Book Annotation-Romance

Author: Julia Quinn

Title: Because of Miss Bridgerton

Genre: Romance

Publication Date: 2016

Number of Pages: 375

Geographical Setting: Kent, England and London, England

Time Period: Late 1770s during the American Revolutionary War, Georgian/Regency Era

Series: The Rokesbys, Book 1

Subject Headings: Regency, England, Fiction, Love Stories, Historical Fiction

Appeal Terms: Historical Romance, Banter-Filled writing style, Spirited character

Plot Summary:

Miss Sybilla “Billie” Bridgerton is known as the tomboyish and “reckless” young lady of Aubrey Hall who never had a “season” in high-society London, though her marriage prospects seem assured in her close relationships with most of the Rokesby gentlemen of the neighboring estate.  The only brother she’s sure she could never like let alone love is the eldest, George, and yet he is the one that comes to her rescue after she’s fallen from a tree onto the roof of a local abandoned farmhouse trying to save a cat.  The relationship sparked on the roof grows throughout the novel through a failed house party at Aubrey Hall, trepidation surrounding the well-being of Edward Rokesby fighting in the Americas, and an impromptu “season” in London in which George finds himself terribly jealous and helpless in the machinations of his mother and his militarized government.

Quinn’s novel exhibits several characteristics of the Romance novel in its equal distribution of the narrative between the hero and the heroine (Saricks, 2009), the “spirited” character of Billie Bridgerton who typifies Romance’s “bright, independent, strong” heroine (Saricks, 2009), and the historical setting of the English “ton” with its house parties and grand seasonal balls (Saricks, 2009).  This last is most interesting because Quinn writes a character in Billie who in many ways rejects the idea of having a “season” in London for various reasons, but in order to satisfy the readers expectation of a pattern and optimistic resolution, not to mention the characteristic of Romances that involves characters coming to “understand themselves and their relationships with each other” better (Saricks, 2009), the last part of the novel is dedicated to Billie’s “debut” at a ball and her desire to be escorted there by formerly detested George Rokesby.

Read-Alikes:

The Season by Sarah MacLean

Like Quinn’s heroine, Billie Bridgerton, MacLean’s Alexandra Stafford resists society life for pursuits that she feels are more useful, for example, solving the suspected murder of the Earl of Blackmoor.  Fast-paced dialogue and the finding of love in familiar but unexpected places also ties The Season closely to Because of Miss Bridgerton.

By Winter’s Light by Stephanie Laurens

With its large cast of characters from the Cynster family and banter-filled dialogue, this historical romance promises readers a similar experience to Quinn’s novel concerning the Rokesby and Bridgerton families.  Set in Australia, By Winter’s Light promises much of the pomp and circumstance of English high-society as preparations are made for the holiday celebrations and a Cynster suitor attempts to prove his genuineness to governess Claire Meadows.

Persuasion by Brenda Joyce

With perhaps more of a reason to dislike Simon, Earl of St. Just, than Billie Bridgerton has for disliking George Rokesby, Amelia Greystone nevertheless finds herself in a neighborly relationship, much like the Bridgertons and Rokesbys, with Simon that tests her resolve to keep her distance.  With likeable characters as in Because of Miss Bridgerton, Joyce weaves a historical romance with a more pronounced element of espionage that leaves the story, like Quinn’s, with something more than just a foregone conclusion. 

Work Cited:

Saricks, J. (2009). The Readers' Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction. Chicago, IL: American Library Association.