Mary Balogh is a recognized Welsh-Canadian writer. She has prolifically penned popular novels under the historical romance genre.
Born on 24 March 1944 in Swansea, Wales and given the birth name Mary Jenkins, Balogh was raised in post-war Wales by a homemaker mother and a writer/painter father. She described her childhood experience as idyllic even though her hometown was as much affected by the Second World War as rest of the world. She was very close to her sister Moira, with whom she shared her passion for reading and writing. As a child, she was an avid reader of Enid Blyton’s books and growing up she voraciously read classics. Both she and her sister wanted to become writers ever since they were children and eventually they made their dream come true.
The perpetual support of her parents enabled Balogh to receive best education during the time when women were not encouraged to study. Following her dream to travel and teach she moved to Saskatchewan, Canada. Here she was hired as a high school teacher on a two-year contract. In fact, she met her future husband, a coroner and ambulance driver, Robert Balogh, in Canada. She continued to teach English at a high school and eventually was promoted to the school principal post. According to Balogh, pursuing teaching was a practical goal while writing was a dream. Her dream was put on hold as she got married and had children. Balogh was highly inspired by Jane Austen’s novels and Georgette Heyer’s historical romance. Reading their works she resolved that she would set her novels in the romantic world of Regency England.
In 1983, she finally began the process of writing and finished the manuscript for A Masked Deception. The novel got published by Signet publication in 1985 and earned Balough the Romantic Times Award for best new Regency writer. Her second novel, The Double Wager (1985) was published the same year. Over the period of time she has penned over 70 novels and 30 novellas to huge success. Most of her novels are set in Regency or Georgian England or Wales. Her novels follow the conventional romance plot. However, her characters are considered eccentric for their unusual characteristics. Her female protagonists are often not respected ladies as featured in typical romance. They usually belong to a lower station of life or have fallen from honor, for instance, courtesans. Nonetheless, they attain their honor in their quest of love.
After writing numerous stand-alone novels, Mary Balogh began writing romance sagas. One of her popular romance series is Bedwyn Saga. It follows the romantic escapades of the noble Bedwyn family. She also wrote a seven-volume Brides & Wives series. Her first novel to be printed in hardcover was More than a Mistress, it was a part of Mistress Trilogy. She continued to teach while writing novels until 1988. After twenty-two years of excellent teaching she got retired to pour all her energy into writing. It has been over 25 years and she is still successfully following her dream. Some of her major works include Slightly Married, First Comes Marriage, More Than A Mistress and The Incurable Matchmaker. Several of her novels appeared on the New York Times bestseller list. In addition to that she earned the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award for Regency Short Stories and her contribution to historical romance.
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