Margaret Brice

Dear Mary

Your beautiful books helped me recover during a period of profound mental illness. I went through your backlist and bought all your old titles. My mum and I could share the delight you gave us as we became immersed in your lovely settings, sharing the tenderness of your characters as they set out on their journeys to find true, everlasting love. And guess what we were discussing books at a family gathering. The usual questions. Mum asked Alan which books he liked. I bet you like detective stories and crime she said. Oh no, Barbara loves all that. Me, I like Romance. Which authors asked mum. Mary Balogh, he replied. My uncle died two years ago. He was a coal miner, near Wigan, in Lancashire. All those years down the pit, he spent his well-earned retirement reading your novels. My family love you, Mary. Perhaps we can realise Longing in the United Kingdom in loving memory. It’s about time, we stood up for ourselves and stopped exploiting the Regency Romance genre, which you helped to shape.

All our love,

The Murphy family

Northern Soul
Wigan Casino 1972- 1980
Keep the Faith