Belles Of London Books in Order

The Belles of London books follow a close circle of Victorian horsewomen who refuse to stay neatly inside the lines society has drawn for them. Set in the early 1860s, the series moves between London's parks, ballrooms, tailor shops, artists' rooms, and country houses, with each novel giving one of the friends her own love story.

It begins with The Siren of Sussex, where Evelyn Maltravers, a bluestocking from a failing family, joins forces with gifted tailor Ahmad Malik in hopes of making herself impossible to ignore. That opening sets the tone for the whole series. These are romances about women trying to claim room for themselves, and about men who see them clearly even when the wider world does not.

The later books keep that same spirit while changing the flavor. The Belle of Belgrave Square leans Gothic, pairing anxious heiress Julia Wychwood with the formidable Captain Jasper Blunt in Yorkshire. The Lily of Ludgate Hill turns to second chances as Lady Anne Deveril reconnects with Felix Hartford. The Muse of Maiden Lane gives the spotlight to Stella Hobhouse and artist Edward Hayes, bringing art, disability, and a marriage bargain into the mix. The friends recur throughout, so the series feels knitted together rather than merely shelved together.

The horses matter.

Riding is more than a hobby here, it is freedom, confidence, and sometimes the only place a heroine can breathe. Fashion matters too, especially in the first book, because clothes in these novels are never just clothes. They signal class, money, race, respectability, ambition, and who gets to be looked at on their own terms.

What makes the series especially readable is the balance. The books are warm and romantic, but they do not ignore harder realities. Matthews weaves in questions of race, class, disability, mental health, gossip, and financial pressure without losing the pull of the love story. Some installments feel cozy, some feel shadowed, and some carry a touch of fairytale or Gothic suspense.

If you like interconnected romances with strong friendships, a real sense of place, and heroines who are brave in very different ways, this series is easy to fall into. Read in order if you can. Watching the four riders move from side characters to center stage is half the fun.