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The Bridgertons

• About The Bridgertons...

  Set between 1813 and 1825, the Bridgerton Series is a collection of eight novels, each featuring one of the eight children of the late Viscount Bridgerton: Anthony, Benedict, Colin, Daphne, Eloise, Francesca, Gregory, and Hyacinth. I didn't originally set out to write an eight-book series; at first it was just going to be a trilogy! But readers really took to the Bridgertons (and to the mysterious Lady Whistledown, whose gossip columns "narrated" the first four books), and I found myself rather enamored with the family, too.

  After I was done with the series, however, I received hundreds of questions from readers about the Bridgertons and what happened to them later in their lives. So I decided to give all of the main characters an update in what I call "2nd Epilogues." These stories, originally available as e-shorts, have now been collected into The Bridgertons: Happily Ever After, along with a bonus novella about Violet. The Bridgertons: Happily Ever After goes on sale as an e-book and in print on April 2, 2013.

• I already bought and read the first six 2nd epilogues. Do I really have to re-buy these in order to read the three new stories?

  

  No!

  I have always felt very strongly that the readers who have been buying the 2nd epilogues as they came out should not have to pay for the full collection. Unless you want to; it might be nice to have them all in one spot, and it is a really pretty cover…

  But the cover for Complete My Bridgertons Epilogues Collection has a really pretty cover, too! The final three stories (“The Duke and I: The 2nd Epilogue,” “On the Way to the Wedding: The 2nd Epilogue,” and “Violet in Bloom”) are now available as a special e-bundle priced at $3.99. This will only be offered for the month of May, however, so please buy it now if you want it!

   

  

  If you are looking for the whole set with all eight 2nd epilogues plus “Violet in Bloom,” please follow this link, and look for this cover (little, at right) with the words “Happily Ever After” on it.

• What exactly are the 2nd Epilogues? And how can I read one?

  Have you ever wondered what happened to your favorite characters after you closed the final page? Wanted just a little bit more of a favorite novel? I have, and if my conversations with readers are any indication, I’m not the only one. So after countless requests, I decided to try something a little bit different, and I wrote the Bridgerton 2nd Epilogues–the stories that come after “the end.”

  Six of the 2nd Epilogues were released exclusively as e-books, but the plan was always to gather all eight into a collection, to be called The Bridgertons: Happily Ever After. In preparation for its upcoming release, the previously published 2nd epilogues were withdrawn from electronic sale.

  On April 2, 2013, The Bridgertons: Happily Ever After  will be simultaneously released as a trade paperback and an e-book. It will contain all eight 2nd epilogues, including the never-before-published “The Duke and I: The 2nd Epilogue” and “On the Way to the Wedding: The 2nd Epilogue.” As a bonus, it will also contain “Violet in Bloom,” a short novella about the life of Violet Bridgerton, the matriarch of the Bridgerton clan.

  Long story short: you can’t actually read the 2nd epilogues now, but on April 2, 2013, you can get all eight!

  P.S. As soon as The Bridgertons: Happily Ever After comes out, we’ll be updating the Bridgerton Family Tree here on juliaquinn.com.

• What happened to Posy Reiling (from An Offer from a Gentleman)?

  I hadn’t planned on writing more about Posy, but so many readers asked about her that I made her the focus of An Offer from a Gentleman: The 2nd Epilogue. She also gets a brief update in To Sir Phillip, With Love.

• Do Francesca and Michael (from When He Was Wicked) ever have children?

  Read When He Was Wicked: The 2nd Epilogue for your answer! And as an aside, I have to say that this short piece might be my favorite thing I’ve ever written.

• What’s the biggest mistake you’ve ever made in your books?

  Well, there’s the legendary tale of Eloise Bridgerton’s changing eye color. They were blue in The Duke and I, green in An Offer from a Gentleman, and gray in To Sir Phillip, With Love. I’d like to say that I was trying to go with the whole her-eyes-change-color-depending-on-what-she-wears thing, but I’d also like to say that I won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. So I’ll have to simply admit my mistake and be glad that I’ve never had a character whose eyes have changed within a book.

• Have you ever thought of writing all of Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron?

  I’m afraid not, although lots of fans have been asking. It was tons of fun to write the excerpts that have appeared in It’s in His Kiss, What Happens in London, Ten Things I Love About You, and Just Like Heaven, but in all honesty, I don’t think I could keep it up for an entire novel. Not to mention that I couldn’t possibly do justice to the pigeon scene.

• Are The Further Observations Of Lady Whistledown and Lady Whistedown Strikes Back Bridgerton books?

  Not really. The Bridgertons don’t play a role in the anthology, but since Lady Whistledown was such a part of the first four Bridgerton novels, I consider them honorary Bridgerton books.

• In Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, you thank Lisa Kleypas and Stephanie Laurens for the gracious use of their characters. Which characters were those?

  I thought it would be fun to pay a little homage to my friends and colleagues, so in chapter one of Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, Penelope is reading a book called Mathilda by S.R. Fielding. This book played a big role in Dreaming Of You by Lisa Kleypas (S.R. is actually Sara, the heroine). And in the Lady Whistledown column opening chapter nine, I mention Michael Anstruther-Wetherby, who is the brother of Honoria Anstruther-Wetherby, heroine of Devil’s Bride, the first book of Stephanie Laurens‘s Cynster series.

• Will you ever write a story for the Smythe-Smith girls?

  I already have! I’m planning to write four in total. Just Like Heaven and A Night Like This are already available, and two more will follow soon.

• Will you ever write a story for Violet Bridgerton? How about the story of how Violet and Edmund met and fell in love?

  I can’t even begin to say how touched I am that so many readers want Violet to get her own (second) happy ending, but I’m afraid I just don’t see writing her story. I used to think it was because she was so devoted to Edmund, but after exploring the issue of second loves in When He Was Wicked, I realized that really wasn’t the reason. I’ve thought about it a while, and in all honesty, I don’t think I could come up with anyone good enough for her. Seriously. I just adore her.

  I’ve thought about writing about Violet and Edmund, but I think it would be too bittersweet. We all know that Edmund dies at the age of 39. Or even worse, what about the readers who might be trying my books for the first time? They wouldn’t know that he dies young. Think how furious they would be when they started reading the Bridgerton series and found out I’d killed off one of my heroes.

  That said, I couldn’t resist getting to know Edmund at least a little, and I’m thrilled that he appears in “Violet in Bloom,” a short story in The Bridgertons: Happily Ever After.

• Why does Hyacinth’s story come before Gregory’s?

  Gregory is older, but because Hyacinth is female, it makes sense that she’d marry sooner.

• Why was there no mention of Lady Whistledown in To Sir Phillip, With Love? I thought for sure there would be a scene where Eloise learned the truth!

  Because Lady Whistledown had nothing to do with the plot for To Sir Phillip, With Love. The introduction of Lady Whistledown and “the big secret” would have been irrelevant, not to mention confusing for readers who have not read the previous Bridgerton books.

  I do like to refer to items from previous books (Anthony’s fear of bees, for example, or Colin’s ravenous appetite) but only when they make sense within the framework of the story I’m currently telling. While the Bridgerton books are a loosely connected series, each title, first and foremost, must stand on its own as an individual novel.

  Readers wanted to see Eloise’s reaction so much, however, that I ended up writing a 2nd Epilogue about it. So if you’ve been dying to see Eloise completely flummoxed, check out Romancing Mr. Bridgerton: The 2nd Epilogue.

• Why are Colin and Eloise unmarried during so much of When He Was Wicked?

  Part II of When He Was Wicked (Book 6 in the Bridgerton series) takes place concurrently with Romancing Mr. Bridgerton (Book 4) and To Sir Phillip, With Love (Book 5). Therefore, even though When He Was Wicked comes later in the series, it jumps back a little in time at the beginning.

• What is the deal with the ending of It’s In His Kiss? Why did Isabella do what she did?

  I’m being deliberately vague here, as I don’t want to spoil the story for anyone who hasn’t yet read it, but Isabella did what she did because it just seemed to me that that was what she’d do. Seriously, isn’t it sweet revenge for Violet that Hyacinth had a daughter exactly like her?

  I couldn’t leave Hyacinth hanging forever, though, so I’ve wrapped up that little hanging plot thread in It’s in His Kiss: The 2nd Epilogue. Hope you enjoy!

• Will you write books about the Bridgerton children?

  I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of the Bridgertons…

• What is the order of the Bridgerton books?

  Book 1: The Duke and I 
  Book 2: The Viscount Who Loved Me 
  Book 3: An Offer From A Gentleman
  Book 4: Romancing Mr. Bridgerton 
  Book 5: To Sir Phillip, With Love 
  Book 6: When He Was Wicked 
  Book 7: It’s In His Kiss
  Book 8: On The Way to the Wedding