More Than a Mistress [Mass Market Paperback]

Jane Ingleby interrupts a duel, and by mischance, the Duke of Tresham is wounded. As a result of being late for work, however, she looses her menial job and Tresham employs her as his nurse when she confronts him to demand recompense. Later, after his recovery, Jane agrees to be his mistress, but although Tresham is aware that Jane is ladylike, he is shocked to discover she really is a lady-Lady Sara Illingsworth, on the run for attempted murder and theft.It turns out, however,that Jane was defending her virtue after her cousin tried to rape her, and Tresham restores her to her rightful place in Society before marrying her.

It was a real pleasure to read a regency where the hero did not say 'gotten' every five minutes,(the writer is Welsh rather than American, and it shows in the language) and where there was a real sense that the author understood the time period she was writing in. Although there were passionate love scenes, there was a real sense of a 'marriage of true minds' between these two-for example,When Tresham visits Jane, his mistress, for sex, and ends up telling her about his childhood instead.This is a passionate love story between two strong characters-Jane is by no means the pushover that Tresham is used to, and he is at first almost baffled by her strength of will. It makes for some great scenes between the two, encounters that gradually change in tone from adverserial to intimate.It makes this story much more believable and enjoyable than the standard fare of far too many regencies these days-ninny falls for promiscuous bully.This was my first Mary Balogh, but it definately won't be my last.

Mary Balogh seems to have hit her stride.. one or two of her earlier works were a bit shaky, but this is almost perfectly crafted.
The heroine may, or may not, be a killer - but certainly not a murderess. The hero may be a gentleman, but maybe only by birth.. In a genre that's so 'done' you don't get many plots that are totally original, so if I recounted the bare plot you'd probably think 'read that before', but it is the style and characterisation which makes any new regency novel worth reading.. and this books has style, pace and character to spare. Don't recommend it to your friends - when authors get too popular they start spending the royalties instead of writing, and I'd like to see a few more stories like this on my bookshelves.

I've read a number of Mary Balogh's books but this one, for me, is definitely the highlight. I read it alongside its pair "No Man's Mistress" but this is by far the superior of the two.

The hero of More Than A Mistress is the Duke of Tresham, a wild, rakish man who has had all trace of warmth and artistic flair beaten out of him by his father and grandfather. The Tresham men are manly and this one became duke aged 17 and has spent the next nine years as your average rich titled gentleman did in Regency times - horse riding, fencing, brawling, shooting, duelling and keeping mistresses.

Jane Ingleby is escaping a disaster in her past - saving herself from attack from her cousin she accidentally injures him - apparently mortally. She flees her home in Cornwall to take refuge with a relative... who is out of town. Jane has to find work quickly to keep herself alive, and eventually finds a position at a milliner's shop. Unfortunately she loses her job three days later when coming into work late - late because she intervened in a duel between the Duke of Tresham and the husband of a woman he has apparently slept with.

Jane and the Duke find themselves thrown together by circumstance - she has to nurse him following a shot to his leg in the duel. Their verbal sparring in this part of the book is brilliant. Jane is a calm, clever, self-contained woman (despite the problems in her life) and she is a match for Tresham when no-one else can stand up for him. Eventually he no longer requires nursing but can't bear to see her leave so offers her the position of his mistress - which she accepts with certain conditions. As their liaison progresses Tresham starts to learn about himself, to embrace some of his talents that he has repressed as unmanly and to understand the worth of Jane.

There are some great secondary characters in this book - Ferdinand Dudley, Tresham's brother, is amusing and fun and he's the hero of the second book in this series, No Man's Mistress. Their sister Angeline is great fun, if rather ditsy. Tresham's friends, although with fairly small parts in the series, are equally well written. Jane is being pursued by her cousin and a bow street runner and we learn about her from them, too.

But the real highlight of the book is the relationship between the two central characters. Their conversations are written with sparkle, the way that this relationship changes over time is excellently drawn, and the ending is satisfying. I still marvel at Jane's ability to put up with some of the awful things Tresham says to her but it's clear throughout the book that these two are well suited.

This is a book that can be read and enjoyed again and again and I recommend it highly!