An estimated fifth of Londoners suffered from syphilis in the late 18th century and, behind closed doors, Regency Britons were engaged in extra martial affairs and even polyamory.
The season three scene between Colin and Penelope got more than a few hearts racing. It’s a refrenshingly rare onscreen portrayal of a larger women in a passionate, sexual encounter.
Penelope Featherington contemplates life without a loving partner.
Netflix
Bridgerton explores relatable experiences that resonate with its audience despite its historical setting.
Shardlake, Bridgerton season 3 and the new Raymond Briggs exhibition should all be on your radar this week.
Disney/Liam Daniel/Neftlix/ Andrew Hasson /Alamy
Much to enjoy as Bridgerton returns, a Tudor murder mystery intrigues, the International Booker prize is imminent, the National Gallery is 200 and the genius of Raymond Briggs is on display.
Nicola Coughlan as Penelope Featherington in the third season of Bridgerton.
Laurence Cendrowicz/Netflix
Historical romance allows readers to imagine a better past. For many, this is more important than historical accuracy – which can be ‘the icing on the cake’.
Are romance novels all the same? Are their readers all bored housewives and BookTok girlies? Of course not! Romance experts Jodi McAlister and Jayashree Kamble debunk the myths and deliver the facts.
There are many areas in the show where historical fact is sacrificed on the altar of artistic license, but glimmers of the real Queen Charlotte shine through.
Queen Charlotte captured viewers’ attention in the Netflix series Bridgerton as the snuff-sniffing, gossip-garnering, biracial wife of the “mad king” George III.
Persuasion is a distinctly romantic modern comedy in tone – but how much does historical accuracy matter?
The duo ‘Barlow and Bear,’ made up of singer Abigail Barlow and composer Emily Bear, won the 2022 Grammy Award for best musical theatre album for ‘The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical,’ shared over TikTok.
(Bear and Barlow/Igor Kasyanyuk)
While Netflix’s Bridgerton is both incredibly romantic and erotic, the reality is it’s estimated 1in 5 people in the Regency period in London had syphilis and other STIs.
From editors looking to ‘expose the false art of life’ to others taking up the cause of the marginalised, writers went anonymous to share their uncomfortable truths.
Romance readers would be familiar with the idea of romantic serialisation - now, Netflix’s Bridgerton brings the format to television, which is why season 1’s Duke of Hastings is nowhere to be seen.
Research Supervisor, University of Technology Sydney, Adjunct Senior Lecturer, University of Southern Queensland and Senior Lecturer, University of Notre Dame Australia