While fans eagerly await the third season of Bridgerton, which is due to arrive on May 16—well, the first half, anyway—we want to read the book series that inspired the show and see if it matches up to our favorite Regency romance series. So, how many Bridgerton books are there?
Love in 1900s England
From the beginning of the Bridgerton series, we have watched the Bridgerton family grow, and in some cases mature, into married adults after plenty of delicious drama. These eight siblings and their mother each have their own struggles specific to their birth order, their gender, and their place in society. Yet they overcome these problems in search of true love in England in the 1900s with a dash of strength, a little privilege, and some hard work on their flaws. Author Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton books remain at the top of the Regency romance list on Goodreads for a reason.
Quinn covers the romances of every Bridgerton sibling in her books. Daphne, Anthony, Benedict, Colin, Eloise, Francesca, Hyacinth, and even Gregory all have their own novel. Not all of the books are equally as good or fulfilling for fans, but as many reviewers note on Goodreads, Netflix is improving some of Quinn’s problematic storylines from the books and will hopefully continue to do so.
The Bridgerton book series
Netflix plot fixes aside, these dedicated Bridgerton books are nothing new. They were all published between 2000 and 2006, so they’ve been around for twenty years. But these novels aren’t the only Bridgerton novels that Quinn wrote. So how many books are actually in the Bridgerton family book series?
There are eight books following the Bridgerton siblings, and those are considered the core Bridgerton series. These include:
- The Duke & I – Daphne Bridgerton’s story (Bridgerton season 1)
- The Viscount Who Loved Me – Anthony Bridgerton’s story (Bridgerton season 2)
- An Offer From A Gentleman – Benedict Bridgerton’s story
- Romancing Mr. Bridgerton – Colin and Penelope’s story (Bridgerton season 3)
- To Sir Phillip, With Love – Eloise Bridgerton’s story
- When He Was Wicked – Francesca Bridgerton’s story
- It’s In His Kiss – Hyacinth Bridgerton’s story
- On The Way To The Wedding – Gregory Bridgerton’s story
Most Bridgerton family book collections stick to the original eight books. However, some collections include a ninth book, The Bridgertons: Happily Ever After. Happily Ever After is primarily made up of short story epilogues for each of the siblings, and includes a special story focused on their mother, Violet Bridgerton. As with some of the other Bridgerton family books, this ninth book has gems and frustrations alike. It might be best to stick to the core eight books that focus on the siblings. Watch out for those bumps along the road, though. Maybe Netflix can soothe them over in the TV series.
Finally, there is also the Queen Charlotte novel, based on the Netflix prequel miniseries of the same name. Quinn wrote this one together with Bridgerton creator and producer Shonda Rhimes, and it tells the story of Queen Charlotte’s and King George’s whirlwind romance, a love story that changed English society forever (in the show’s world, at least).
(featured image: Piatkus/Netflix/TMS)
