By Ellen Madden
Bridgerton is a well-known series by Julia Quinn and published between 2000 and 2006 by Avon. Bridgerton is a romantic historical fiction set between 1813 and 1827. The series includes eight novels based on each child of the loving, adventurous Bridgerton family. Due to its success, Shondaland adapted these novels into a Netflix series in 2020.
Quinn’s first two novels, The Duke and I and The Viscount Who Loved Me, were published in 2000. They were based on the two older siblings, Daphne, and Anthony. A year later, An Offer from a Gentleman was based on the third sibling, Benedict. Colin’s story was called Romancing Mister Bridgerton, published in 2002. To Sir Philip, With Love was the title of Eloise’s story. Whereas When He Was Wicked was Francesca’s story. The second last novel, It’s in His Kiss, is based on the youngest daughter, Hyacinth. The last book was written about the youngest son, Gregory, titled On the Way to the Wedding, published six years after the first novel.
The Duke and I received some controversy over the non-consensual relations between Simon and Daphne, where she forced herself on him, leaving Simon troubled. However, this novel and The Viscount Who Loved Me stayed at the top of the New York Times bestseller list.
Due to how successful these books became; Julia Quinn wrote prequels to this series called The Bridgertons: Happily, Ever After and the Rokesby series. There were other books written based on other characters; The Further Observations of Lady Whistledown was co-written with three other authors as well as Julia Quinn. Queen Charlotte was co-written by Julia Quinn and Shonda Rhimes.
This novel showed us the importance of living an adventurous, loving life while being respectful and your true self in a miscellaneous society. Most importantly, it shows how secrets can be revealed to the public by someone like Lady Whistledown.