Romancing Mr Bridgerton
Julia Quinn
Little Brown
Review: Lauren O’Connor-May
Riding on the success of the Bridgerton Netflix series, the books that sparked the mania have been republished.
Originally published between 2000 and 2006, the eight novels follow the romantic antics of the Bridgerton siblings, as each meets and marries their respective love interests.
If you want to try the books after watching the series, be warned: the books were written in a different era – when some red flag behaviours were still portrayed as sexy and diverse characters were not a norm.
While the Netflix series has gathered a following for its — um *cough* — own reasons, the books grew a fanbase because of their sharp, witty dialogue and cunning characters.
Book four, Romancing Mr Bridgerton, Colin and Penelope’s story — or Polin — is thankfully the last to use the wallflower-tames-rich-handsome-rake trope, which had been a staple of the series until then. It is also the book to unmask Lady Whistledown.
If you are a complete Bridgerton virgin but want to venture into the fray, then I advise that you read the books first, or at the very least, read this book first. The Netflix series unmasks Lady Whistledown in the first season, which spoils the surprise in the books.
Curiously, the unmasking of Lady Whistledown was not something the author intended when she started the series.
In some editions of The Duke and I, book 1, Daphne and Simon’s story, Quinn includes an essay explaining why the character was invented.
She writes that while not wanting to do an “info dump” — where for the readers’ benefit, the characters have an unnatural conversation to tell each other everything they should already know — she created Lady Whistledown to gossip about the information instead.
Quinn’s original plan did not include a big reveal until her father, who is also a writer, told her that she could not leave unsolved mysteries in her stories.
As a result, the blossoming romance between Colin and Penelope hinges on the plot to unmask the gossip columnist.
If you have read the books and want to watch the series, be warned, some of the funniest bits in the books don’t make it to the screen — such as the Smyth-Smith musicales and the tragical comedy of errors when Colin tells Penelope’s mother of their engagement.
