Penguin Random House Canada
If you have never read a historical romance, now's your chance to give one a try by an author widely regarded as one of the most skilful writers in this genre today, with more than 100 - that figure is not a typo - novels and novellas to her credit. Mary Balogh's books are regularly listed on the New York Times bestseller list.
To put these astonishing statistics in context, Georgette Heyer, that doyenne of the genre, wrote a mere 32 romance novels. And Jane Austen, the writer responsible for our fascination with all things Regency, completed just six in her all-too-short lifetime. (To be fair, Austen (1775-1817) was actually writing contemporary novels set in the Regency world in which she lived.)
Another intriguing fact about Mary Balogh is that she is Canadian and lives in Saskatchewan, far removed from the English countryside, the posh castles and the titled and uber-rich upper class she writes about so skilfully.
So, let's have a look at her latest offering. Remember Me is the second volume of a projected Ravenswood trilogy. This 360-page Regency romance features Phillipa, the elder daughter of an earl, whose glittering debut into Society had been scuppered four years earlier by a scandal involving her father.
But all that is in the past, she hopes, as she prepares to enter society at last, only to find those much more powerful than she is are scheming for her to marry the scion of a dukedom. This is the very man who insulted her all those years before and whom she is determined to dislike and resist.
It all sounds very 'in the genre' and even predictable.
But where Balogh shows her skill is in the entire world she creates; days filled with normal family happenings set firmly in the era and comings and goings of relatives both familiar to the reader as well as intriguing strangers.
With 100 novels under her belt, it is not surprising that world events, such as the Napoleonic wars, are handled with confidence and indeed add a backdrop of reality, as do the numbers of carriages and curricles.
The characters could be referring to the latest Rolls Royce or Bentley, so subtle is the handling of modes of transport in the hands of this master of the genre.
And yet, for all Balogh's skill as a writer and knowledge of the era, I found Remember Me rather on the slow side, despite inventive plot twists.
The number of characters who came and went through the pages proved confusing despite the family tree helpfully listed at the front of the book, which, unfortunately, was far from comprehensive enough.
According to an online guide to book sales in Canada, the number of readers of romances of all genres has increased steadily over the past five years, with a spike during the pandemic, not surprising when one of the few escapes possible was into a book.
But with the pandemic now in the rear-view mirror - hopefully - and summer all around us, how about whiling away a long sunny afternoon at the beach or the cottage in the company of blushing young women in an Empire-waisted 'frock' strolling through a rose arbour on the arm of a handsome young gentleman in thigh-hugging breeches with, in the distant, the seductive notes of a string quartet!
Remember Me is published in Canada by Berkley, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada in June 2023 with a SRP of $37.99.
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