Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron, a Graphic Novel - Julia Quinn
Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron
Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron, a Graphic Novel
Buy
Read an ExcerptStart Reading
Author Notes
& Book Extras

Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron, a Graphic Novel

Part of the Bridgerton World and Bevelstoke World

↓ jump to all ordering options ↓

illustration of a bee Do you remember Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron? This gloriously over-the-top gothic novel first appeared in It’s in His Kiss before making a riotous reappearance in What Happens in London. (Who can forget Sebastian Grey’s dramatic recitation, complete with an audience of three housemaids, a butler, and a Russian prince.) I had so much fun with this book-within-a-book that I brought it back in a big way in Ten Things I Love About You (can’t say more; spoiler territory) and then again in three of the Smythe-Smith Quartet novels. And now, as a graphic novel! ~JQ

 

Here is the official book description:

A madcap romantic adventure, Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron has appeared in several Julia Quinn novels and enthralled some of her most beloved characters. Now this delicious tale of love and peril is available for everyone to enjoy in this wonderfully unconventional graphic novel.

Born into a happy family that is tragically ravaged by smallpox, Miss Priscilla Butterworth uses her wits to survive a series of outlandish trials. Cruelly separated from her beloved mother and grandmother, the young girl is sent to live with a callous aunt who forces her to work for her keep. Eventually, the clever and tenderhearted Miss Butterworth makes her escape… a daring journey into the unknown that unexpectedly leads her to the “mad” baron and a lifetime of love.

Delightfully illustrated by Violet Charles, and told in Julia Quinn’s playful voice, Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron is a high-spirited nineteenth-century romp that will entertain and enchant modern readers.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Julia Quinn comes this irresistible treat, a charming and jaunty graphic novel, based on story snippets peppered throughout a number of her books. Originally mentioned in It’s in His Kiss—one of the Bridgerton novels which inspired the smash Netflix series Bridgerton—Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron is finally told here in its entirety for the first time.

Start Reading Now

Explore Inside this Story

image of several bees in a row

  • Inside the Story:
    JQ’s Author Notes

    • Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron (the fictional gothic novel, not the very real graphic novel) appears in six of my books: It's in His Kiss, What Happens in London, Ten Things I Love About You, Just Like Heaven, The Sum of All Kisses and The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy. It's a very badly written, over-the-top gothic novel that half of my characters love and and half of my characters think is utter drivel.
    • When readers asked me to write Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron, I always said no. The writing is florid, the plot absurd—It's a lot of fun in bits and pieces, but an entire book would not be a pleasurable reading (or writing) experience. But my sister Violet Charles was a cartoonist and illustrator, and it occurred to me that while it would be a terrible prose novel, it could be a spectacular graphic novel. I gave her the idea, and she ran with it.
    • On the interior title page, one pigeon says to the other, "I'm not sure the author used 'purview' correctly." This is a nod toward What Happens in London. Olivia says this to Harry, who says it to Prince Alexei, who says it Sebastian, who (predictably) says, "Of course it is."
    • The pigeons have names, even though the reader doesn't learn them all. We made magnets out of them (below). Left to right, they are: Sylvia Van Nest, Jean-Clawd, Clarence, Wingston, Rebeaka, and Eggsmerelda. Not pictured: the Propriety Pigeon. And Gerald.

Bonus Features

Enjoy an Excerpt

from  

Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron, a Graphic Novel

Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron, A Graphic Novel title page with two pigeons talking. Dialogue Pigeon 1: Have you seen the next page? I’m not sure the author used purview correctly. Pigeon 2: It’s close enough.

View Larger

 

Lightening striking an estate house. Text: It was a dark and windy night, and Miss Priscilla Butterworth was certain that at any moment the rain would begin pouring down from the heavens in sheets and streams, dousing all that lay within her purview.
View Larger

 

Panel 1: A woman in bed looks alarmed at light streaming in through her bedroom window. Text: She was, of course, shielded from the weather in her tiny chamber, but the window casings rattled with such noise that there would be no way she would find slumber in this evening. Panel 2: Closeup of the woman’s face. Text: Huddled on her thin, cold bed, she could not help but recall all of the events that had led her to this bleak spot, on this bleak night. Panel 3: A hand holding an illuminated small house. Text: But this, dear reader, is not where our story begins. We must begin at the beginning, which is not when Miss Butterworth arrived at Thimmerwell Hall, nor even when she arrived at Fitzgerald Place, her home before Thimmerwell Hall. No, we must begin on the day she was born...
View Larger

 

Panel 1: A woman holds a baby in bed. Text: in a small cottage in Hampshire, 1797, surrounded by roses and butterflies... Panel 2: A man with a hammer looks at a small child holding a nail while an older woman enters the room. Dialogue Older woman: She’s here! Man: Plum, you’ve got a baby sister. Panel 3: The man hugs Plum, the small child. Dialogue Plum: Call her Priscilla! Panel 4: Everyone looks lovingly at baby Priscilla.
View Larger

 

Panel 1: The sun sets over a small town. Text: ...on the last day before the town was ravaged by... Panel 2: An older man with red sores all over his face yells. Dialogue Man: POX!!! Panel 3: The woman runs carrying baby Priscilla, surrounded by bodies covered in sores. Text: The epidemic took her beloved father, but miraculously spared the baby and her mother. Also among the fallen were her paternal grandmother, both grandfathers, two uncles, three great-aunts, a sister, a second cousin
View Larger

 

And from the middle of the graphic novel, a spot where Miss Butterworth finds herself in a bit of a pickle:

Miss butterworth finds herself in a precarious situation in a tree, barely hanging on
View Larger

image of some bugs in grass

Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron, a Graphic Novel

by Julia Quinn, illustrated by Violet Charles

is available in the following formats:

Not ready to order yours? Check out this story's overview. Read the excerpt. There’s so much to love!

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I also may use affiliate links elsewhere in my site.

image of several bees in a row
The books and the shows come together here.

← HOME

TOP ↑

NEWS →

Julia Quinn portrait

Stay in Touch! Choose from JQ's Subscribe Options →

Interview Inquiries & Publicity →

Media Kit & Press Materials →