Zara West’s Book Reviews: Mary Balogh
What Can We Learn from a Bestselling Author?
Mary Balogh has been writing Regency era romances since 1985. There must be something about her books that have kept her on the bestseller lists and on discount and drug store magazine racks all these years. But it is hard for me to put a finger on what that is. In this review I am going to try.
As a romance author I am always studying successful authors who have large followings and written many books looking for hints to make my own novels more appealing. It is on those drug store shelves that I first discovered her books. Since then I have read probably thirty of her novels and enjoyed most of them.
I don’t know why I like Mary Balogh’s books so much. Looking at her writing as an author, I find numerous things that I have been told to avoid in my own writing.
She is wordy. She populates her stories with a rasher of characters not all of whom directly relate to the plot. The events – balls, house parties, and walks on woody estates repeat in endless repetition. Men are rakes or insensitive. Women are sweet and forgiving. And the stories themselves unwind at a snail’s pace with much introspection, minimal action, and ever-so-slowly increasing tension.
Often her characters do not like themselves or have a low opinion of their respectability, beauty, or ability to fulfill the role they must play in society. They make mistakes or have reputations in tatters. Marriage often precedes falling in love.
The love scenes, themselves, are short and lacking in sensory detail. Her constant use of the word “working” in these scenes just seems slightly off the mark.
And yet, her novels are incredibly emotional love stories. Love and the nature of love are the themes that run through all her works. In every book, one or both of the main characters openly discuss the meaning of love and then go on to demonstrate it in some unique way to their lover.
In Only Enchanting (2014), for example, the hero, Flavian, has received a serious head injury which affects his memory, gives him crashing headaches, and causes him to stutter. He can’t remember why he doesn’t want to marry the girl his family expects him to. All he knows is that he can’t.
The heroine, Agnes, abandoned by her mother as a small child, fears to commit to love. A perfect set up for what Balogh does best–throw two unlikely, unwilling people together in marriage and forge a perfect love.
This admonishment of the hero by the heroine in Only Enchanting gives a good flavor of Mary Balogh’s style and belief about love.
“much unhappiness…has made you cynical. Personal unhappiness unconnected with your injuries. And now you have persuaded yourself that passion is of greater importance than quiet contentment and committed love, because passion requires no real commitment but makes you feel alive when much has died in you since your life changed irrevocably.”
Mary Balogh Writing Tips
- Create characters with deep flaws, insurmountable internal struggles, and challenging handicaps to draw readers.
- Have a unity of style that lets readers feel confident that when they pick up one of your books, they know what they will find inside.
- Weave same theme in some form through every book.
- And most importantly, always assure a happy ending.
Like you, I’ve always enjoyed reading Mary Balough. My favorite book of hers is “A Matter of Class” and I always really loved “More Than a Mistress.” Her characters are complex and admirable and her voice is subtle but strong. Her plot lines and conflict are complex. The storyline in A Matter of Class had to have been thought out well before writing.
I haven’t read “More Than a Mistress” (yet). I’m interested to hear that you liked “A Matter of Class” which I thought was one of Balogh’s least satisfactory novels. On second thought, of all the Balogh books I’ve read, I thought it was the least satisfactory. It seemed to me more like a short story that had been expanded to novel length by adding the flashbacks to the characters’ childhood and adolescence. Those did not work for me as foreshadowing; they just seemed intrusive.
I have read all three Mistresses books. No Man’s Mistress, More than Mistress, and the Secret Mistress. In my opinion, these three book have some of Balogh’s most lively heroes and most stalwart heroines. The first two have skillfully handled twists that take you by surprise. I have to admit I also love the Slightly series and the Simply series. As I said I have read just about all her books.
And they’re almost all worth reading. I haven’t read every last one yet, and none of the Mistress series. Give me another three months or so. I’m lost in admiration of how she makes a series by using a minor character in one book to be the main character in the next. I don’t think I could write a series with the same couple of characters but her way is doable. It gave me an idea for my third romance (and the first isn’t due out until about June).
I agree. I take part in Society for Creative Anachronism events (medieval reenactment), and going commando in a port-a-potty is a really good idea.
Experience is always better than research!
I too have enjoyed most of Balogh’s novels. But the “numerous things that I have been told to avoid in my own writing”, if they are the problems you then list, are in fact what often makes good fiction: detail, background, conflict. Some historical romances are slight stories with 20th century characters in fancy dress and far too little conflict and story.
Balogh does often overuse a word or description. Sometimes I think that if yet another of her characters clasps her hands over her bosom, I’ll run screaming from the room. Her sex scenes in particular tend to be repetitive–which bothers me less, as I don’t think a romance novel necessarily benefits from explicit sex. Georgette Heyer’s novels contained no sex whatsoever and are still delightful. It also annoys me (because I’m a bug for historical detail) that Mary Balogh occasionally uses modern words or expressions which are jarring in the context of a Regency romance.
Regarding advice on writing: we have to remember that not all advice is good advice. I’ve often heard it said that you should not “over-research”. However, you have to be aware of what needs to be researched. If you’re writing an 18th century novel and need to mention a laystall (rubbish dump), it probably isn’t necessary to know where every laystall was located (unless it affects the plot). It is necessary to know that London did not have gas street lamps and women did not wear panties under their chemises. When I read historical fiction of any kind, I deduct points for every glaring anachronism. Sometimes I stop reading or never read another of that author’s books. One otherwise enjoyable contemporary mystery writer lost me forever when it became obvious that she did not know the difference between semi-automatic and fully automatic guns (i.e. the difference between a Glock handgun and an Uzi)–and it was a major plot element! Don’t think your readers, or at least some of them, won’t know the difference.
Sorry for the length of this comment but I’ve been yearning to get some of this off my chest. Or bosom. Whatever..
Love all your thoughts and tips. Lengthy comments are always welcome. You are right that what writers are told to do often differs from what actually makes a good story. I agree about the research part, too. I also write historical fiction under another pen name. You can research too much – although I have to admit that is my favorite part.
And it is true that when you have some historical knowledge of a book’s period, errors can drive you crazy. I always laugh when I see drawers mentioned in Regencies. You are right undies were not usually worn. Just think ladies – how would you manage all those skirts in an outhouse?
Even today, there are places where women forgo underwear. Skirts are designed for privacy. You can be out in the middle of the plains herding your sheep and all you have to do is spread your skirts and squat. Much more decorous than revealing your bum as you yank down your underwear. NOTE: I’m speaking from personal experience here.
Mary Balogh is one of my very favorites and has been since I began reading Regencies. I agree with you– she has a way of establishing character and developing plot lines that are intriguing and satisfying. I consider her one of the ‘big three’ authors who influenced me when I was introduced to the genre–Balogh, Mary Jo Putney, and the late, wonderful, Jo Beverly. BTW, I loved Only Enchanting, and all the Survivor’s Club stories. Terrific post, Zara.
Mary Balogh and Jo Beverly were the first romance writers I ever read. I didn’t come to romance until what I will call my later years. I was mostly a sci fi and fantasy reader before that. I found love a much more powerful theme than killing aliens and chasing elves. That’s one of the reasons, I chose to write romance.
Zara, it is a relief to hear you say Balogh’s writing has some minor flaws. I think most writers have some little quirk in their writing make-up that they just can’t get around. But none of that matters if they are able to engage readers. I believe it’s a case of a reader either enjoying your “voice”, or not. I also enjoy her writings. Just something in the cadence, or the “feel” speaks to me.
You are right. Sometimes what are flaws in one person’s writing are style or voice. In the long run, it is the story that matters, and in Balogh’s case, her falling in love stories are superb.
Yes, they are. I particularly like Balogh’s Bedwyn and Survivor series. And her descriptions of the lead up to and battle of Waterloo are very good indeed.