The marriage of convenience is one of romance’s most enduring plots. Whether the bargain is struck to save a fortune, secure a future, or escape a scandal, watching two strangers discover that vows made for practical reasons can blossom into true love, hot sex, and/or a perfect partnership is, for many, a lot of fun.
As long as I’ve read romance–and I began in the mid 70s– the trope has been a cornerstone of the genre. The MoC romances of earlier eras, penned by Woodiwiss, Lindsey, Lowell and others are still read today. Most of the great historical romance writers have penned at least one. Georgette Heyer’s Friday’s Child gives us a marriage that begins as a useful tool and turns to true love. Mary Balogh’s The Temporary Wife takes a agreement between governess and aristocrat which blooms into devotion. Lisa Kleypas’ Devil in Winter gives us perhaps the most beloved version, where a desperate bargain becomes a marriage marked by loyalty and passion.
The idea is still going strong today. Amazon’s best seller list is full of forced mafia marriages and strategic paranormal/fantasy partnerships. Here at AAR, we’ve recently loved Ali Hazelwood’s Bride in which a vampire and a werewolf find themselves in an unwanted marriage that grows into a very sexy choice. Mimi Matthews’s The Belle of Belgrave Square weds an anxious heiress to a war-scarred soldier, turning something like strategy into what is definitely love. Evie Dunmore’s Portrait of a Scotsman forces a Victorian couple into marriage for appearances and turns the relationship into a powerful partnership. One of my personal faves is Bec McMaster’s Dukes Are Forever–I could read how Adele and Malloryn go from antagonism to I can’t live without you-ism again and again.
However, we live in a world where marriage itself is no longer the goal for many. Close to 35% of Americans 18 to 30 aren’t interested in the institution. Many women, in particular, seem to have decided the single life is the way to go. An HEA used to almost always mean a wedding and a family. Now, that is no longer the case.
This issue is a big one, but today, I’m specifically interested in whether our changing times have changed the way you see marriage of convenience stories. Do you love them or is it time to retire that trope? If so why? And what books featuring MoCs do you like? Which do you dislike?
As I’m a dinosaur all I can say is that society’s changing views on marriage haven’t really affected my view of the institution, or on the MoC trope in romance novels. When it comes to historicals, it’s probably my favourite trope of the lot; the idea of two people who, for whatever reason, are married and then fall in love is one I enjoy, and it’s all the better when the author can do a good job of showing exactly how and why they are compatible and fall for each other. Probably one of the best – in that it’s done in a very down-to-earth way, is Heyer’s A Civil Contract; it’s a very quiet book and takes a very pragmatic view of the situation. It may not have enough fireworks for some, but it makes excellent use of the trope. I’ve read hundreds of MoC historicals, but the one that always comes to mind whenever the MoC trope is mentioned is Mary Balogh’s A Christmas Promise (which I’d rate more highly than either of AAR’s reviewers) – wherein a financially strapped earl marries the daughter of a wealthy coal merchant in order to save the family home.
Randolph believes Eleanor to be nothing but a cold-hearted, social-climber while the new countess believes her husband to be a profligate snob; and they make no bones about making those opinions very clear to each other.
The way Balogh moves them from this position to better opinions of each other and then love is very well done, and all in well under 250 pages!
My favourite Bridgerton book – The Viscount Who Loved Me – also features well-done example of the trope, and I’m sure I could name countless others I’ve enjoyed over the years, including some of the ones you name; Dukes Are Forever, Friday’s Child and Devil in Winter.
Contemporaries are a different matter however because it’s so hard to conceive of any real reasons that would necessitate such a marriage. I’ve read and enjoyed some, but I have to take the premise with several pinches of salt – Briar Prescott’s Just a Taste was fun but there was no real need for the marriage – and I’m currently listening to a paranormal by E.J. Russell in which the two leads have just agreed to get married for Reasons. It’s probably easier to accept in fantasy or paranormal romance than it is in straighforward contemporaries. The idea of marrying for money or property or whatever in a contemporary takes us into billionaire territory and their popularity seems to have dwindled a bit in recent years. I don’t do mafia romances, so I can’t comment on those.
A Civil Contract is one of my favorite Heyeer books. She doesn’t pull any punches or soften any of the circumstances while also showing the growng respect that leads to love between the main characters.
There have been a few contemporaiy romances that have worked for me in the MOC trope. One is Dead Draw by Layla Reyne (M/M) where an FBI agent proposes marriage in order to stay in the loop on an important case. It’s contrived, but the two leads have real chemistry and it’s a very decent romantic suspense. Another is Until the World Stops by L.A. Witt (M/M) when naval officer Casey makes comments that contribute to Tristan’s dishonorable discharge, Casey propsed a MOC where he will transfer his GI Bill to Tristan so he can secure a future. They live as roommates for 18 months and don’t interact much until the Covid lockdown. That starts them on a path to a relationship.
I lump the Fake Relationship trope in with MOCs in Goodreads since both are about convenience that leads to love. I’ve also enjoyed many the books aleady mentioned, and would add The Marigold Chain by Stella Riley, even if it’s slightly different. Morning Glory by Lavyrle Levene definitely comes to mind, and Ten Things I Hate About the Duke.
I LOVE The Marigold Chain – and I’d add another Stella Riley book, Garland of Straw, to the list.
Stella Riley is on a very short list of favorite historical romance authors. I have loved every single book she has written and her newsletters are always fascinating.
I’m rubbish at making lists, but if I had to pick my all-time favourite HRs, A Splendid Defiance would be at or near the top. I read it when it first came out in the late 1980s (along with The Marigold Chain, which were the only two books of hers I could find at the time). Somehow, over the years, my copies were lost – Iso I was delighted when she started republishing her backlist over a decade ago.
Yes! I thought of that one, too, but after the fact! 🙂
Morning Glory! A fabulous example…
Wild Side by Elsie Silver features a MoC and I really liked it. When Tabby’s sister dies, Rhys becomes the son’s legal guardian. Rhys travels for work (as a Pro Wrestler). He is an American citizen living in Canada and he worries about his visa. With the MoC, Tabby can see Milo full time and Rhys won’t get deported.
A Civil Contract, Marigold Chain and Devil in Winter are my all time favorite MoC novels. I think that trope will work only in historical settings, not in contemporary western settings.
I’m still a fan of MoC plots. Definitely find it easier to accept in historical or fantasy, but will read contemporary (though probably not MC or mafia).
What makes it an appealing trope is that it forces the h/h into close proximity for much of the book. I don’t mean sharing a bed – though that can be part of it – but living in the same home, navigating whatever society has made the marriage necessary, having to spend time together figuring everything out, etc.
Certainly there can be misunderstandings and conflict, but because they are married for necessary plot reasons, they have to stick it out and navigate them together.
Marriage of Convenience continues to be one of my top three favourite romance plots, statistics about marriages in today’s world notwithstanding.
Following the protagonists who may or may not be strangers to one another, on their journey from enmity, antagonism, skepticism or distrust to friendship and eventually love is an appealing notion and I’ve spent countless hours immersed in such stories.
Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale, Luck Be A Lady by Meredith Duran, I Married the Duke by Katharine Ashe, The Mad Earl’s Bride by Loretta Chase, The Wicked Duke by Madeline Hunter, Ravishing the Heiress and (the first half of) Tempting the Bride by Sherry Thomas are some of my favourite books with a MoC plot.
It’s still pretty much my favorite trope, mainly because it allows time for them to get to know each other, time for love to grow. One of my favorite’s is Mary Balogh’s First Comes Marriage, which is the same plot as Georgette Heyer’s A Convenient Marriage.
As an aside, it’s nice to see so many others share my love for Stella Riley books.
I’ve been a Riley fan since the 80s 🙂 Sadly, I haven’t found her more recent books to be as good as the earlier ones but those are fabulous.
Stella Riley’s Roundheads and Cavaliers series (Marigold Chain included) is first in class both as historical fiction and historical romance. She has also written three series of novels following Roundheads and Cavaliers —Rockliffe, Brandon and Shadow series. These are traditional romances, nominally set in Georgian times and carry more than a whiff of Georgette Heyer’s Regency romances. Many of Heyer’s plot lines and character types show up in these books. Being Riley novels, they are not bad but they are not hugely engaging either.
I really enjoyed most of the Rockliffe series and thought they were well done. Not as deep as the Roundheads and Cavalier books of course, but still very good historical romances. After listening to the the first two in the R&C series proper, I had to wait for the third book to come out on audio, and I sort of lost interest. I think it’s because these are packed full of historical details and lots of recurring characters, both fictional and historical, and I lost the thread, as it were. I’d need to go back and relisten to the first two in order to continue. At 20+ hours a book, that has felt daunting! 🙂
I don’t read audio books at all- takes up double the time of reading. I am amazed that people can listen and do something else at the same time!
Without doubt, Rockliffe romances are well written and enjoyable. But they don’t, in my opinion, break any new ground in the romance genre. What I have also discovered is that in her more recent novels, the conversational style is also very modern—like “do we have a deal”, “let us work this out” etc. It did not bother me but she has moved very far from her Civil War novels.
The fact that I can do something else while reading is one of the big draws of audiobooks! 🙂 I have a hard time sitting down for hours to read, but I can take a walk, fold clothes, cook, drive the car, play a tablet game, or even go to the grocery store while listening. If I even have a few minutes of an activity that allows me to listen, I do. Even if it’s for 10 or 15 minutes. I also tend to listen at 1.2x speed, because for valid reasons like clear enunciation, audiobooks tend to be preformed at a slower than natural speaking speed. These are all reasons audiobooks are much faster for me than reading print. I listened to The Black Madonna (22 hrs at 1x speed) in less than two days.
And I agree with your assessments of Riley’s writing!
MoC is also one of my favorite tropes; and I’d put mail order brides (Jo Goodman’s In Want of a Wife) and fated mates (Kelly Armstrong’s Bitten and Patricia Brigg’s Alpha and Omega series) into the same general category.
I think this trope will continue to be popular for the same reasons others have already mentioned: it is interesting to watch people put directly into one another’s daily orbit get to know – and then fall in love with – one another.
Beyond titles and authors already mentioned, I’d include
Mary Balogh’s Slightly Married, which starts off the Bedwyn series with a military man’s dying wish that his sister be protected; and Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander. There are a number of medieval era romances that would fit this idea (widows/sisters/daughters forced to marry by the king’s command or end up married to the “winner” when lands are taken as spoils of war) e.g. Elizabeth Kingston’s The King’s Man or Julie Garwood’s The Bride. We were just discussing Madeline Hunter’s By Arrangement recently, an arranged marriage plot. In contemporary romances, I’d argue Nobody’s Baby But Mine is a favorite MoC plot.
Hunter has several MoC romances, many of which I love.
It’s interesting to think about it in contemporary romance–there are a lot of books with alliance marriages which are, I think, the modern version of the trope. Even more common are forced roommate love stories which accomplish a lot of the same.
My favorite is an alliance marriage – Radiance by Grace Draven with Brishen and Idilko. An absolutely gorgeous romance unfolds between these two people, who are forced to marry as part of a treaty.
There are plenty of marriage of convenience plots in HR—no surprise there. This is, like for many other commenters, one of my favourite tropes. I remember really enjoying a few by Mary Balogh (Someone to Wed, First Comes Marriage, Slightly Married). Sherry Thomas’ Ravishing the Heiress also fits, and if I’m not mistaken, that one’s full of wild emotional swings. Anne Gracie’s Marry in Haste is another one I liked.
As for contemporary romance, it’s much trickier to find solid examples, since so often the plots seem too twisted to fit the idea. I did enjoy the first book in C. W. Farnsworth’s Kensingtons series (Fake Empire). It’s all about an ultra-privileged power couple basically forced into a marriage of convenience / arranged marriage to keep their family dynasties intact. (Note: I liked the second book more, but that one fits another trope, the unexpected pregnancy.)
And honestly, I’m not surprised at all that marriage as an institution doesn’t hold much appeal for many women these days. But reading about love? That’s always a draw, which explains why romance books are (still) so popular. The marriage of convenience trope is just a great backdrop for all that love drama.
I haven’t yet found a contemporary with this trope that was even remotely believable, and it just doesn’t appeal to me to read about modern people having their freedom curtailed.
However I do enjoy it in historicals. With the constraints of the times and women’s lack of rights it does become an understandable choice. I think it’s something about the forced proximity but also forced intimacy. And also, that they find themselves experiencing the social standing of an established relationship, while having to build it in private.
Any plot is good with the right author aboard.
Marriage of convenience is one of my favorite tropes, though I agree with many here that it works better in historicals than contemporaries. Especially in a Regency romance, it’s really the only way for the hero and heroine to spend a lot of time alone together and get to know each other.
And as a few others have said, the fake relationship trope (which I also love!) feels similar. They both involve relationships that look one way to others/society, but another way to the people involved. And that’s an interesting source of conflict; those outside the relationship perceive a certain level of trust, intimacy, etc., that might not really be there. And the couple need to figure out how to communicate to each other that their feelings have changed.
The real life “marriages of convenience” that I have known are the opposite of romantic. The best arranged marriage I know is the aunt of a friend who tried to cheer us up by sharing that she grew to love her husband after 20 years together and 2 kids. Not exactly a recommendation, IMO. The worst have ended in fleeing abusive & cheating husbands, getting rejected by family, with divorce as the prize at the expense of personal suffering and wasted years of one’s youth.
But my lack of love for the forced marriage trope began even before — because the idea of being forced into a marriage with someone you don’t know, or worse, don’t like, is not remotely romantic.
I truly have never understood the appeal of the marriage of convenience trope. As a plot device in historical fiction, I can grudgingly accept them in the same way one accepts that plumbed toilets were uncommon before the 19th century.
However, the best writers — the ones who can make you not dwell on the ickiness of marriage of convenience — are those who find ways to break the feeling of the MCs being forced or stuck in a marriage. The marriage of convenience becomes a vehicle for the 2 main characters to get to know each other under circumstances where it would not otherwise be possible. The successful stories also make it clear that the 2 MCs have the ability to exit the marriage without consequence. So a successful marriage of convenience trope needs the following basics to be successful: 1) reason for the trope as a mechanism for the MCs to get together 2) rejection of the forced aspect of the trope — readers have to believe the MCs want to be there.
That’s interesting. I have several sets of friends who had arranged marriages and they’ve all been very happy. I wonder if it’s easier if you live in the US?
oh it’s FOR SURE easier. Because your mother-in-law does not live there, nor does the rest of the judgy community that would look down on you for violating the cultural expectations for a “good wife” or a “dutiful oldest son,” etc…
That makes sense.
A bit late to this thread as I have been abroad on holiday. I think there is a difference between a “forced” marriage and a marriage of “convenience” as those we read of in HR. I loathe the idea of the former but the latter may work (as a trope) because often, in the past, those who married for convenience might have known each other and force was not necessarily part of the package. Aristocratic and royal marriages of convenience were, as far as I understand, more or less de rigueur. The idea that anyone – especially very young girls – can be forced into marriage with sometimes much older men or close male relatives is disgusting to me. That it happens in order for some male relative to get a spousal visa is particularly abhorrent.
You make a good point that there is a distinction between being pressured into marriage vs stepping into marriage willingly out of convenience. But if romance novels sell fantasy, being thought of as convenient is a poor fantasy. IRL, I would not want to be with someone who sees me as a convenience, someone they are settling for. That would be depressing. So whether the person is forced to marry you or marries you out of convenience, neither is a romantic scenario. Even if they fall in love with you later, is that really romantic, that you had to grow on them for them to love you? That’s why I am so puzzled why so many here say they like this trope. I’d rather be with someone who wants me for me. And vice versa. This trope has it all wrong. Romance would be if you are inconvenient and your partner still wants to marry you.
I don’t know, I think it’s romantic that the person starts off not knowing how great you are and the more they learn about you the more they like you, no? It means the true person inside is what they fall in love with, as opposed to just being in lust and swept away.
I kind of find the “inconvenient” love less romantic. It usually reads as people who aren’t that compatible and/or are blind to life’s circumstances who are swept away by lust.
I guess I am drawn to these stories because culturally, arranged marriages are very common in our community. And I guess I want to hope that some of the aunties and uncles I know are actually happy as opposed to having the crazy dysfunctional abusive interactions that I have heard more about.
I know of at least three marriages, all arranged by Indian parents, in which the couples are very happy. And the divorce rate–and I understand the cultural expectations are very different–is a tenth of what non-arranged marriages are. I also know several couples who married within weeks of meeting each other–one could argue they really didn’t know each other–that are very happy decades later.
I do know one couple who fell in love after having a true arranged marriage. But they were both total saints, and it’s hard to imagine someone not falling in love with someone they were in an intimate relationship with who had that level of kindness, selflessness and intelligence.
I also don’t think you can infer much about the divorce rate in India proper, because the cultural taboo against divorce is so high there and women’s expectations for a “good” marriage are so low. Aka mother-in-law doesn’t abuse you, you’re not beaten, etc., if your husband isn’t a philanderer or alcoholic, that’s good enough.
My son is married in India to an Indian woman. The divorce laws there are interesting.
My marriage was arranged—the time between when we first met (exchanged 15 minutes of conversation) to when we tied the knot was literally three weeks. And three weeks later, we moved to the US. I have been now married for 42 years.
What I describe below is how it used to be for centuries, including for my generation. Things have been changing in the last 25 years. Love marriages and love-cum-arranged marriages are more the norm now.
Arranged marriage are one of the pillars that ground and support the patriarchal power relationships. When these marriages take place, they involve transfer of wealth from bride to groom (men usually marry up), a source of wageless domestic labor (typically, mothers, wives, daughters do all the domestic work) and above all, a great deal of effort is also made to keep the newly married couple from developing any romantic interest in each other. There is also the pressure to have children immediately. Since divorce is unthinkable, husbands and wives stay together forever, without ever experiencing romantic love. Most of these marriages are also deeply unhappy without any sense of why.
I escaped the many pernicious aspects of an arranged marriage because we moved to the US and my husband’s or my family members could not interfere in our lives. Our marriage has not been without its challenges (we have stayed together not because it is convenient but because we want to) but given what my FIL was like, it would have been a wreck if we had lived in India.
I don’t think arranged marriages work in contemporaries, with one exception: Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ “Kiss an Angel.” That one only made sense because there’s a little bit of magic in the book, so the ridiculousness of a woman in America choosing to marry some dude her dad picked out for her on no acquaintance gets glossed over. And it’s about an arranged circus marriage.
I think it depends on how you define arranged marriage. Harlequin is full of forced marriage stories and many work. I also feel like the modern version of that is the alliance marriage which is quite common in contemporary romance.
I do love Kiss an Angel!
A modern MoC plot I enjoyed and have not seen here is Marriage of Inconvenience by Penny Reid. In this case, the heroine needed a spouse to keep her evil relative from trying to take over her family’s business so she picked someone she sort of had feelings for anyway. I enjoy most things PR writes.
As someone who has been married to the same person for over 20 years, I think maybe the trope is popular because I think of my marriage vows as binding, yet my spouse I have to continue to accommodate each other through each of our individual changes through the years, some of which we did not know about or see coming when we got married. So these stories have something to say about finding yourself suddenly married to someone “new” or “unknown” to you.
I so agree. I also think these plot lines require that couples compromise to fall in love which is the only way in a marriage, over time, to stay in love!