"Bridgerton" in the Timeline

The new series on Netflix, based on a series of books by author Julia Quinn, is a period drama and is awesome. I have read the first four books of the series, and I loved the storyline. After watching the series, it is pretty different, but also pretty incredible too.

While several young women are making their debut into society, in order to find suitable matches for marriage, a society paper, kind of like a gossip column (a little like Gossip Girl), premiers as well, a tell-all about the Ton, a reference used during this time period, a term commonly used to refer to Britain's high society during the late Regency and the reign of George IV, and later. The first season focuses on Daphne Bridgerton, the eldest daughter, and fourth in an exceptional large, loving family, and her finding love with the Duke of Hastings, Simon Basset, portrayed by Phoebe Dynevor, and Regé-Jean Page.

Capturing Authentic Moments

Based loosely on the Regency period, in 1813 London, the show gives a glimpse at some fashion, and culture of this era. Starting with fashion, I recognized the empire dress, a silhouette also from Pride and Prejudice. This one of my favorites, because of the slim, elegant look, even on slightly small forms, was inspired apparently by the neoclassical look, meaning a simpler and elegant style of women’s fashion. Corsets were also in style, and while these were beautiful in design, they were probably not as comfortable, back then in history, or present for the actresses who had to wear half corsets for the show, while the bloomers were a little different.

While women were meant for extraordinarily little, we see in both the books, and the Netflix version, that they were a force to be reckoned with, and had ways to manage any situation they found themselves in. Particularly in the social seasons, the mothers were a driving force, for their sons and daughters.

How much of all this is historically accurate, the creators left some wiggle room, but did a lot of research to show a truly inspired period of time, and an incredible story. The first season was amazing and I’m excited to see what happens next.