Marriage of Convenience Stories – What’s The Draw?

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Hi everyone, Winnie Griggs here.

I want to admit right off the bat that I’m a sucker for a good marriage of convenience story, as both a reader and a writer.  In fact, off-the-top-of-my-head I can come up with the titles of nine of my own novels that have some form of that trope included.

The other day I was trying to analyze why I’m so drawn to these stories, in both my writing and my reading.    I came up with the following three reasons

  • First and foremost, there’s so much built in conflict and room for growth when two people are forced to get to know each other after they’re married rather than before.  And strong emotional conflict, of course, is what makes a story really snap, crackle and pop.
  • Then there’s the fact that the now married pair can’t really get away from each other as they work through their differences and try to deal with the inevitable attraction that results – a recipe for a potential page turner.

  • And of course, as a writer, there’s the fun of coming up with unique but totally creditable reasons for said marriage of convenience. Some of the twists I’ve come up with in the past:
    • In THE HAND-ME-DOWN FAMILY, the heroine, Callie, is a woman who has a lot of love to give but, because of her appearance, is certain she will never marry.  Then, in less than one month’s time, she enters into not one but two marriages of convenience and in the process becomes the mother figure to three orphaned children.   Jack, the hero, is a man who has very carefully built a life where he is footloose and fancy free and is determined not to let his unlooked for marriage change his life.
    • In THE HANDPICKED HUSBAND, the heroine is forced to select one of three possible contenders to be her husband, and the stakes are dire if she refuses.
    • In THE BRIDE NEXT DOOR and THE PROPER WIFE the couples are caught in compromising situations and are forced into marriage to salvage their reputations. While this is a fairly common device, it’s coming up with the specifics of the ‘compromising situation’ that’s fun
    • In HER AMISH WEDDING QUILT the widowed hero is searching for a new wife to help him raise his two children. Again, this one is a fairly common device, but it’s common for a reason – it works.

So how do you feel about marriage of convenience stories and why? And can you come up with some unique twists or do you have a favorite type of MOC story?

Leave a comment to be entered in a drawing for winners’ choice of any book in my backlist

52 thoughts on “Marriage of Convenience Stories – What’s The Draw?”

  2. It is not one of the first troupes that I read. It is something that at times, I may pick up as a different change of pace. Once I start reading, I do enjoy it. Thank you for sharing.

  3. I feel like a marriage of convenience sounds like it might have a good chance of success because the reasons for it are critical and you’d make the effort to make the personal side work to have the need for it be successful.

  5. I enjoy those types of stories. It was a matter of survival in some cases with ready made families. I would like to think there were some happily ever afters.

  6. I love a good marriage of convenience story. I think because it is so not a part of the modern world as it was it yesteryear. And it makes for wonderful reading especially when the hero and heroine are fighting their attraction to one another while deigning their true feelings for one another.

  7. I enjoy marriage of convenience stories. They are one of my favorited stories. I think that they had to do it in some cases just to get by. Sometimes they really did fall in love I want to think. I guess it still happens some today in other country’s.

    • They’re one of my favorite romance tropes as well. And yes, I think most of the times it could have been called a marriage of necessity rather than convenience 🙂

  8. Good morning Winnie! I do enjoy marriage of convenience stories. I see myself in some of them! Ha! I like strong women in these situations. Women who have grit and who stand by their man showing him how to respect, be kindly, and cherish their spouse. Historical romance is the genre I prefer to read and in some of these situations it is awing to me how marriages of conveniences actually do become diehard love stories. I have read many mail order bride series and generally it is the man looking for a bride to care for his children, household, and homestead, etc. Perhaps a twist would be for a woman seeking a mail order husband to help her achieve what her needs are. Hope you are doing well Winnie. Thanks for the blog today.

  9. I love marriage of convenience stories. For whatever reason, I can see it being helpful for both the bride and the groom in difficult situations.

  10. Good morning Winnie,
    Love all your books,love the anticipated happy ever after endings and how you come up with the ideas to make it all work out. Love the marriages of convenience. I bet you could write a story around the Oregon Trail with all of the mishaps along the way, I am sure they had a few marriages of convenience for true. Happy to help you go down a research hole.:)

  11. I LOVE marriage of convenience stories!! My love for them started way back when I first read Betty Neels Harlequin books, most of which were marriage of convenience, though she did have a few that weren’t. I like the modern marriage of convenience books by Alexa Verde, Liz Isaacson, and of course, the historical westerns, too, of a mail order brides, which are marriage of convenience with a twist!

  13. Tough question to answer as I never read one. I sure would love to read and review one in print format.
    However, I usually don’t care for arranged marriages nor do I believe in Marriage of Convenience unless there are benefits for both parties and the man isn’t controlling.
    Call me old fashioned but I believe you should marry for love.
    Would love to win one to read
    Thanks for your post and chance

    • hello Crystal. As I said, they’re not for everyone. I hope you will try one. And since they are part of the romance genre you can be assured that love is always part of the equation

  14. Oh I do enjoy Marriage Of Convenience stories… especially if they involve kids. I just love how they learn to love each other…

  15. I love to read marriage of convenience stories. I love all the surprises and situations they can get into and have to find their way out of. I especially like the ones where the lady has been expected to wed someone she don’t care for and escapes to marry someone she really likes even though their marriage might turn out to be convenient for the man also.

  16. My favorite stories are mail order brides, although I also enjoy contemporary marriage of convenience stories. I can see things like that really happening so I feel I could actually be seeing a slice of history.

    • Oh yes – mail order brides stories are a great subset of the MOC, ,made more intriguing because often the hero and heroine know very little about each other, including appearance, until right before the wedding. Makes for an endless range of story opportunities.

  17. I enjoy marriage of convenience stories because I like seeing how the characters grow to love each other and hopefully bring out the best in each other.

  18. I love them especially in a historical novel. More Than words Can Say by our filly Karen Witemeyer is another great example. Winnie, I still miss the Love Inspired Historical line.

  19. I like reading Marriage of Convenience stories because I love to see if they either fall in love or not or if they just decide to go their separate ways or just stay together for convenience. Have a great week and stay safe.

  22. Having always been an avid reader, particularly of historical fiction, I greatly enjoy marriage of convenience stories. There are so many potential scenarios for the background, and then the story can take many forms as they learn to coexist or even fall in love.

  23. It is always fun and interesting to see how an author will handle a marriage of convenience story. I do enjoy them and enjoy seeing how they handle things. Your reasons are very much in line with mine for reading these stories. I will admit to looking for those that really do not work. Maybe you could write such a one. Either one of them is not a nice person, or they really are not a good match and try as they might can’t work things out. Do they agree on a divorce if possible, or maybe one of them decides to leave, disappear permanently, fake their death. It would be nice to see how it could be worked out.

  24. Winnie, you’re a writer after my own heart. After Christian historical and Biblical fiction, mail order brides and marriages of convenience are my absolute favorites… I could read them all day long and I dot get bored of them. I find them delightfully funny, or sometimes a little serious and sad, just depends, but even in the sad ones, it usually comes back around to happiness in the end. I love your books. Thank you for writing them.

    • Hi Lana. Oh that’s so true — there are so many opportunities for both humorous and poignant moments in MOC stories. And thanks so much for those kind words about my books.

  25. I really like marriage of convenience stories. It’s interesting to see the different ways authors create the necessity for getting married. I also enjoy the gradual realization that the characters are in love. You’re right about coming up with new ideas, though. I don’t want to read the same story with different characters. ?
    As a few others commented, I also like the ones that have children involved, and how sometimes love for the children brings about the love for each other.

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