Julia Quinn’s ‘Bridgerton’ Series Begs a Mini-Series

In this installment of “Words & Music”, I wanted to feature a series of books that I have fallen in love with like no other series in a very long time. The author is Julia Quinn and her books are simply, The Bridgerton’s. Once upon a time, in Regency England, Violet and Edmund Bridgerton had a child, followed by another, and another, and another, until finally when at the sudden death of Edmund, Violet gave birth to their eighth and final child. These are their stories.

Violet’s only ambition was to see all eight of her children as happily married as she had been. These books are filled with accounts of Violet’s hilarious and devious schemes in matchmaking, some of the stories hold a mystery, some a sad tale of poverty and loneliness, most with secrets, all with romance. Thrown into the mix is a 19th century Gossip Girl known as Lady Whistledown. These stories will have you roaring with laughter one moment and weeping with heartbreak the next. It’s Jane Austin meets Georgette Heyer, for those of you who have loved both authors.

I find myself hoping that someone would pick these stories up and make them into a mini-series. They would be a perfect fit for BBC’s Masterpiece Classics. There’s even a Facebook page devoted to ideas on who could play each of the characters. These fans are serious!

There are eight books in all for each of the eight children, plus two anthologies from Lady Whistledown’s point of view, The Further Observations of Lady Whistledown and Lady Whistledown
Strikes Back. The books in sequence order are as follows:

• The Duke and I
• The Viscount Who Loved Me
• An Offer from a Gentleman
• Romancing Mr. Bridgerton
• To Sir Phillip, With Love
• When He Was Wicked
• It’s In His Kiss
• On the Way to the Wedding

The Bridgerton series is a must for your reading list and a must do for television.