ensures with Lydia.

This was a fun PG13 book which I enjoyed. Not a long book though, only 180 pages.

Thank you so much to #NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy to review.

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I received an advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Sexy short romantic fun. Very enjoyable pleasure reading

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Once upon a time, Lydia Taylor was a respectable young woman who aspired to marry an earl. That was a long time ago, though, and the balls, parties and pretty gowns belonged to another life… one where she wasn’t a single mother desperate to conceal the fact that she’s not really a widow, for her daughter’s sake. Living in poverty and gouged by an unscrupulous rent collector, when Annie falls ill she’s at her wits’ end until Annie’s schoolteacher appears on her doorstep with an entirely unlooked-for offer of help.

Eve Pendle writes her characters so well, such that Lydia’s fear makes absolute logical sense. There are no contrived leaps of logic here for the sake of the plot; Lydia’s fears are very real and the risks she must take have to be carefully weighed, every decision taken with the full awareness that she might be jeopardising everything she holds dear. Alfred isn’t operating with all the relevant operation for most of the book, but he immediately grasps the magnitude of the problem once Lydia tells him the truth.

Alfred’s a decent man, but also somewhat of an ambitious one. He had a dream of opening a school, but it’s an entirely unattainable dream unless he can marry a woman with money. A penniless widow with a child of her own definitely doesn’t fit the bill… and yet he can’t walk away, because there’s something about Lydia which calls him. Her pride, her quiet desperation, her determination; she’s very compelling.

I won’t spoil how it all resolves for the pair, but be assured that this is a romance and there is a happy ending. One of the villains of the book turns out not so villainous in the end, though I admit the grovel wasn’t quite as abject as I would have liked. Something I did very much enjoy was that not all the characters were lily-white; Sir Thomas, the major landowner of the area, is a Black man who made a fortune importing guano from the Caribbean, and his daughter makes an appearance late in the book - for just long enough for me to hope she gets her own story soon!

Five stars for an excellent Victorian romance about two ‘average’ people - a pleasant change from infinite dukes and earls.

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A well written historical romance. Good plot and lovable characters. Fans of historical romance will enjoy this book. I received an arc from the publisher and this is my unbiased review.

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With secrets looming between them, does their growing attraction stand a chance ....

This book is such a lovely tale of acceptance and letting the past go.
Lydia has lived a makeshift life for now ten years, one forged under duress and deceit with no other choice than living a make-believe new life far away from her previous one. Society was so unforgiving for those who have fallen to hold to the appearance of perfection.
She has been a spoiled girl, but she was just that a girl when her life was turned upside down. Since she had to come of age much faster than she should have.
Despite her shame, she is still a prideful woman, she learned from her mistakes, flawed she is but willing to do her best for her daughter.
Alfred is a dream comes alive, a really to good and caring to be true man. Honorable, nonjudgmental, steadfast and loyal. Still he will need all his determination and perseverance to break through Lydia’s walls.
He has his own dreams but because of his own rightness and honesty, it costed him to have to put them aside.
I rooted for him, hurting with him when he felt rejected, cheering when he sees hope in his wooing, happy when she opens her heart to him.
I loved how despite his shyness, he slowly entering Lydia’s home, to become a pillar on whom she can rely, the one person she can trust with her secrets and who will stand for her.

5 stars for this awesome tale of one’s worth is in the eyes of those who love you.

I received an advance copy and ordered my own. Here is my true and unbiased opinion.

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3.75/5. This is a gentle love story between a village school teacher, Alfred Lowe, and the widowed mother of one his students, Lydia Taylor. Lydia is struggling to provide for herself and her young daughter financially. Their circumstances only worsen when Annie falls seriously ill. Alfred, the diligent teacher that he is, comes a calling to offer his assistance. Of course it would be all too cynical (and accurate) to think that Lydia's beauty might be a motivator for his kind attentions. But Alfred, though not quite borderline indigent like Lydia, is not exactly swimming in money what with his modest income and his ambitions that require every one of his hard-earned pennies to bring to fruition. In addition, Lydia - it turns out - is no widow. This is not a spoiler, given the title, but it adds to her shame and the hopelessness of any romance between them. Still the heart wants what it wants and love conquers all in the end. That and a cart load of money!

I really didn't like the ending. So many inconsistencies started to develop in the story and the ending was unrealistic and unsatisfying. *spoilers* I wanted the solution to their dilemma to be resolved by the protagonists and not by a monetary grant from the villain of the story. It feels like tainted money and all was forgiven too quickly, not to mention that fifty thousand pounds was an insane amount of money in those days. Markshall knew where they were for years and yet allowed them to live in poverty and now decides to step in after Annie has already recovered to hand over a fortune. Furthermore, Markshall showed hunger to see Annie when he entered the house, yet was happy to leave - once he had handed over his guilt money - without organising to see her again. In addition, considering Lydia's concern about keeping her reputation spotless, they were pretty indiscreet with Alfred visiting her daily and running errands for her and them taking walks together surely would have generated gossips in a small village. I also didn't understand why she turned Alfred's proposal down while allowing her daughter to call him papa.

Still, rounded up because I like the writing style, the authentic feel of the story and the language.

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I enjoyed this book and read it through in one sitting. It was nicely written, but there was an odd typo in the eARC, which I assume will be corrected. Set in 1875 England and for once there wasn't a Duke in sight! (which I liked) Lydia is a very poor unmarried mother, pretending to be a widow and Alfred (swoon-worthy) - also quite poor, is the local schoolteacher. He's been taken with her since they met two years before and when Lydia's daughter Annie becomes sick, he starts calling with pies, sweets, chocolates and books. This is a story about poverty, morals and family and I liked the small town setting.

Their romance is slow burn for most of the story while then it becomes steamier in the latter half. Everything is a bit too conveniently and neatly wrapped up at the end, but this is fiction and a romance, after all. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC. 3.5 stars. I'm intending to read more from this author.

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This book was written beautifully, and the story of gripping. The pages just fly by and you dont want it to end. You want to continue with the characters even after the story is over.

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I loved the balance between the "tragic" parts and the moments where Lydia and Alfred simply enjoyed their company.
Both share lots of similar thoughts and I love how easily they are getting along - despite Lydia's hesitancy regarding Alfred's courting - which is more than understandable based on her hurtful past

This book has many elements that makes it to a solid page turner & puts you on the edge of your seats.

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I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Eve Pendle is a new-to-me author, but we have talked a bit on Twitter, and I was struck by the blurb of this book when I saw it, and how it stood out from a lot of what is being published in historical romance right now. While there are some familiar elements, they happen to be some of my favorite things: the cinnamon roll hero and the heroine “ruined” due to the double standards set by society, as well as its overwhelming class snobbery.

Alfred…what a dreamy hero. He’s a schoolteacher, while things between him and Lydia do start off on an awkward note, things develop in a wonderful way, with his feelings for her growing, while she’s more reluctant to fall in love, due to how she’s been hurt in the past. His tenderness toward her is wonderful, while also not pushing her to do anything she doesn’t want to do.

I truly felt for Lydia, and rooted for her, both as the circumstances that led to her present situation were revealed and observing her dedication to her daughter, who has polio. Writing the character of someone with a disability, as well as their caregiver, can be complicated, but I love that Pendle makes this story one of optimism, and a fairly good representation of a family where one of its members has a disability.

This novella is absolutely wonderful. Great characters with absolutely wonderful romantic arc, with depth and complexity in spite of its novella length. I recommend this to all lovers of historical romance.

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This was a really sweet read that you can almost feel the cosiness radiating off! Lydia and Alfred were a really sweet couple, and he in particular seemed just genuinely nice and selfless. It was a change for me to read historical romance not focused on the aristocracy, and I really liked that it took a different direction from the usual social whirl of high society. Instead, the characters get plenty of quiet moments to make a friendly connection before they fall in love. I always enjoy Eve Pendle's books, and this is no exception.

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The author wrote a great read, as the characters were well developed and the historical setting was accurately portrayed. I thought that polio being part of the plot was brilliant on the author's part, as it is rare to see it featured in a book, let alone having a female inflicted. The romance was realistically portrayed, as well. Overall, this is a great read!

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Sweet and sexy novella about working class people in Victorian England. I’ve made a pledge to read more books about people in the working class because honestly I’m starting to get bored of all the dukes and duchesses etc.

Alfred is a school teacher and Lydia has a farm and her daughter is illegitimate. She gets sick with polio and Alfred visits every day bringing books and sweets and the two become sweet on each other.

This is the first Eve Pendle I’ve read but it certainly won’t be the last.

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Once a Fallen Lady is a gripping tale of love and heartbreak that pulls you in and leaves you wanting even more story! Can not wait for the next book to be published!

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Falling and having to pull herself out of the mud made Lydia Taylor’s first introduction to Alfred Lowe humiliating, but it doesn’t matter, Lydia’s experience with men has not been the best and handsome men such as Alfred are bound to give her nothing but heartache. Bad choices and reckless behavior in her youth, left Lydia ruined and forced to live a lie. But enduring all the pain and heartbreak was worth it because it gave her daughter Annie. She will ignore the handsome teacher and just concentrate on making Annie’s life as good as possible, which means keeping her secrets.

Alfred Lowe has admired Lydia for years, but he has kept his distance, Lydia is lovely and Alfred is nervous around her. But when Annie misses school he feels it is his duty to check on her. He goes to their cottage and finds a very upset Lydia. It is clear she needs a doctor for Annie but can’t afford one, so Alfred intervenes with the local Squire and has a doctor sent. The news is not good, Annie has polio and her prognosis is uncertain. Alfred becomes a pillar of strength for Lydia and soon she is wishing that things could be different.

Alfred has long dreamed of opening a school of his own, but without a rich wife to help him achieve it, a dream is all it will ever be, because he is sure Lydia is the woman he wants to spend his life with and it is painfully clear that she has no money. As he spends more time with Lydia, she slowly begins to trust him and feelings deepen, but she refuses to consider marriage and it isn’t until she shares her darkest secret that he understands why - but there must be a way!

I loved this story, it was a well written, emotional tale that sucked me in from the first page and kept me flipping pages until the last word was read. I loved Alfred, he might be a beta hero, but OMG he is just perfect. Lydia is also wonderful and with everything she has endured, my heart just broke for her. The story has a lot going on, but the focus stays on the budding relationship between Lydia and Alfred, the story is filled with so much emotion, both happy and sad, chickens, a shady land agent, stolen kisses, secrets and finally a very satisfying HEA. If you read “Falling for a Rake” you already met Lydia, Alfred and Annie and if you didn’t you are going to want to read it after you finish this book  - the two books are connected, but they can definitely be read as stand-alone titles.

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•Virgin Radical Hero
•Fallen woman
•friends to lovers
•Historical romance about the lower classes? I'm in!
•comfort read
•Low angst
•Lots of books, chocolates and love!


I'm tired of reading the same story over and over again and I thought that I had lost my love for historical romance because all the books that I tried to read last year ended up being a disappointment. I'm tired of Dukes/Rakes and white feminists.

Although both of the main characters of this novella are white, they are from the lower classes and that was a breath of fresh air.

This novella is "low angst" but I found something inherently sad about the fact that they can't marry because they're poor. Alfred is a teacher and he would like to open up his own school but he doesn't have the means to so it would be better for him to marry a woman with a good dowry instead of Lydia.

This novella reminded me why I love historical romance so much and it also reminded me of my favorites Courtney Milan's books, and as far as compliments go, this is the best compliment I can give to someone writing historical romance.

The only thing that I didn't like was the fact that everything ended up happily and it was a bit over the top but I knew this was going to be a low angst novella so it was expected.

A heartwarming novella about two normal people falling in love because the lower classes also deserve their happy ending. I would definitely recomend it to everyone who loves historical romance but want to read something DIFFERENT and REFRESHING.

And last but not least the hero is a virgin and a radical!

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As the crisis of Annie Taylor's illness deepens, Alfred woos Lydia, her mother with chocolate, savory pies, flowers, and novels. But the past creeps into the present, casting a long shadow. They must choose whether they can love, despite the risk to everything they've ever wanted.
I have read two other books by this author and although I found both to be OK reads I was unsure if I would want to read another.
If this had been the first book I read by this author I would have jumped at the chance to read more.
This is the best I have read by her. If all of her books were of this quality she would be a favorite on my list.
I gave this book 4.75 of 5.0 stars.
I received a complimentary ARC of this book to read. This in no way affected my opinion of this title which I read and reviewed voluntarily.

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You know when you find a new favourite author and you immediately have to devour everything they’ve ever written? That was me last year, discovering Eve Pendle. As such, I’ve been waiting impatiently for this book ever since.

Once a Fallen Lady is about Lydia Taylor, a “widow”, who lives in a small village with her daughter Annie. When Annie falls ill, her teacher, Alfred Lowe, comes to help out, drawn to Lydia for reasons he doesn’t quite know. Alfred supports Lydia throughout Annie’s illness and they follow that usual romance trope of falling in love (complete with the slowburn).

Hands down the best part of Eve Pendle’s books is always the characters, and that’s no different here. Lydia is a single mother just wanting a good life for her child, after being cast out by her family, and Alfred is the complete opposite of the somewhat prevalent “alpha male dickhead” trope (not that that can’t be done well, it just gets tiring after a bit). All both of them are trying to do is their best, and I love them for it. I also love how, when Lydia rejects Alfred, he doesn’t push her into something she feels uncomfortable with. He’s always happy to let her set the boundaries (more of this in romances please).

And then there’s the slowburn! Granted, it’s sort of less of one here, because it’s a novella after all, but still. In that short time, Pendle succeeds in slowly ratcheting up the tension until you’re begging for them to get together. Which is, let’s be honest, pretty much the perfect sort of romance.

So, really, what I’m driving at here is that I desperately need you all to read this. Like, right now.

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Lots of stuff to like in the latest from Eve Pendle: great consent, recognition that there weren't only white people in Victorian England, and a tightly written story with relatively low angst for the relationship (though high in other respects). What I would have like to have seen more of was Lydia's progression from deep shame to accepting her sexuality again--for someone who had clearly internalized her shame, the walk back needed to be a bit more gradual. Pendle has a fabulous histrom voice, and she writes with empathy--you feel the injustice of Lydia's plight and how desperate her situation is, and I now kinda retroactively hate the hero of her previous book for leaving Lydia and her daughter in poverty, even if he did provide some kind of help and eventually redeem himself. (Read Falling for a Rake before this one!)

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If you are a romantic, you’ll enjoy this novel! A story of a school teacher who fell for student’s mother, but the mother had a hidden secret. Illness brings stress, heartache, and an poverty to this family but that did not stop the love or lust that was building in this couple. A mother’s love for her daughter as she kept her secret hidden for many years caused so many heartaches and will keep the readers wondering if the day will come when all is revealed.
#Net Galley
#Once a Fallen Lady
#Goodreads

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I loved this historical romance. It was quite a short read but the storyline and characters were believable and soon had me gripped with their lives. I would recommend this book.

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If you are looking for a book that will give you all the warm and fuzzies, LOOK NO MORE! This is the book for you. True love that keeps you yearning for more. **This does involve a child with an Illness **

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I loved this short but engaging story.
Lydia, a single mother in rural England, who has barely enough money to live, finds she must now find a way to pay for the care of her daughter who has fallen very Ill. Although she comes from a wealthy family and dreamed of marrying a title, she was disowned when she found herself an unwed mother.
Alfred, the new school teacher, needs to marry an heiress. Lydia falls at his feet, literally, and Alfred is smitten. He tries to help Lydia out in the guise of helping a student. All the while, growing closer to them both.
I highly recommend this book to all. Especially my fellow historical romance fans!
Thank you Eve Pendle, BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for allowing me an advance copy for my honest feedback.

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i really enjoyed reading this book, the characters were great and I really enjoyed the time period. I liked Lydia she was a great character.

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This book is a charming and nice gem.
Here we have Lydia, Annie and Alfred. Lydia who don`t want any fuss, pity or charity even though it leaks through the roof and they barely have any money. Her pride stands in the way of that. This little gem is around 180 pages and have a very nice pacing of the story. Annie is a happy child who loves the school in the village, even though they often are late and the teacher`s huff and puff about it. Alfred who easily fall for Lydia and has his own ambitions and dreams – he wants to help learn the children reading, cooking and solve their problems. He knows that isn`t how it is. But it is a nice dream. One can clearly see that Lydia and Alfred (Mr. Lowe) are in love with each other, but it doesn’t feel like instant love, it grows slowly like a flower in the soil. It needs nurturing and care for it to grow between them. But sometimes one frowns and go? Really! Come on! You love each other!! And I really like that they aren`t perfect, that they admit they have faults tough Lydia`s lie, well that could maybe have been told sooner instead of later, but that is only my opinion. I mean I guess it created more story when she waited, but I am glad she did tell him and that he did not pull away from her because I would have been very sad if he did. Though that is not the Alfred Lowe I know and grow to love as a character. He quickly became my favorite.

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I enjoyed this historical romance story with the two main characters that were Lydia Taylor and Alfred Lowe. And also the rest of the characters too.

Lydia Taylor is a respectable widow and capable mother with a sad past history. That has been having a hard time paying for things.So when her daughter falls very ill she not sure if she be able to pay for a doctor.

Alfred Lowe is the new teacher of this small town. So when one of his students doesn't show up at school he decides to see how they are doing.

This was quite a emotional book. With a few surprises along the way.

I received a complimentary copy via Netgalley. This is my honest unbiased opinion.

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A story to pull at the heart-stings - especially to those of us who remember polio and its effects and the dreadful iron lungs.
i remember being told not to play in a particular stream as a child because the water carried polio. I remember volunteering at a lung recovery hospital where people were still in iron lungs. Such an awful disease.

And here we have dedicated teachers with modern ideas of how schooling and education should go, which were not currently in vogue and indeed were considered to be threatening to the status quo. Education and schools were often brutal in application and a little bullying or corporal punishment was considered correct and essential for children to receive.

A nice gentle story with many reminders of just how bad society was then in so many ways to those not born into privilege or who are not rich enough to live well.

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