Historical romances love to follow a trope, and one of the most common tropes is arranged marriages, or marriages of convenience.
In Regency romance, novels about arranged marriages usually follow a couple who didn’t mean to get married but do anyway. It might be because they were caught in a compromising position, or because of mutual agreement, but no matter what, they enter the marriage out of love and end the book in love.
It’s a fun trope because it allows your hero and heroine to be in more intimate settings without triggering questions about propriety.
Here are my 4 favorite historical romances about arranged marriages:
Slightly Married by Mary Balogh
Why I Love This Book
The arranged marriage in this novel is all mixed up in feelings of duty. The hero, Aidan, returns from war with a promise to a fallen comrade that he would check on his sister, only to find that she is at risk of being turned out of her home. Aidan marries Eve to save her family home. It’s only after that they fall in love...I love that Aidan tries so hard to always do what is right, while Eve takes care of everyone and everything but herself.
Ravishing the Heiress by Sherry Thomas
Why I Love This Book
I’m a big fan of pretty much anything by Sherry Thomas. This novel gives us an interesting set-up: Millie falls in love with Lord Fitzhugh at their first meeting, when as an impoverished earl he comes to meet her as a potential bride. But Fitz is already in love with someone else, so on their disastrous honeymoon, Millie makes a deal with Fitz that they will wait until she is older to have children, and then, once an heir is gotten go on their separate ways. The story then starts eight years after their marriage, when Fitz has the opportunity to reunite with his long-lost love only to realize he has fallen in love with his wife.
After the Wedding by Courtney Milan
Why I Love This Book
Talk about an arranged marriage...this one starts with the bride and groom having a gun held to their heads to force the wedding. From there, Adrian and Camilla are committed to proving their wedding was illegal, except of course they are drawn more and more to each other. This one is interesting because it is particularly interested in the diversity of nineteenth-century Britain: Adrian is black, a motley cast of immigrants, and several of the tertiary characters are gay. It’s got a lot of heart and more than a few funny moments!
Worth Any Price by Lisa Kleypas
Why I Love This Book
Many of the novels based on the arranged marriage trope end up exploring the societal expectations that forced women into marriage. In this one, Lottie has been victim to an older gentleman who is essentially paying her family for the right to do whatever he wants with her. She runs away, so he hires a Bow Street runner to find him. Only that runner decides to marry her instead. This story follows an interesting plot that is both heavy in intrigue and also tucks in social commentary.
PLUS
My book: The Husband Plot!
What could go wrong when you marry someone you have never met?
Lisbeth Dawes would rather not end up a spinster. After her first fiance leaves her at the altar, she agrees to marry Adrian Hathorne sight-unseen. She doesn’t expect much from her new husband, since he plans to leave for Jamaica within the year, but she does hope for friendship and freedom to pursue her own interests.
Adrian Hathorne wants to be above reproach. He doesn’t indulge in any of the usual gentlemanly pursuits, nor does he chase after any women. When his father writes from Jamaica with instructions to marry as soon as possible, he does as asked. It is only after the wedding that he realizes he doesn’t really know how to be a husband - especially not to a bluestocking wife with so many of her own ideas.
Divorce is not an option - which means Lisbeth and Adrian need to find common ground before their marriage of convenience goes up in smoke. Just when they have discovered they don’t disagree with each other over everything, another letter arrives from Jamaica with news neither of them expected. News that will test every aspect of their fledgling marriage.