''Bridgerton'' is a series of eight

Regency romance Regency romances are a subgenre of romance novels set during the period of the British Regency (1811–1820) or early 19th century. Rather than simply being versions of contemporary romance stories transported to a historical setting, Regency rom ...

novels written by

Julia Quinn Julie Pottinger (née Cotler; born 1970), better known by her pen name Julia Quinn, is a best-selling American author of historical romance fiction. Her novels have been translated into 41 languages, and have appeared on ''The New York Times'' ...

. 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. The novels have been adapted by

Shondaland Shondaland (stylized as ShondaLand from 2005 to 2016 and shondaland thereafter) is an American television production company founded by television writer/producer Shonda Rhimes. She founded it to be one of the production companies of her first ser ...

into a television series titled ''

Bridgerton ''Bridgerton'' is an American historical- romance streaming television series created by Chris Van Dusen for Netflix. Based on the book series by Julia Quinn, it is Shondaland's first scripted show for Netflix. It revolves around the eponymo ...

'' which premiered in 2020 on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

Background

Set between 1813 and 1827, each novel features one of the eight children of the late

Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicia ...

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 The British nobility is made up of the peerage and the (landed) gentry. The nobility of its four constituent home nations has played a major role in shaping the history of the country, although now they retain only the rights to stand for electio ...

and are a well respected, immensely loving, and tight-knit clan favored among

high society High society, sometimes simply society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open to men based ...

Publishing history

#'' 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

Bridgerton family tree

Appearances

Reception

Critical response

People A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pro ...

'' 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." '' The Duke and I'' was criticized for the inclusion of non-consensual sex between Simon and Daphne which amounted to

marital rape Marital rape or spousal rape is the act of sexual intercourse with one's spouse without the spouse's consent. The lack of consent is the essential element and need not involve physical violence. Marital rape is considered a form of domestic vi ...

. Critics pointed out that it failed to acknowledge the difficulties of male victims of rape, especially since Simon was traumatized after the event. '' On the Way to the Wedding'' won the

Romance Writers of America Romance Writers of America (RWA) is an American Nonprofit organization, non-profit writers' association founded in 1980. Its mission is to "advance the professional and common business interests of career-focused romance writers through networking ...

RITA Award in 2007. In 2002, ''To Sir Phillip, With Love'' was named one of the six best mass market original novels of the year by ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

''.

Sales

Well-received when they were first published, the novels received a surge on book sales when the Netflix series ''

'' 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''.

Adaptations

The book series has been adapted by

, for

, into a television series titled ''

'' which premiered on the platform in 2020. It follows the format of the novels, with each season focusing on a different Bridgerton sibling, and their quest for marriage.

References

External links

Official Bridgerton Series Website

Official Bridgerton Series Character List

Official Bridgerton Family Tree
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bridgerton (novel series)

Novel series A book series is a sequence of books having certain characteristics in common that are formally identified together as a group. Book series can be organized in different ways, such as written by the same author, or marketed as a group by their pub ...

Series of books Book series introduced in 2000 Romance novel series Love stories