Federation Book Club Reads BRIDGERTON, THE DUKE & I, by Julia Quinn

Bridgerton, the Duke and I, is the first of an eight-book Regency romance series about the elite society of the “ton” marrying off their children. The main characters are Daphne (daughter of an aristocratic widow, Lady Violet Bridgerton, who’d literally named her eight children from A to H) and the Duke of Hastings, Simon Basset. When Daphne and Simon make a pact to pretend to be engaged in order to ward off interest from others, they develop a meaningful friendship that inevitably leads to love.

Also inevitable is that discussing the book will lead us to the Netflix series, produced by Shondaland. Shonda Rhimes later co-wrote “Queen Charlotte” along with Julia Quinn, for TV. Now in novelized form, both versions well explain the “Great Experiment” related to racial issues not even referred to in the novel of The Duke and I.

The story takes us to drawing rooms, ballrooms, and clubs, reflecting real historical customs but with modern sensibilities thanks to Quinn's dialogue and tone. One reader said that she’d “expected not to like the series, but did,” and “expected to like the book, and didn’t.” She added that the costumes and settings were beautifully depicted,” and another reader said the cast of the show was “eye candy.”

As for the book, readers said it builds on “strong women,” that Daphne was “mature for her age,” that she “acted as Simon’s therapist,” and the dialogue was “contemporary, teasing, romantic, and fun.” However, much of the novel was repetitive, which is partly why two readers hated the book. One of them, after hearing us talk, said she might give the series a try. Maybe she was convinced by the eye candy. It’s a strong argument.

Beth Buechler
Community Contributor

Federation Book Club meets via Zoom at 4 PM on the 2nd Thursday of the month. Contact info@thejewishfed.org with “Book Club” in the subject to get involved.