Contrary Mary

The title says it all: Mary Ballard is contrary. While other young women of her era dreamed of suitable matches and domestic tranquility, Mary wants something far more radical: a house of her own, financial independence, and a life unshackled from her family's expectations. When the brooding Roger Poole arrives at her door seeking to rent rooms, he finds in Mary a kindred spirit - another soul fleeing the weight of the past, searching for a fresh start beneath the peculiar roof of that castellated mansion on the hill. Temple Bailey constructs her romance with sharp wit and genuine emotional stakes. The house itself becomes a character - a sprawling, odd structure of Colonial origins marred by Victorian excess, its Tower Rooms holding secrets and possibilities. Within these walls, Mary and Roger circle each other, each drawn to the other's fierce independence while recognizing in each other the same desperate need to belong. This is a novel about the courage it takes to want more than the world offers women, and finding love not by becoming less yourself, but by finding someone who treasures your contrary nature.