‘Bridgerton’ Prequel Novel About Queen Charlotte, Written by Julia Quinn and Shonda Rhimes, on the Way

Bridgerton is one of Netflix’s biggest hits and it has absolutely paid off for the romance genre, diverse casting in period dramas, and the investment made in Shonda Rhimes—which is why it’s no surprise Bridgerton book publisher Avon wants to build on that by feeding the onscreen adaptation’s success back into more books.

In a press release sent out yesterday, it was shared that Avon Books acquired the rights to a collaborative novel by Bridgerton author Julia Quinn and Shonda Rhimes, who is the executive producer of the Netflix series. The collaboration will be based on the upcoming spinoff original series, created and written by Rhimes, about the rise of young Queen Charlotte.

Centered on Queen Charlotte’s rise to prominence and power, this Bridgerton-verse prequel tells the story of how the young Queen’s marriage to King George sparked both a great love story and a societal shift, creating the world of the Ton inherited by the characters in Bridgerton.

per press release.

“Queen Charlotte has been such a moving character to write and now having the opportunity to work with Julia to adapt this story into a book is such an exciting opportunity,” said Rhimes. “I can’t wait for fans of this universe to read the story of a character that has resonated so deeply with our audience.”

“Taking Bridgerton from book to screen was fascinating for me to watch, and it’s such an exciting challenge for me to take it in the other direction, this time crafting Shonda’s brilliant vision into a novel,” said Quinn. “I’m especially thrilled to have the opportunity to write about Queen Charlotte, who was not in the original novels. Her character —and Golda Rosheuvel’s brilliant portrayal of her— was a tour de force, and I think readers will love getting a chance to know her more deeply.

“Queen Charlotte is a relatively understated yet fascinating historical figure, and this new, rich, witty and compelling novel is perfect for the millions of fans of the Shondaland/Netflix series Bridgerton who are clamoring for more of this incomparable character,” said Lyssa Keusch, longtime editor of Julia Quinn at Avon Books/William Morrow.

Publication of the book will be timed to the release of the spinoff series on Netflix.

Now, on the one hand, I’m excited that this character’s story will be legitimatized in publication as part of the series. On the other hand, the reality is that Julia Quinn’s novels, as written, are very white, and she has a history of having crappy reasons for the lack of inclusion. She has been able to get a lot of undue clout because of what the show has done to change that, so I want to see how she evolves in this new venture.

(featured image: Netflix)