Kindle Price:	$5.99
Sold by:	Amazon.com Services LLC

Read with our free app

You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.

Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

There was an error. We were unable to process your subscription due to an error. Please refresh and try again.

Follow the author

Mary Balogh

+ Follow

More books from this author

The Ungrateful Governess Kindle Edition

by Mary Balogh (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.1 1,500 ratings

See all formats and editions

Jessica Moore, demure governess to a spoiled young girl who is expecting a marriage proposal from the Earl of Rutherford, a guest in her father's home, is unwise enough to creep downstairs to the library one night when she cannot sleep, to choose a book to read. There she is discovered, first by the earl, and then by her employer. Though she is quite innocent of any wrongdoing, she is dismissed without notice and without a character. The earl, conscience-stricken, tries to make amends by offering her a position as his mistress, but when she refuses, he gives her a letter to take to his grandmother in London. In it he begs his grandmother to find employment for Miss Moore. Neither he nor Jessica expects that the offered employment will be as his wife.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07NS8SGRC
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Class Ebook Editions, Ltd. (May 7, 2019)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 7, 2019
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 4227 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 269 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #105,190 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #2,689 in Regency Historical Romance
- #2,898 in Regency Romances

Customer Reviews:
4.1 1,500 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Mary Balogh

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Mary Balogh is a New York Times bestselling author. A former teacher, she grew up in Wales and now lives in Canada. Visit her website at www.marybalogh.com

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5

1,500 global ratings

How customer reviews and ratings work

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

ww2tt

Lovely story

Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2019

Verified Purchase

Mary Balogh is one of my favorite authors. I pre-order her books, and have read almost everything she has written. Her heroines are true to the historical period of time in which the book is set. There are engaging and interesting other characters, many who get their own story, and, of course, a hero that the reader falls for as well as the heroine.

This story is about a young woman, of a socially good family, who works as a governess. Her grandfather is titled and wealthy, but our heroine works. One of the house guests becomes very attracted to her, and the issues of class, wealth, social status, and love arise. The love scenes are written beautifully. Of course, there is a happy ending!

Helpful

The Best Laid Plans By Sarah M. Eden

The Ungrateful Governess by Mary Balogh

Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2019

Verified Purchase

I gave this book a four star rating because it lacked a complete epilogue, however I would recommend this book to all romantic readers because it had most of the elements of a good read.

Helpful

Deb T

Too much angst riddled ruminating

Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2024

Verified Purchase

I found this rather a frustrating read. By the last 1/3 of the book, I had completely lost patience with the two main characters.

Helpful

TjePDX

Fascinating and infuriating

Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2004

Verified Purchase

It's a romance, and you expect a happy ending, but the journey Mary Balogh creates to get there is so satisfying. Her characters are plausible, the dialog is clever and apt, and the situations play out without awkward deus ex machina. You may want to smack the earl upside the head occasionally, but it's because Balogh writes so well. You like the characters, so when they behave irrationally, they disappoint you. That's good writing.
Jessica is a governess, more of a companion now, to a vain and complacent debutante. Rutherford is a houseguest, misled by his hosts into thinking it would be a much larger house party. He is as annoyed by the presumption that he'll offer for the young lady of the house, as he is intrigued to see if the little grey governess is really a pretty dove under her servant's clothing. She could relieve the tedium of his stay.
Or not! Jessica is offended by the Earl's overtures and repels them, but, caught by her employer alone with the Earl, she is dismissed. The Earl, not knowing his own behavior has ended life as Jessica knows it, decides to leave before his host's complacent assumption that his daughter is about to receive an offer of marriage becomes an unavoidable reality. Encountering Jessica on the road, Rutherford offers her carte blanche.
Okay, now you have to read the book. Believe me, it's very well worth it.
The balance of the book explores the presumptions of the age toward women "servants" and men of quality. It is outrageous that anybody belowstairs is open to an invitation that would send a lady into hysterical offense. Rutherford can't get it through his head that Jessica is still a virtuous woman even though she was tempted by his offer. Where can she go? She is a woman without means, now turned off without a character. Who is going to hire her as a governess or companion without a reference? Does that automatically make her no better than a lightskirt just because her prospects are grim? Well, duh! Only a man would think like that.
Indeed, the ladies in the book are quite interestingly open-minded. Rutherford is often infuriating at the same time he is appealing, a credit to the author. Jessica is never coy, and has some great lines. She doesn't suffer her insults in silence.
Highly recommended. Indeed, Mary Balogh at her worst is better than anybody else except Jane Austin or Georgette Heyer.

40 people found this helpful

Helpful

arc

A Man of His Times

Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2019

Verified Purchase

The element of this story that I liked was that the hero was not some 21st century feminist male. He was hung up on issues of class, wealth and selective morality. While he may have felt badly for costing the heroine her job and lusted after her it took him almost the whole book to get past it (and by then he knew she was a social equal.) When he discovers her much better than expected background she asks him if it would have made a difference in how he viewed her and treated her before if he had known and he answers honestly that, yes, it would have. By then of course he is in love with her and all that old stuff doesn't matter so much to him but at least he is honest about it. The heroine struggles with wanting to be valued as herself vs just as an ornamental partner. Despite the fact that she loves him she just will not give up on her desire to be free to make her own decisions. Balogh has explored this before, notably in "The Plumed Bonnet" but this is more than just a retelling of the same story and I have enjoyed them both. I did get tired of Grandmama's machinations but that was not a major problem. A good early story from Balogh worth the read.

15 people found this helpful

Helpful

Kindle Customer

Pride and prejudice

Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2020

Verified Purchase

Ironically, it was my reading of dissertation-length disparaging review on Goodreads that made me purchase this book.
I can't believe that I overlooked this one having read many of MB's works.
This novel is not for a woman of this decade's sensibilities. It refers to issues of class and gender in a power dynamic that many present day women would find off-putting. But I loved it. I prefer MB's earlier writings to her most recent ones. She acheives such a great balance of dialogue and description in her early writings, without the hordes of characters to memorize. The characters are reflective and the dialogue is witty and charming. There isn't an obsession with explicit sex scenes, which i find to be verbal porn, and often skip over anyway. I prefer subtleties.
But yes, the hero has a derogatory concept of women especially those of lower classes, and yes, the heroine is flattered that the hero could restrain himself enough to not rape, and yes these sentiments are unheard of today (actually they are not if you've ever worked in criminal court, judges are still heard to say the same and so have our legislators, but we continue to advance the belief that we are enlightened in our conception of gender relations). Yet, while others are dismayed by these expressions, i proudly admit that I prefer period novels to reflect the period, not modern day notions. I have very little doubt that 30 years from now we too will appear to be unenlightened ogres by present day standards.
So if predatory, brooding heros are offensive, i wouldn't suggest you read this. But if you're a fan of the 1970's to early 1990's romance novel that borders on non-con, then you may appreciate this one.

14 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English

Miss Sprick

Irritante

Reviewed in Italy on March 5, 2020

Verified Purchase

Ho etichettato alcuni dei romanzi di Mary Balogh come 'buoni' 'ottimi' e, soprattutto, 'rieleggibili'. Ogni tanto – come in questo caso – incappo in un suo libro che non riesco a finire. Peccato! Apprezzavo le sue vecchie storie. Mi chiedo se questo romanzo non sia stato 'aggiornato' con un po' di scene di sesso 'random'. Oppure se era così sconclusionato fin dall'inizio

Translate review to English

Matilda

Absolutely wonderful!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 8, 2019

Verified Purchase

Mary Balogh is in top form. She writes with nuance and compassion and I for one came to root for these two flawed but complex characters who in the end manage to rise above the misogyny of the times and reach for a happy ending .

lisa

My new favourite from Mary Balogh

Reviewed in Australia on May 9, 2019

Verified Purchase

This is one of those romances where a couple spend a lot of time in conflict. In the hands of a lesser author this could be tedious. Not in this book though. It is just engrossing. From the opening scene, when a rude rake hits on a stubborn governess, the battle is on! Both lead characters are charming and yet obnoxious. He (Charles, Earl of Rutherford) is full of himself, a spoilt nobleman who has never heard the word ‘no’. She (Jessica Moore, penniless) is no victim, though her life is hard. As the story unwinds Jessica’s uniquely strong personality is revealed.

Every word is enjoyable. Ms Balogh uses inner monologues to draw her characters’ personalities and to build emotional tension. You feel every moment of Jessica’s angst. But there are light hearted moments as well. The sad maiden aunt who believes she is unloveable but romps with the children. The crusty grandmother who cheerfully manipulates Charles.

I like all of Mary Balogh’s books but this spirited novel might be my new favourite.

Amazon Customer

an early Balogh

Reviewed in Canada on June 5, 2019

Verified Purchase

This is almost a re-write of "Deceived"--same old self-justifying excuses for making silly decisions. The characters don't seem quite real. Mary's later books are much better.

calendular

balogh is the best

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 11, 2019

Verified Purchase

the usual formula [written in her early days] but with the style that Balogh has perfected in later years. the governess to whom the earl makes an indecent proposal, which is refused, turns out to be the granddaughter of a marquess. all good stuff and an easy well written read.

Buy for others

Buying and sending eBooks to others

Follow the author

Image Unavailable

The Ungrateful Governess Kindle Edition

Customers who bought this item also bought

Product details

Videos

About the author

Mary Balogh

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries