Bridgertonis an absolute behemoth in the Regency romance genre. Written by Julia Quinn, it’s become a must-watch Netflix series, spawned multiple side-stories, and there isn’t a romance fan anywhere in the world who doesn’t know whatBridgertonis.
If you’ve seen the series or read the books (or both, and if you’ve seen the series but not read the books then I would highly recommend them), then you’re probably suffering from a sort of Regency hangover. The modern world is just so lackluster compared to the high-society setting ofBridgerton, so it’s natural to miss being absorbed within that world.
With that in mind, to cure you of the gaping hole in your life thatBridgertonpreviously took up, here are 10 books (or series) to read next that offer the same Regency and/or romance themes.
Part of a series of four books with the same name,The Duke Undoneintroduces us to Lucy Cooper, a struggling artist who stumbles upon the naked duke passed out in an alley and then goes on to paint his picture.
She doesn’t know he’s a duke when she finds him, of course, and she helps him before she turns his nudity into art, but all of it is the kicking-off point for an unlikely romance. He wants her to burn the painting and never speak of it again, she wants to save the tenements in which she lives, and they both want to find his missing sister.
Jane Austen wroteEmmawith the understanding that nobody other than herself would end up liking the main heroine. What we ended up with is true to that original premise, with spoiled Emma Woodhouse choosing to believe she’s some kind of matchmaker extraordinaire as she meddles in the lives of people in nearby villages.
As you can imagine, a lot of drama and crossed wires are the result, but also a lot of romance and a beautifully captured glimpse into life during the time period.Emmais Austen’s best work (in my opinion), and definitely worth reading for any romance fan.
Admittedly,Red, White & Royal Blueis set in the modern world with everything that entails, including the media and social platforms, which only add issues where they wouldn’t have been during the Regency period. However,Red, White & Royal Bluealso somehow manages tofeellike a Regency romance thanks to the royal bloodlines of those involved.
It’s an LGBT romance between an English Prince and the son of the first female president of the USA, what could go wrong? Pretty much everything, truth be told, but the path to true love never did run smooth and all that.
A Lady For a Dukefeatures a trans heroine, but that’s not the central plot point of the tale. Viola was once a soldier on the battlefield at Waterloo, but when presumed dead, she finally takes the opportunity to live as herself, at the cost of everything from her previous life including her best friend Justin de Vere.
Reconnecting years later, Viola realizes that losing his closest friend all but destroyed Justin and takes it upon herself to remind him of who he once was. Helping him to overcome addictions to both alcohol and opium, Viola and Justin grow ever closer and there are many heart-warming moments as the two come together.
The creation ofQueen Charlotteis a bit of an odd one. Off the back ofBridgerton’s success, Netflix ran a side series calledQueen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story. Off the back ofthat, the original author ofBridgertondecided to novelize the story ofQueen Charlottealongside the head of the production team that worked on both series, and that’s how we got here.
It’s the story of, obviously, Queen Charlotte and how she went about adapting to her new life as royalty after marrying King George III, while she falls in love with him despite his coldness towards her. With the same author bringing this story to life, there’s absolutely no way that anyBridgertonfan could not likeQueen Charlotte.
Like Julia Quinn, Mary Balogh has a huge number of published novels set during the Regency period, filled with love and drama just as you’d expect. If you’ve binged through Bridgerton, then the Ravenswood series is a good choice, starting withRemember Love.
Devlin Ware is called home from the Napoleonic war as the sole heir of the Ware family to restore the family name and its place in society, despite the fact that he was previously exiled as a traitor. War-hardened and traumatized by all that he’s seen, he doesn’t particularly want the responsibility on his shoulders. Enter Gwyneth, former love and anchor for him as he tries to navigate him through the difficult task.
The Regency era is well known for its patriarchal beliefs, butThe Ladies Rewrite the Rulestakes that entire concept and flips it on its head. Diana is a wealthy widow who absolutely does not want to marry again, especially to some gold-digging shallow man. But then she ends up listed in the “Bachelor’s Directory”, a list of single, rich women perused by men hunting for a wife.
So what does Diana do? Well, what any self-respecting lady would do. She confronts Maxwell Dean, the author of this depraved list. Then she tells the other included ladies about the list, and they group together to take back the power, bending would-be husbands to a new set of rules made up by the girls. Feminism in the Regency era? Count me in.
A Duke, the Lady, and a Baby
Vanessa Riley
After her husband dies, Patience Jordan questions whether it was actually suicide as she was led to believe. For doing so, the West Indian heiress loses everything, including her newborn son, when she is falsely imprisoned. In a strange turn of events, she ends up being hired as the nanny to the aforementioned son, who is now under the care of the Duke of Repington, Busick Strathmore.
He’s a wounded military hero, and he had not bargained on the headstrong Patience entering his life and worming her way into his heart. Of course,A Duke, the Lady, and a Babyis a romance through and through, so the two of them form an attachment to one another that threatens to derail everything as every great romance should.
When caring for eight siblings becomes a little too much for Jane to bear, she accepts her aunt’s invitation to the London season, hoping to meet a wealthy husband to claw her family out of the debt that they find themselves in. She soon finds out that her country bumpkin ways aren’t exactly going to get her accepted within high society, let alone bag her a man.
Lord Glendale doesn’t want a wife and he certainly isn’t looking for one. However, he’s amused by Jane and places a bet that he can make her high-society-worthy within a month. At its heart,A London Seasonis a makeover story, but as all good makeover stories do, this one develops into a love affair that everybody but the main characters can see coming from a mile away. That doesn’t make it any less comforting to read, though.
Every other book on this list features couples coming together and finding their way before marriage.To Have and to Hoaxthrows you into a five-year marriage where husband and wife haven’t spoken for four years until they’re thrown together by a hoax injury that sparks a never-ending battle of pranks and one-upmanship.
If you’ve ever stumbled across that weird side of YouTube that features couples trying to prank each other in weirder and more complex ways, then you’ll know what to expect from To Have and to Hoax, except it’s set in the Regency era and the pranks very much reflect this. Among the hoaxes, the couple finds that maybe their argument four years ago wasn’t as dooming as they initially thought.
If you get through all of the above-mentioned Regency romances and still want some more novels to lose yourself in, check out ourother book listsfor more recommendations.
