Mistress by Marriage

Robinson follows Mistress by Mistake and Mistress by Midnight with another Regency set on London's Jane Street, refuge of mistresses and courtesans. Prim and proper Baron Edward Christie punished his wife of one year, Caroline, by banishing her from society after catching her apparently betraying him. Unable to resist his lust for Caroline, Edward shows up each year on their anniversary to make passionate love to her. After five years of this absurd arrangement, their ultimate reconciliation is never in much doubt. Their on-again-off-again divorce, a revenge scheme by a vicious lord pilloried in one of Caroline's gothic romances, and a faux kidnapping merely serve to bridge the steamy love scenes. Robinson provides some playful dialogue and warm moments, but the most fun derives from the way Caroline skewers society in her novels, with quotes from the books presented at the top of each chapter like bonbons. (Sept.)