22 Differences Between ‘Bridgerton’ Season 2 and Julia Quinn’s Novel ‘The Viscount Who Loved Me’
When “Bridgerton” debuted on Netflix in 2020, it challenged audiences to reconsider their vision of Regency-era England. Between its color-conscious cast, female-focused sex scenes, and fiery romance, many viewers had never seen a TV show, let alone a period piece, quite like it.
As a result, “Bridgerton” reigned as Netflix’s most-watched show in the weeks following its debut; a record 82 million households worldwide streamed the series in its first month on the platform (“Squid Game” later took the top spot).
The Shondaland drama was so well received by audiences that Netflix renewed it for a fourth season and announced a spinoff after Queen Charlotte ascended the throne.
While the world of “Bridgerton” is well known, the framework behind it has been around for decades and is found in Julia Quinn’s best-selling romance novels.
Season one is based on the author’s 2000 novel “The Duke and I,” and season two, which premiered on March 25, moves on to “The Viscount Who Loved Me,” which hit shelves the same year. Quinn introduces Katharine “Kate” Sheffield in “The Viscount Who Loved Me.” A native of rural England, she travels to central London with her stepmother, Mary Sheffield, and her younger sister, Edwina Sheffield, during the 1814 season.
Actress Simone Ashley’s Kate appears on screen 22 years later with the same strength, confidence, and stubbornness as the original protagonist, but she has a different name: Kathani “Kate” Sharma.
In “Bridgerton,” the characters come to London from India. The show’s writers changed Kate’s nickname to reflect her South Asian heritage, choosing Sharma, a common surname in her hometown.
Viewers will still hear references to the Sheffield family in season two. Because Mary’s last name is Sheffield, her family is sometimes referred to as the “Sheffield-Sharmas.”
Quinn, a creative consultant on the show, fully approves of the new name.
“I love the changes they’ve made,” the writer told Insider in 2021, later adding, “Simone Ashley is perfect as Kate.”
Advertisement The circumstances surrounding Edmund’s death are nearly identical in both the books and the show.
In both versions, the Bridgerton patriarch has a fatal reaction to a bee sting in the final weeks of his wife Violet Bridgerton’s (Ruth Gemmell) eighth pregnancy, leaving his family devastated and pushing Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) into the viscountcy sooner than expected.
However, some details surrounding the tragedy differ.
Specifically, Edmund (Rupert Evans) dies before Anthony’s eyes after a father-son hunting trip to “Bridgerton”. However, Edmund’s heir is not by his side in the written version of the story.
In the books, Anthony returns to their ancestral home of Aubrey Hall after a day of horseback riding with his brother Benedict and finds his sister, Daphne, crying on the floor.
The eldest Bridgerton daughter informs him that their father died of a bee sting. She confirms that their sister, Eloise, witnessed her father’s death.
