Bridgerton has stuck to the book order of the original series of the same name — until now.
Season 3 of the popular Netflix show follows the romance between Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) and Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton). However, their story comes in the fourth novel of the series, Romancing Mister Bridgerton.
Published in 2002, Romancing Mister Bridgerton is set over a decade after Penelope first falls in love with Colin and has her debut in the marriage mart. Meanwhile, season 3 takes place right after the events of season 2.
While most of the plotlines remain the same, there are some key differences — such as the big reveal of who Lady Whistledown truly is — between the beloved book and its adaptation.
From Penelope’s age to her big secret, here’s everything to know about the differences between Bridgerton season 3 and the book it is based on.
Penelope is much older in the book
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In the book, Penelope details how she first fell in love with Colin in 1812, two days shy of her 16th birthday. She nurses that love for him for 12 years, as the book takes place in 1824 when she is 28 years old and Colin is 33.
The topic of her age is a major focus in the book — she often refers to herself as a spinster and laments her life living at home with her mother, Portia Featherington, while her sisters have already married. She and Colin often point out each other’s ages as well, with Penelope teasing him for still being single while all the girls of the ton continue to vie for his attention.
In the show, however, Penelope is still presumably young, having only entered the marriage mart in season 1, making her somewhere around 19 or 20 in season 3. She has been in society for three seasons so she is not yet a spinster, though she does describe herself as a wallflower. Colin is also younger as the story takes place almost immediately after season 2 ended.
The reader doesn’t know that Penelope is Lady Whistledown yet
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At the end of season 2, Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia Jessie), Colin’s younger sister and Penelope’s best friend, discovers that Penelope is Lady Whistledown, the writer of the town’s gossip pamphlet.
The two have a major falling out, and season 3 starts with Eloise and Penelope not on speaking terms, much to Colin’s confusion. However, in the book, the reader does not yet know that Penelope is Lady Whistledown until much later in the story — and it is Colin who finds out first.
In the novel, Colin follows Penelope to a church where she hides her papers for a publisher to pick up. Unbeknownst to her, Colin catches her in the act, also revealing to the reader for the first time that Penelope is Whistledown.
Penelope does not have another suitor:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(999x0:1001x2):format(webp)/bridgerton-S3-preview-021324-4-9172741dfc584a5bb6b0c3cf3cd3b814.jpg)
Before Colin realizes his affection for Penelope, he spends the first few episodes of season 3 attempting to help her flirt with men and find a match. His guidance pays off when she catches the eye of Lord Debling, who is soon ready to propose to her.
However, Penelope’s love for Colin — and his protestation of the match — gets in the way. In the book, Penelope does not have any other suitors as she stopped trying to court a man years ago due to her age and awkwardness around men.
Penelope has a younger sister:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(999x0:1001x2):format(webp)/bridgerton-S3-preview-021324-2-59de92088bcb4a9984a62639c4a1c0dd.jpg)
In the show, Penelope is the youngest of three sisters, Philippa and Prudence. However, in the novel, she also has another sister, Felicity, who is much younger than her and is on the marriage mart in the fourth book.
At the beginning of the novel, Portia suggests that Felicity may have a chance with Colin, causing Penelope to balk at the thought. While Felicity doesn’t have much of a role in the book, she is close to Hyacinth, the youngest Bridgerton sister.
Penelope also admits that Felicity is more popular than her “three older sisters combined,” and hasn’t struggled in the marriage mart as Penelope and her sisters have. She has an engagement brewing with Mr. Albansdale, who she is in love with, despite her mama’s hopes she’ll end up with a Bridgerton.
Francesca is already a widow
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Though Francesca’s story has not been explored yet by the fourth book of the series, Penelope shares in the novel that the second youngest Bridgerton daughter was already married to John Stirling, the Earl of Kilmartin, before he died two years into their marriage.
Meanwhile, in the show, her love story with John is explored in season 3 as he courts her throughout the marriage season.
There are no side plots for the Mondrichs or Lord Anderson:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(999x0:1001x2):format(webp)/bridgerton-S3-preview-021324-8-e12852feaf444235a24b8abfde3d4134.jpg)
As it was in past seasons, the show does not focus solely on the main love story. In season 3, a few plot lines are explored, like Benedict Bridgerton’s (the second oldest brother) dalliance with a society lady, the Mondrich family’s newly inherited fortune and Francesca’s budding romance.
The show also introduces the character Lord Anderson, who is Lady Danbury’s brother. He seemingly catches the eye of Violet, the Bridgerton family matriarch.
None of these stories are explored in the book — the Queen and the Mondrichs aren’t even characters in the novels. However, Julia Quinn, the author of the eight books, told PEOPLE in December 2020 that she felt the additional plot lines were necessary for a small-screen adaptation.
“My books are very tightly wound around the main characters… With the television series, especially when there’s such a big cast, you need to spread the focus a little bit, which they’ve done beautifully,” she said. “It’s not that they’re jumping ahead. But you can see little things like they’re getting things ready, hopefully for more.”
