Bridgerton 3: Unmasking Lady Whistledown

Throughout Romancing Mister Bridgerton, Lady Danbury attempts to find out who Lady Whistledown is and even offers a £1,000 reward to anyone who finds her. In the show, the reward comes from Queen Charlotte herself, who instead offers a £5,000 reward.

In both cases, before Penelope’s identity is revealed, Cressida appears and poses as Lady Whistledown to secure the reward. In the books, Cressida is left with little money after her husband’s death and hopes to receive the reward.

For Cressida in the show, her circumstances are slightly different, as her parents are planning to marry her off to an older noble. She believes that appearing as Whistledown will secure her £5,000 so she can avoid marriage.

Ton learns Penelope’s secret

The way Penelope’s secret is revealed is very different to the book on screen, however in both versions Cressida is able to find out the truth and hopes to blackmail Penelope into giving her £10,000 or she will reveal the secret to everyone. In the book she discovers it is Penelope because Pen uses the same phrasing in real life as she did in her Whistledown edition to accuse Cressida of being the author. In the show she learns Pen’s secret from an apprentice at the printer’s shop.

But how does Ton know? In the book Colin is in charge of breaking the news and does so at a huge ball for his sister Daphne and her husband Simon. He makes a big scene telling the guests how much he loves his wife, before revealing Penelope’s identity. But just as he had planned, both Anthony and Simon immediately supported Penelope, and it was hard for the guests to stay mad at her.

On the show, however, Penelope took matters into her own hands, inviting Queen Charlotte to her sisters’ ball before going before the nobles and begging for her help, hoping that the Queen would show her favor, which, thankfully, she did.

Katching Up With Kanthony

Bridgerton elder Anthony and his wife Kate told their love story last season—based on the book The Viscount Who Loved Me—and the biggest change for the new couple from book four to season three is that they’re newlyweds, still living with Anthony’s mother in Bridgerton house, and expecting their first child, unlike in the books where they’ve been married for 10 years.

And the newlyweds are smitten with each other, which is thankfully reflected in both the show and the books.