Race In Bridgerton Books

In the show she is a black woman who ascended the throne resulting in a more accepting world filled with equal opportunity where it wasn t radical to see black elite and middle class people.

Race in bridgerton books. The netflix hit departs from the homogeneous casting of most period drama imagining a 19th century britain with black royalty and. A duke footman lady s maid or even a respected boxer. One thing van dusen and rhimes make clear about their adaptation of bridgerton.

Bridgerton s mediocrity has made me skeptical and less optimistic about rhimes forthcoming netflix projects like the warmth of other suns which will bring to life author isabel wilkerson s deeply researched award winning book about the great migration and inventing anna based on the cut article about the grifter anna sorokin. The bridgerton books by quinn who has a sketchy track record when it comes to commenting on diversity don t tackle race at all. But its core is escapism.

In the books simon s father is obsessed with appearances and lineage to the point that his relentless demands for a ducal heir are thought to have killed his poor wife in childbirth. Plus most 19th century period dramas are overwhelmingly white. And later he s emotionally abusive with his son because of simon s stuttering.

And one of the biggest is the fact that while quinn s books take place in the whitewashed reality of 19th century england bridgerton is a show filled with color and race in all levels of. On the show race becomes a factor that brings an extra pressure to new nobility. Bridgerton sees race through a colorist lens by carolyn hinds 01 01 21 8 00am regé jean page as simon bassett and phoebe dynevor as daphne briderton on briderton.

In the late 2000s a show about an interracial romance in a fictionalised regency era with a black monarch might have gotten away with a colourblind approach. Bridgerton takes on race. Bridgerton premiered in the wake of these movements yet categorically fails at a nuanced or even justifiable approach to its handling of both race and consent.

Though bridgerton is based on julia quinn s beloved romance novel series of the same name there are some stark differences between the shonda rhimes produced drama and its source material.