This will be a different type of book review since I watched the series first and became interested in reading the book series. Usually, historical fiction or historical romance is not my preferred genre, however, watching the show intrigued me because I was able to get a visual and an idea of what the book is about and what the show is based on. The storyline and premise of the series gained my attention as a viewer and made me feel conflicted about the book. I found some differences between the book and the series adaptation. I based my opinions on what I remembered from watching when this show first came out and I am currently re-watching to prepare for season two premiering today, and I wanted to share these thoughts!
Synopsis
Book number one of the Bridgerton series (The Duke & I) tells the story of Daphne Bridgerton and Duke Simon Basset which takes place in London during the Regency Period (around 1813). Now, I have to emphasize that this is the first book in this specific series because Julia Quinn has written more books that solely focus on its own characters and their stories, so "The Duke & I" is only really Daphne's story. Julia Quinn has also written additional stories for other series, too. Daphne's story displays the acts and challenges of being a young lady during this time period and the determination of finding love and starting a family for the Bridgerton name, which makes sense for this time period that relies on family traditions and keeping the name within generations. It is expected for women to find a suitor, fall in love. get married, have children, and follow the marital duties of being a good wife. Then, we meet Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings, who has other beliefs about marriage. Since he grew up quite differently compared to the glamorous Bridgertons, Simon is completely against marriage and refuses to have children. This is important to take into consideration since the act of love and conceiving plays a huge role during this historical time period. Daphne and Simon meet, instantly developing a strong connection and friendship. After getting to know each other and telling one another their personal struggles, they decide to form a ruse - pretend to fall in love with each other and be seen as a couple. This helps Daphne look as if she finally found a perfect suitor in hopes of getting proposed to, potentially making other men feel drawn to her even more (wanting what they can't have so to speak) and this helps Simon become an unavailable bachelor from desperate mothers seeking a husband for their lonely daughters. As one might imagine, this plan may fail or succeed. The town also involves a gossip columnist, Lady Whistledown, who sees and knows everything about everybody. Anyone can be the next day's headline in a matter of seconds, good or bad publicity for sure. This historical piece is filled with love, drama, royalty, family, and the struggles of maintaining a perfect reputation.
Netflix Adaptation
The first season premiered in December of 2020, the end of a memorable year being quarantined due to the pandemic called COVID. I had returned to work a couple of months before but I tend to watch shows everyone talks about, this being one of them. I suppose fear of missing out is a real thing! Once I started and finished episode one, I was hooked! I am in awe of English accents, the fashion is beautiful, the music covers of certain pop songs featured to fit into the time period was done so well, the actors are amazing, (hot guys, cmon) royalty, the plot, and it is produced by the one and only Shonda Rhimes (Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, How to get away with murder. I don't think this hard-working woman has time to sleep!) One can say I was quite intrigued about the newest show trending. As I was reading the first book, I couldn't help but picture everyone from the show in my head. Daphne and Simon's characters are described differently and I believe the show made Daphne younger as far as her age. I could be wrong, but that's just my impression. This is not a bad thing but sometimes I get a tad confused with how old main characters are supposed to be, especially in a time period where getting married at an extremely "young" age is normal. Lady Whistledown is narrated by the legendary Julie Andrews which is another contribution to the show I admired and they did really well with. The introduction to all the Bridgertons was done the same. The audience learns that each Bridgerton is named alphabetically and Lady Whisltedown discusses that in the first column published to the town. I like the similarity of Gossip Girl as far as having an anonymous gossiper start scandals.
With Daphne's character, I did not see much of a difference in the show except for the fact that her character is experiencing finding a suitor for the first time, meeting eligible and potential husbands. She does this with the protection of her older brother, Anthony (his story is book number two in the series and will be the focus of season two in the adaptation). Daphne is a very independent young lady and makes that perfectly clear when it comes to making decisions for herself, which she has every right to. I think the way she does this and goes about those decisions can be seen as arrogant and naive, but again, she is also innocent and young. She also has little knowledge of what actually happens after becoming a wife, which is something I understand but don't at the same time. A woman is taught about the fantasies of love and having a family, but they are unaware of the realities of it and are not taught until the appropriate time- when they are married. Basically, Daphne was not taught about physical intimacy at all. All women are under the impression that one can only conceive when they are married, which we know is not true, but I suppose makes the topic of sex taboo. In the series, it is Simon who introduces her to self-pleasure and how physical intimacy between two people who love each other can work out without needing to create a family or be married. However, Daphne still wants a family regardless.
Now, Simon's story I thought was done really well on the show. I believe he was introduced in the second episode. It is clear that he grew up with a verbally abusive father, his mother passed away during his birth, and the only respectable person who essentially raises him is Lady Danbury, a close family friend of Simon's mother. Simon could not talk from a young age and developed a stuttering problem and because of this, his father despised him entirely, calling Simon an idiot and deciding Simon was pretty much dead to him - Terrible! The father wanted a son to be the heir so badly that when Simon was born, he was thrilled to have a son, but chose to hate him because of his flaws. It's clear that his father's priorities are only about continuing the family line. Even when Simon's speech improved over time, it was still not enough for his father. Years later, his father becomes ill and on his deathbed, Simon speaks to him clearly, saying that he will not marry nor start a family so that he will be the last Duke of Hastings. This is his way of getting back at everything his father put him through. Simon develops anger issues and in the show, he has another friend, Will Mondrich, a boxer, who Simon hangs with from time to time and attends boxing matches. I believe this is one way Simon releases his emotions when he is not handling them with alcohol. I sympathized with Simon so much while watching and can understand his beliefs, however, his trauma affects his decisions when it comes to women greatly, only so little knowing why he refuses to marry and start a family, including Daphne. This makes their arrangement somewhat difficult when they start falling for each other.
I believe Daphne fell for Simon first. I think Simon had to build up that affection towards her. Their connection and banter are great and they really compliment each other; their little ruse fools everyone as it looks believable! I think Daphne falls first because as she tries to find someone to marry, it can be seen that she does not connect with other men well and some may only want her for her pretty face as she was approved by the Queen in episode one. She found someone she can envision a future with, even though Simon is good friends with Anthony, meaning the ruse can only go on for so long or it is expected of Simon to marry Daphne. However, Anthony does not want Simon to even look Daphne's way since Anthony calls Simon a rake when it comes to how Simon treats women and that he wishes to not marry anyone - he is honest and realistic from the beginning.
Despite the way things were translated into the show differently, I enjoyed the adaptation of Bridgerton and cannot wait for season two!
Book Review
Since I watched the show first, I knew what to expect from the book as far as the plot. I was hoping it would not be the exact same thing as demonstrated in the adaptation on Netflix. I also had to remind myself that the book is only about two characters, not realizing everyone else would not be discussed or mentioned in the book but they were in the television series. This makes sense because a television series has the advantage to add more drama than a book and it needs to include other characters to extend storylines and further episodes/seasons. Sometimes, in a book, it can have unnecessary chapters or it can make the book too long, but I digress.
The book begins with Simon's story as a prologue which caught me off guard. I think his story could have been placed after we meet him for the first time at Lady Danbury's ball, just like the first episode, and then transition into his story as chapter two. At the same time, perhaps it was done that way so that when the reader meets Simon, we already know who he is, what he is about, his background, and we see him all grown up as the new Duke of Hastings. We also have an insight into the awakening Daphne is in for. Then, in the first chapter, we are introduced to the Bridgertons and Daphne herself. I think the characters appear differently in the show than how they are described in the book; Daphne is supposed to have dark hair and Simon is supposed to have blue eyes. We are introduced to everyone by Lady Whistledown in every chapter and the show did the exact same thing nicely with this character being the narrator. In the book, Daphne is twenty years old and has already been through the process of finding a suitor for the past two years. Her mother, Lady Violet, is worried that because of what Lady Whistledown wrote in the column, Daphne's chances of finding a husband will be greatly affected. She is aware that most of the suitors she attempted relations with only see her as a friend and would want someone that desires the same mutual affection for her. Since we were already introduced to Simon, Lady Violet feels that he will be an unfit match for Daphne and only knows of him because he is Anthony's friend in the book too. Then they are off to Lady Danbury's ball and the rest of the story continues. I obviously won't go chapter by chapter, I just needed to make the distinction between the introductions. It can be seen that this introduction to the story is slightly different than the tv series.
In the book, there is more insight into how Simon feels about Daphne. I was under the impression that he swooned immediately. They eventually come up with the ruse idea, fool everybody, and Anthony is more protective about his sister. Between him and Simon, I got the sense of more tension being involved. Then, Simon and Daphne end up telling Anthony about their plan. In the show, Daphne confesses to her mother about it. I am not sure of the purpose of changing the characters regarding who knows their secret. Simon even confesses the ruse to the Queen (who does not exist in the book) in front of everybody as he announces his love for Daphne in the show, beautifully. I feel that his character in the book appears as truly having feelings for Daphne and wanting to give marriage with her a chance but is still scared due to his initial beliefs of not having the kind of life Daphne wants. The distinction between Simon's words of "cannot" have a child versus "won't" have one is valid for Daphne to be upset about and as much as I understand Simon's vow to never continue the family line, it was slightly immature for his character. However, without this argument, there would really be no drama to the story.
I feel that Daphne is just about the same in the book and tv show. I find her at times to be pretentious and demands things her way only. It is said multiple times that she assumes to know and understand how men work simply because she has older brothers. In my opinion, everyone is not going to be the same as your siblings, especially since the Duke and her brothers are significantly different and expect opposite outcomes in life. It is also terrible that Daphne kind of forces things at her hand, having a baby with Simon for example involving the physical intimacy between them. I found her at times to be infuriating, both on-screen and in writing. I understand she grew up learning only one way about how life goes and should go for her in the years to come, but I think she was naive at the beginning of it all. She was taught the pretend, loving version of romance instead of the realistic side of becoming a union with disagreements and such. I don't think there was authentic character development but rather the union of her and Simon finally resolving their issues.
Final Thoughts
So, which one do I like better? Honestly, I enjoyed both but if I had to choose which way Daphne's story is told, I pick the Netflix series. I know, books are always better than movies or shows. It's not that I disliked the book - I was still eager to finish reading it for the purpose of seeing the differences and getting even more excited for the new season since the show is the reason why I gave the book a chance in the first place. The writing was decent and watching the series first in my opinion helped me visualize as I was reading. The show's writing I was in love with more. Towards the end of the book, it dragged for me and felt slow with Simon and Daphne's temporary situation of being distant with each other for example. The show decided to handle certain plot points and scenes differently compared to the book and I think the television series did a better job at bringing the story to life with some twists. The ending for Simon and Daphne's story is the same and was portrayed nicely in the show. Julia Quinn did write a second epilogue for readers who want to know how their lives continue, which is a nice addition for those genuinely concerned, but I was okay with not needing nor wanting to read it. My overall rating for book one is a 4.5 - I did not love it but I did not hate it either.
I hope you enjoy season two if you watch it! I think I will read book two now that I want to collect the series and I cannot wait to get to my favorite character's book, Daphne's sister, Eloise.
Thank you for reading!
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