The Famous Heroine

Cora Downes is a merchant's daughter who enters London's elite society after rescuing a duke's son. The genuine and fun-loving Cora feels out of place in cold London society. Her fear of the aristocracy does not extend to Francis Kneller though. He is a duke's son, but Cora feels comfortable around him. Francis is amused by Cora and decides to ease her entrance into society by paying attention to her. After he inadvertantly compromises her twice, Francis offers Cora marriage. They enter into a marriage neither really wants.I loved that Cora was not a member of the ton. I loved Francis Kneller's pink coats and lace. I loved their relationship. There is much humor to be had in The Famous Heroine, but it never overshadows the romance. It develops slowly and believably. Mary Balogh has written another winner!

While Balogh's longer, more involved novels are usually a far better purchase than the standard 200-page Regency, she is an author who can alter her style to fit this genre if necessary, and in 'The Famous Heroine' she's done just that. Cora is a wonderfully amusing and enjoyable heroine, and Francis a rather unexpected but thoroughly likeable hero. Cora's misconception about Francis is actually very plausible, and the scene in which this gets straightened out between them is one of the most amusing in any Regency I've read. It's also good to see a heroine who isn't a simpering miss in the bedroom.Don't expect the usual Balogh angst in this book; but for a comedy with a light touch this is wonderful.

As usual, Balogh writes an excellent, engaging book. Less than halfway through the first chapter and I was already hooked. A hero who thinks he's pining with love for someone else, a heroine who thinks the man she has to marry is gay... but it's handled so well, so wittily and sensitively.I love both Cora and Frances (how could anyone think them shallow?) and I'd love to read 'Dark Angel' and 'Lord Carew's Bride,' but probably won't be able to since they're not available in the UK. Balogh has a talent for making her characters seem real, genuine people; I don't think she could write a caricature if she tried. I have a pile of other Balogh books to read, and I'm looking forward to each one of them.

It's not every day (or every heroine) who decides to marry a man she thinks is gay. . . and who is mortified when she actually admits that to her amorous husband! This is a fun book that is the third in a series of novels for Balogh the first being "Dark Angel," followed by the hero of "The Famous Heroine" being prominently featured in "Lord Carew's Bride" where he loses the beauteous Samantha to Hartley Carew only to find true love and laughter with Cora in "The Famous Heroine." (These two also make an appearance in the story featuring Cora's brother as the hero in "Christmas Bride.")

Mary Balogh's Regency romances may resemble others in the series from the outside, but the unusual combination of intelligent plotting, moving and credible characters and funny dialogue put them among my favourite reading.This particular book is one of her most light-hearted and enjoyable