Mary Balogh is a Welsh-Canadian novelist writing historical romance. She was born and raised in Swansea, Wales, daughter of Mildred "Double", a homemaker, and Arthur Jenkins, a signwriter and painter. She moved to Canada on a two-year teaching contract in 1967 after leaving university. As an adult, Balogh discovered the world of the Regency romance as written by Georgette Heyer. The vast majority of Balogh's novels have been set in Regency or Georgian England or Wales. First Comes Marriage is the first novel in Huxtable Family Quintet. At the start of this book, we meet the Huxtable family: eldest sister Margaret; youngest sister Katherine; young brother Stephen; and middle sister Vanessa Dew. Vanessa is a widow, having married a neighbour who died a year and a half ago. Although she still lives with her in-laws, her three siblings live in a small cottage and make do with minimal money. When a viscount comes to stay in the local inn, the village is intrigued, especially when he attends the assembly dance. The Huxtable family are astounded the next day when they discover that their lot is going to change significantly. As they find themselves moving to a new area and preparing to be introduced to polite society, Viscount Lyngate is planning to ask the eldest sister, Margaret, to marry him. Vanessa knows Margaret still carries a torch for her young love, serving overseas in the army, so she persuades Lyngate to marry her instead… Just push the play button and enjoy the free online English audiobook “First Comes Marriage” by Mary Balogh on our website!
