My wife and I are huge suckers for a well-made period drama. Pride and Prejudice, North & South, Phillipa Gregory’s amazing White Queen, White Princess, Spanish Princess – we’ve loved them all. I wasn’t sure what to expect with the alternative-history drama Bridgerton, but I’m glad I gave it a go.
For anyone who hasn’t yet had a chance to check it out, Bridgerton is a romance set in 1813 where several landed families are debuting their daughters in the hopes of arranging a suitable marriage. Central to the story are Daphne Bridgerton, a beautiful young woman whose attempts at finding a partner are cut short by her overbearing brother, and Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings, who has sworn never to marry and is tired of being harassed by families of prospective brides. The pair team up and pretend to court, making Daphne a more noticeable prospect for the city’s bachelors, and giving Simon some much-needed breathing space. Of course, the pair’s friendship deepens into romance while the other members of the families become embroiled in the meddling affairs of the English gentry.
Of note in this setting is King George’s marriage to Queen Charlotte (who has historically been suggested to have African ancestry) which has set off a wave of racial diversification in the landed nobles. This shakes up the casting of what would usually be a white-only romantic drama, and successfully presents a more tolerant vision of what Regency history could have been, without any preachiness, finger-wagging or snark.
The show’s writer also gleefully turn some tired old tropes on their heads. In an answer to Austen’s Mrs Bennett, Daphne’s mother is a caring woman who wants her children to marry for love. Daphne’s bookish sister, aspiring author Eloise, is not the talented problem solver ala Flora Poste (of Cold Comfort Farm), but is something of a brat who is just as capable as anyone else of getting things completely wrong. Another surprise is the love rival, the handsome Prince Frederick of Prussia, who is revealed to be (spoilers) – a kind and decent man.
The writing technique that really grabbed me for this show was the use of the narrator, Lady Whistledown. Lady Whistledown is the pen name of a gossip columnist who reports on the loves and scandals of the upper class, sparing no-one in her observations of how the various families squabble for the best marriages. In terms of the overall story, Whistledown’s merciless letters frame the theme of each episode, as well as ensuring that all the characters know the most important plot points from the get-go. This moves the story along smoothly, where no time is wasted in different characters needing to be brought up to speed. Of course, unmasking the identity of Lady Whistledown is a one of the plot threads that different characters pursue, some to help the gossip columnist, others to mete out some much-needed revenge.
(My wife tells me this technique was adapted from the series Gossip Girl, which I’ve never watched. She also successfully guessed Lady Whistledown’s identity four episodes in).
All in all, Bridgerton is a fun, well written story where you can tell everyone involved had a blast. If you have a Netflix subscription, this is well worth watching!
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