*Spoilers for Romancing Mr. Bridgerton and Seasons 1-2 of Bridgerton
The long-awaited third season of Bridgerton is coming this spring to the joy of fans everywhere.
Bridgerton is a popular Netflix show that premiered in 2020, based on the novels by Julia Quinn. The show follows the Bridgerton family in Regency era England, where each child in the family (eight in total) has their own season in which they find love amidst a gossip-fueled society donned the ton, and the infamous Lady Whistledown, an anonymous writer who prints scandal sheets about the goings-on of the lives of the ton.
The show has released two seasons so far, the second one in 2022, and the third one is not set to come out until May (the first half of the season) and then June (the second half of the season) of this year. Needless to say, this has left many fans (myself included) longing for more Bridgerton content.
Some have chosen to fill this longing by reading the source material: Quinn’s books. This is a viable solution, though it is important to note that the show has taken quite a few liberties in the direction they have chosen to take the show—in other words, the books are quite different than the show.
Because of this difference, I have stayed away from the books, though I am a book-lover myself. I heard that the books weren’t as good as the television show and decided to disregard them as a result.
However, when Netflix announced that we would have to wait yet another six months for the full third season, I revised my former objection and decided to read only the book that will inspire this next season.
Another important thing to note: the seasons of the show Bridgerton are not the same order of the books by Quinn. Season three will focus on the characters of Penelope and Colin, but their novel is actually the fourth one in the series.
I was surprised by my excitement to read this novel, Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, and was surprised at how quickly it read (considering it’s over four hundred pages) but, reluctantly, I must conclude that I hope the season three of the show is decidedly different.
The book did not include enough of the colorful and vivacious Bridgerton family for my liking, and instead focused much more on the single couple that the book was dedicated to. This was a disappointment to me, as the show is very much an ensemble cast, with many different storylines each season. The characters were also much older in the novel than they are portrayed in the show, which I can admit is less important to the actual story and more just me nitpicking, but it does influence the story.
Something that is also frustrating about the books in general is that they do not include the diverse cast that is featured in the show. The show exists in a world where diversity was common in Regency era England, but unfortunately the books know no such diversity.
The novel focuses on an older Penelope Featherington who has accepted her spinsterdom and resides to make her peace with just being Lady Whistledown. This is until one day her long-time crush, Colin Bridgerton, finally notices her. They court for a short period before falling in love and getting married, but the main obstacle of the novel is Colin’s anger at Penelope for being Lady Whistledown and his worry at others discovering this truth and throwing his wife out of polite society. Throughout the novel, Colin learns to recognize that he is jealous that Penelope has a purpose whereas he feels he has none. Penelope pushes Colin to publish journals of his travels, but his insecurity prevents him from pursuing that dream. By the end of the novel, Colin shares that he is proud of his wife and agrees to publish his journals. Penelope is revealed as being Lady Whistledown, but with the support of the name Bridgerton and her new family, she faces no real consequence for the havoc she has caused for over ten years.
There are rumors going around that this new season of Bridgerton will be quite a bit different than this synopsis, with Colin instead becoming a sort of dating counselor, helping Penelope to find a husband because of their long-term friendship. It is assumed that throughout this scheme, Colin will fall for Penelope as she attempts to move on from her unrequited crush. However, none of this has been confirmed.
All this to say, I don’t think that I can judge the entirety of the book series after only reading one of the novels, so I won’t, but it does make me wonder about the other books in the series. I will continue to watch Bridgerton of course, but I’m afraid I cannot say the same for the novels. Based on my reading of Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, I believe that the books are probably not as developed as the show, and simply did not engage me as much as the show did. To be frank, I thought the book was rather boring.