In 2020, Bridgerton took the world by storm when it premiered on Netflix. Inspired by Julia Quinn’s namesake book series, the show follows the elite Bridgerton family as they navigate the social season and try to find love in 1800s London (also known as the Regency Era). If you—like us—are waiting for season three with bated breath, pick up one of these seven books like Bridgerton that tackle Regency-era England, forbidden love and a whole lot of fancy people.
7 Books Like ‘Bridgerton’ to Read Until Season 3 Premieres
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Published Aug 15, 2022
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1. The Duke Undone by Joanna Lowell
When painting student Lucy Coover trips over a naked man passed out in an East End alley, she covers him up and finds help. Instead of moving on from the incident, though, she can't stop thinking about him—his muscular physique in particular—so she paints him. In need of rent money, she puts the artwork up for sale. When Anthony Philby, Duke of Weston, discovers it’s a portrait of himself, he decides to buy it, burn it and confront the artist. When they meet, however, an irresistible, potentially dangerous, passion ignites between them.
2. Mad & Bad: Real Heroines Of The Regency by Bea Koch
If you’re more of a nonfiction reader, this fascinating tome is a must. It tells the stories of the scores of fascinating women who don't fit history books’ limited perception of what was historically accurate for Regency-era England. Women like Dido Elizabeth Belle, whose mother was a slave but was raised by her white father's family in England, Anne Lister, who lived on her own terms with her common-law wife and Judith Montefiore, a Jewish woman who wrote the first English language Kosher cookbook.
3. Red, White & Royal Blueby Casey McQuiston
The handsome and charismatic Alex Claremont-Diaz became the American equivalent of a young royal when his mother became President. There's only one problem: Alex has a rocky relationship with the actual prince, Henry, in London. And when the tabloids get hold of a photo involving an altercation between the two, U.S./British relations take a turn for the worse. Those around Alex and Henry devise a plan for damage control, but what at first begins as a fake friendship soon grows deeper, with the two beginning a secret romance that could derail both of their families’ lives.
4. Mr. Malcolm’s List by Suzanne Allain
The Honourable Jeremy Malcolm is searching for a wife, but not just any wife: A near-perfect woman who will meet each and every qualification on his list. After years of unsuccessful searching, he's beginning to lose hope…until Selina Dalton, a woman of limited means and a stranger to high society, arrives in town. For her part, Selina is there to help her friend exact revenge on Jeremy for breaking her heart. Selina is reluctant to participate in the scheme, especially after meeting the irresistible Mr. Malcolm, who appears to be very different from the arrogant scoundrel of Julia's description…
5. A Duke, The Lady, And A Baby by Vanessa Riley
When West Indian heiress Patience Jordan questions her English husband's mysterious suicide, she loses her newborn son, Lionel, her fortune and her freedom. After being falsely imprisoned, she gets hired as a nanny for her own son, who’s now living with Busick Strathmore, a duke and cousin of Patience’s deceased husband. A wounded military hero, Busick is determined to resolve his cousin's dangerous financial dealings for Lionel's sake, while also navigating his complicated feelings for the forthright, courageous and alluring Patience.
6. To Have And To Hoaxby Martha Waters
Five years ago, Lady Violet Grey and Lord James Audley met, fell in love and got married. Just a year after that, they had a huge fight and have barely spoken since. But when Violet learns that James has been thrown from his horse, she races to be by his side, only to discover him alive and well and unaware of her concern. Seeking revenge, Violet decides to fake an illness of her own. James quickly sees through it, but he plays along in an ever-escalating game of manipulation that ends up including a lot of flirtation between the two, who discover they might not hate each other as much as they thought. Will they be able to overcome years of hurt or will they continue to deny the spark between them?
7. A Lady’s Guide To Mischief And Mayhem by Manda Collins
In England in 1865, newspaper columnist Lady Katherine Bascomb becomes the subject of speculation when her article leads to an arrest in the murders plaguing London. Readers believe women shouldn’t be writing about such vulgar things, and a handsome detective inspector thinks she's interfered with his investigation. To escape her sudden notoriety, Katherine heads to the country—only to witness a murder upon her arrival. Against all odds, she teams up with the detective to get to the bottom of things and, unsurprisingly, their chemistry is undeniable.
