Bridgerton is a series of eight Regency romance novels written by Julia Quinn.[1][2][3] Released from 2000 to 2006, it follows the eight siblings of the noble Bridgerton family as they navigate London high society in search of love, adventure and happiness.[4]
 First edition covers of the first eight novels of the Bridgerton series | |
| |
| Author | Julia Quinn |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fiction, Romance, Historical fiction |
| Publisher | Avon |
| Published |
|
| Media type | |
| No. of books | 8 (with 9 short stories, and 3 companions) |
The novels have been adapted by Shondaland into a television series titled Bridgerton which premiered in 2020 on Netflix.[5]
Background
editSet between 1813 and 1827, each novel features one of the eight children of the late Viscount Bridgerton and his widow Violet: Anthony, who is the current Viscount Bridgerton, Benedict, Colin, Daphne, Eloise, Francesca, Gregory, and Hyacinth. The Bridgerton family are part of British nobility and are a well respected, immensely loving, and tight-knit clan favored among high society.
"The Bridgertons are by far the most prolific family in the upper echelons of society. Such industriousness on the part of the viscountess and the late viscount is commendable, although one can find only banality in their choice of names of their children. Anthony, Benedict, Colin, Daphne, Eloise, Francesca, Gregory, and Hyacinth – orderliness is, of course, beneficial in all things, but one would think that intelligent parents would be able to keep their children straight without needing to alphabetize their names."
— Lady Whistledown's Society Papers, The Duke and I
Publishing history
edit- The Duke and I (2000, Daphne's Story)
- The Viscount Who Loved Me (2000, Anthony's Story)
- An Offer from a Gentleman (2001, Benedict's Story)
- Romancing Mister Bridgerton (2002, Colin's Story)
- To Sir Phillip, With Love (2003, Eloise's Story)
- When He Was Wicked (2004, Francesca's Story)
- It's In His Kiss (2005, Hyacinth's Story)
- On the Way to the Wedding (2006, Gregory's Story)
Characters
editBridgerton family tree
edit| Edmund, Viscount Bridgerton † (1764–1803) | Violet (née Ledger), Viscountess Bridgerton (b. 1766) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Anthony, Viscount Bridgerton (b. 1784) | Benedict Bridgerton (b. 1786) | Colin Bridgerton (b. 1791) | Daphne Bridgerton (b. 1792) | Eloise Bridgerton (b. 1796) | Francesca Bridgerton (b. 1797) | Gregory Bridgerton (b. 1801) | Hyacinth Bridgerton (b. 1803) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Appearances [6]
| Bridgerton sibling / love interest | Actor in Netflix's Bridgerton | Bridgerton series = Own story = Appearance | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Duke and I | The Viscount Who Loved Me | An Offer from a Gentleman | Romancing Mister Bridgerton | To Sir Phillip, With Love | When He Was Wicked | It's In His Kiss | On the Way to the Wedding | ||
| Anthony | Jonathan Bailey | ||||||||
| Katherine "Kate" Sheffield | Simone Ashley | ||||||||
| Benedict | Luke Thompson | ||||||||
| Sophia "Sophie" Beckett | Yerin Ha | ||||||||
| Colin | Luke Newton | ||||||||
| Penelope Featherington | Nicola Coughlan | ||||||||
| Daphne | Phoebe Dynevor | ||||||||
| Simon Basset | Regé-Jean Page | ||||||||
| Eloise | Claudia Jessie | ||||||||
| Sir Phillip Crane | Chris Fulton | ||||||||
| Francesca | Ruby Stokes / Hannah Dodd | ||||||||
| Michael Sterling | Masali Baduza | ||||||||
| Gregory | Will Tilston | ||||||||
| Lucinda "Lucy" Abernathy | - | ||||||||
| Hyacinth | Florence Hunt | ||||||||
| Gareth St Clair | - | ||||||||
Reception
editCritical response
editPeople ranked The Viscount Who Loved Me, a perennial fan favorite, as the best book of the Bridgerton series for its enemies-to-lovers trope "full of banter and chemistry" with character development for the central couple, "both as a pair and on their own."[7]
The Duke and I was criticized for the inclusion of non-consensual sex between Simon and Daphne which amounted to marital rape.[8][9] Critics pointed out that it failed to acknowledge the difficulties of male victims of rape, especially since Simon was traumatized after the event.[10][11]
On the Way to the Wedding won the Romance Writers of America RITA Award in 2007.[12] In 2002, To Sir Phillip, With Love was named one of the six best mass market original novels of the year by Publishers Weekly.[13]
Sales
editWell-received when they were first published, the novels received a surge on book sales when the Netflix series Bridgerton premiered its first season in December 2020, and again, for its second season in March 2022. Several titles in the series have been on The New York Times bestseller list, including at several weeks #1 with The Duke and I and The Viscount Who Loved Me.[14][15]
Other associated books
editThe Bridgertons: Happily Ever After
editThe Bridgertons: Happily Ever After was published in 2013, and is sometimes numbered as the 9th book in the series. It consists of "2nd Epilogues" for each of the 8 novels in the main Bridgerton series, together with a short story about Violet Bridgerton herself.
Rokesby series
editThe Rokesby series, also called The Bridgerton Prequels, focus on the Rokesby family and are set before the Bridgerton series, featuring younger versions of some of the same characters.
- Because of Miss Bridgerton (2016)
- The Girl with the Make-Believe Husband (2017)
- The Other Miss Bridgerton (2018)
- First Comes Scandal (2020)
Collaborations
editThe Further Observations of Lady Whistledown and Lady Whistledown Strikes Back are two anthology novels by Julia Quinn and 3 other authors, featuring the character of Lady Whistledown who was introduced in the Bridgerton series.
Queen Charlotte is a novel co-written by Julia Quinn and Shonda Rhimes, set in the Bridgerton universe.
Adaptations
editThe book series has been adapted by Shondaland, for Netflix, into a television series titled Bridgerton which premiered on the platform in 2020.[16] It follows the format of the novels, with each season focusing on a different Bridgerton sibling, and their quest for marriage.[17][18]
References
edit- ^ Westenfeld, Adrienne (March 25, 2022). "The Men Who Read and Watch 'Bridgerton' Are Onto Something". Esquire. Archived from the original on May 18, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
- ^ Crompton, Sarah. "Meet Julia Quinn, the woman behind Bridgerton". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on May 18, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
- ^ Gillette, Sam (November 10, 2021). "Lady Whistledown Is Back! A New Bridgerton Book Revisits Simon, Daphne, Anthony and More". people.com. Archived from the original on May 18, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
- ^ "Read the 'Bridgerton' books to discover all siblings' happily-ever-afters". today.com. March 24, 2022. Archived from the original on May 18, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
- ^ "Watch Bridgerton | Netflix Official Site". www.netflix.com. Archived from the original on December 25, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
- ^ Davenport, JoJo. "Julia Quinn Characters". Julia Quinn. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
- ^ Wurzburger, Andrea (March 30, 2022). "All Eight of Julia Quinn's Bridgerton Novels, Ranked". people.com. Archived from the original on February 9, 2023. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
- ^ "Bridgerton's Controversial Sex Scene Needs a Trigger Warning". Oprah Daily. December 29, 2020. Archived from the original on April 1, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
- ^ Romano, Aja (December 26, 2020). "Bridgerton has a rape scene, but it's not treated like one". Vox. Archived from the original on April 1, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
- ^ "How 'Bridgerton' Failed Male Rape Survivors". YourTango. January 13, 2021. Archived from the original on April 1, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
- ^ Adebanjo, Luwa (February 25, 2021). "The Problem With Bridgerton And *that* Scene". Cinemania. Archived from the original on April 1, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
- ^ RITA Awards, Romance Writers of America, archived from the original on July 14, 2015, retrieved February 13, 2015
- ^ Parkerton, Michelle (January 29, 2021). "Are We Experiencing a Bridgerton Book Shortage?". Parade: Entertainment, Recipes, Health, Life, Holidays. Archived from the original on May 20, 2022. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
- ^ Milliot, Jim. "Netflix's Hit Series 'Bridgerton' Drives Book Sales". PublishersWeekly.com. Archived from the original on April 24, 2022. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
- ^ "Mass Market Books - Best Sellers - Books - Feb. 28, 2021 - The New York Times". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 20, 2021. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
- ^ "The Bridgerton Series - Julia Quinn | Author of Historical Romance Novels". juliaquinn.com. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
- ^ Pewsey, Guy (December 28, 2020). "Meet Phoebe Dynevor, Breakout Star of Bridgerton". Grazia. Archived from the original on December 29, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
- ^ Baldwin, Kristen (March 20, 2022). "'Bridgerton' season 2 review: No Duke? No problem!". EW.com. Archived from the original on April 13, 2022. Retrieved April 13, 2022.