Netflix's Bridgerton season two is all we can talk about right now, as attention turns to the Ton’s most eligible bachelor, Anthony (played by Jonathan Bailey)
The series is based on the book The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn, first published in 2000. But, as with any book-turned-TV series, there are some significant differences between the Netflix show and the original story. Here are the main differences we noticed.
Our latest Netflix must-watch is the newest season of the Netflix period love story Bridgerton as attention turns to the Ton’s most eligible and rakish bachelor.
The series is based on the book “The Viscount Who Loved Me” by Julia Quinn, initially published in 2000. But, as with any book-turned-TV series, there are some significant differences between the Netflix show and the original story. For example, it wasn’t a sisterly love triangle, and there wasn’t a Bridgerton Swindler. Here are the main differences we noticed.
1. Kate and Anthony’s first meeting goes a little differently in the book. They don’t meet on horseback in the woods like they do in the series - they meet in a ballroom, and Anthony meets Edwina first. Kate still hates him, though.
2. The Featherington family aren’t a focus of the books. In fact, the storyline with Cousin Jack’s dodgy mines doesn’t even exist, which is a huge contrast from the TV show, with the family given considerable screen time in the Netflix adaptation.
3. On-screen, the quest to unmask Lady Whistledown is given a lot of attention – including by Eloise and Queen Charlotte. Whereas in the books, the plotline doesn’t exist – there’s no assistance from Madame Delacroix, there is no BFF break-up, and Eloise doesn’t seem to care about unmasking Lady Whistledown. Also, her identity isn’t revealed until much later in the series.
4. Theo Sharpe is also a Netflix creation. Yep, Eloise Bridgerton's pal from the radical feminist group doesn't exist. And while we’re on the subject, so is Queen Charlotte and that pre-marital sex scene. Yep, Queen Charlotte isn’t a thing in the books.
5. At the beginning of The Viscount Who Loved Me, there is an overview of the Sheffield family history, aka the Sharma family in the show. In the book, the family is from Somerset. Kate lost her mother very young, and after her father’s death, both daughters needed to make suitable matches to get out of their financial situations.
6. The Sheffield/Sharma family aren’t from India in the book. Mary, Kate’s stepmother, wasn’t born Mary Sheffield, nor was she a well-to-do woman and an earlier “diamond” of her season. She also wasn’t disowned by her family when she married a poor clerk. In the book, her husband was the second son of a Baron, but he did already have Kate.
7. So, although Kate feels pressure to protect Edwina and ensure she marries for love, there aren’t any estranged family members making offers of a large sum of money if Edwina marries a titled Englishman. Yeah, so that whole thing about the secret reason why Kate wants Edwina to marry Anthony doesn't exist.
8. Perhaps the most significant difference is the bee sting scene and its outcome. During a conversation with Anthony in the TV show, Kate is stung by a bee. Anthony panics, flashing back to when he watched his father die from a bee sting, and he tries to suck the venom out of Kate’s chest. The scene is particularly memorable in the book, namely because he’s caught in the act by their mothers and Lady Featherington, which means...
9. This misunderstanding means that Antony and Kate have to get married to each other. Edwina isn’t bothered and had always been team #kanthony.
10. Marina Crane has a prominent role in seasons 1 and 2 compared to the books, making a surprise reappearance to tell Colin that he has someone who loves him in Penelope. Colin declares he will never be interested in his friend in that way – a scene which the Netflix adaption brought forward in the timeline, and showed during one of the ball scenes.
11. In the book, Antony believes he will die young like his father and doesn’t want a love match – the main reason he initially courted Edwina and didn’t pursue Kate. He and Kate continue to deal with Antony’s trauma and grief after the bee sting incident and their marriage, something which we don’t have time to explore in the books.
12. The book deals with Kate’s feelings of inadequacy as she’s been unfavourably compared to Edwina all her life by others. It also explores her fear of storms tied to the loss of her mother. Eventually, after a carriage accident briefly puts Kate in danger, they admit that they love each other. In the TV show, the carriage is swapped out for a horse riding incident.
