Title: The Ideal Wife Series: Stapleton-Downes #1
Author: Mary Balogh
Published: October 3, 1991
Genre(s): Romance: Historical
Page Count: 224
Rating:
Summary from Goodreads:When Abigail Gardiner knocks at the door of Miles Ripley, Earl of Severn, the last thing she expects is a marriage proposal. Desperate, she had come to this charismatic stranger’s home to plead for her future. Instead, she shocks them both by saying yes. Her impulsive decision will have consequences neither she nor her new husband can foresee. For Miles has his own reasons for marrying her. And Abigail is harboring a secret of her own. As distrust gives way to desire . . . as, together, they give in to the pleasures of the marriage bed, a devastating scandal threatens their future. Now these two wary hearts will risk ruin and disgrace for a love that has changed them both forever—the kind all seek, but few ever find.
There’s nothing like starting a book and discovering, halfway into the first chapter, that it has all of your favorite tropes. Every time I think to myself “Hmm, maybe Mary Balogh isn’t my favorite historical romance author…?” I get hit with an absolutely delightful novel that gives me the happiest of Happy Feels. I should’ve learned better by now.
All this to say: The Ideal Wife is splendid and amazing and astoundingly honest. I enjoyed it tremendously, and it might have to be my favorite Balogh novel (of the 13 I’ve read so far).
The book opens with Miles, the Earl of Severn, complaining about all the women in his life running the show and bossing him around. He’s had quite enough of that, thank you! He tells his friend that his “ideal wife” would be plain, quiet, and submissive; and he says that if met such a woman, he’d marry her straight away. It’s all sort of a joke, of course, but it’s very evident Miles is not interested in any kind of “managing” women in his life anymore. Which is very understandable.
Anyway, Miles arrives home and is informed he has a poor distant relation named Abigail Gardiner waiting for him. He meets Miss Gardiner, and realizes right away she’s the spitting image of his “ideal wife!” So he does what anyone would do in the situation, he proposes on the spot. Abigail, not being a stupid woman, realizes she’d be insane to pass up on a chance to become a countess, and boom: Miles and Abigail get married two days later.
Except we have one teensy problem: Abigail is not actually Miles’ “ideal wife.” Not even close. She talks nonstop, isn’t the least bit shy, is impetuous, silly, has a zany sense of humor, and has a lot of opinions. Oh, and she’s not nearly as plain-looking as Miles originally though. Oh dear.
The good news is: Miles fucking loves Abigail even though she’s not what he signed up for! Like, he’s nuts about her. Absolutely besotted. At some point he realizes that he’s accidentally married a woman who’s the exact opposite of what he thought he wanted, but he’s not bothered at all. Instead, he has boatloads of fun with his new countess and everything seems to be going swimmingly, right off the bat.
I can tell you now, this is not how I expected The Ideal Wife to go. If a romance author were writing this book today, there would be a lot of conflict and angst over Abigail’s personality not meeting Miles’ expectations. He’d feel deceived, they’d have a fight, they’d prepare to separate, then there would be groveling and a sweeping declaration of love at the end. That’s the standard plot. But Mary Balogh has always been a different sort of author, even way back in 1991. This is why she’s manages to be a bestseller for over 30 years.
The reason I loved this book was that it dealt forthrightly and honestly with any issues as they arose. For instance, Miles and Abigail don’t have great sex on their wedding night. And they don’t have splendid sex the next night, either. Or the next. They’re two strangers, Regency-era wives weren’t expected to enjoy sex, and there’s always a learning curve with a new partner no matter what century it is. Our couple gets the hang of it eventually, of course. But do you know how rare it is to read a scene where the main characters have mediocre sex? That was so truthful and refreshing and I just…ahhhh!
I also love Abigail and how Balogh handled her throughout the novel. For one thing, nobody ever shames her for being a somewhat silly chatterbox who tells outrageous jokes. That’s just who Abigail is, and everyone takes her as they find her. Even Miles. And while, yes, Miles thought he wanted a particular kind of woman for a wife, he immediately admits that what he thought he wanted never would have worked out for him, and instead he allows himself to be charmed by his slightly more unconventional bride.
But then you might ask: so where is the conflict in this book???
And, alas, I would have to tell you that the conflict in The Ideal Wife comes from Abigail having a Big Secret that she must hide from Miles at all costs, and which looms over the entire novel like a big stormcloud. Yeah, I know. It’s not my favorite trope, either. Especially since Miles obviously doesn’t give a fig about Abigail’s Shameful Past at all. He loves her! He thinks she’s great the way she is, problems and all. Silly Abigail.
I understand that Balogh needed to have some kind of obstacle that had to be overcome before her couple could get their Happily Ever After. I don’t even think, in this instance, the Big Secret trope was out of place. Miles marries Abigail practically the second he meets her, and it would only follow that she has some issues that she’d need to explain to him that she’d be worried he might not like. I just think the secret was dragged out too long in this book, until the reader becomes almost frustrated with Abigail and begins to dislike her (slightly).
But, overall? The Ideal Wife is splendid! It’s lighthearted but also realistic, and I think that’s something that’s difficult to find in Regency romances. Most novels in this genre are either dark and realistic or fluffy and somewhat lacking in substance. Here, Balogh bridges the gap between the two extremes and greats a feel-good love story that still has a ring of truth to it. I loved this.
