Julia Quinn, the author of the Bridgerton books, has opened up on the differences readers can expect in season 2, promising that the characters stay ‘absolutely true to who they are’ despite scene changes.
In the upcoming new episodes of Netflix’s ravishing period drama, Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey), the oldest sibling in his family, will be put through his paces following the arrival of Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley) and her family in town.
Avid fans of the novels were ecstatic to witness Kate’s character come to life, with many expressing their delight over Simone’s portrayal of the straight-talking young woman in teaser footage released ahead of its launch.
While speaking to Metro.co.uk at the premiere of the new season at the Tate Modern in London, Julia admitted that ‘there’s almost nothing that’s word for word’ from the books in the TV adaptation.
Nonetheless, she couldn’t be happier with the end result.
‘I’ve always said that you could do a masterclass on how to adapt a novel with what they’re doing, because there’s almost nothing that’s word for word or even scene by scene, and yet the characters are absolutely true to who they are in the books and the overall story arc is absolutely true to it,’ she said.
Julia added that as she ‘loves it’, having seen all eight episodes of the new seaso, she reckons that ‘readers will love it too’.
While the writer didn’t play a part in casting Simone as Kate, she felt that the Sex Education star was the ideal choice, describing the actor as ‘fabulous’ and ‘absolutely perfect’.
‘I thought it was amazing,’ Julia said, when asked how she felt when she first discovered who had been chosen for the pivotal role.
‘They released this picture of her, and you can see in her eyes… I was like, how could that person not be Kate? Look at her! Of course that’s Kate.’
Julia recalled how she felt when she saw the first scene released by Netflix of Kate and Anthony interacting with one another, saying that she had ‘shivers’ while readers ‘went nuts’ online.
As for which Bridgerton family member could be the focus of season three and beyond, considering each book hones in on each sibling one by one, the author is just as in the dark as viewers across the globe.
‘I am so hands off with everything,’ she confessed, willingly placing her trust in the creators of the show at Shondaland to steer the ship.
Bridgerton season 2 premieres on Friday March 25 on Netflix.
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