February 3, 2026 • 52 mins
What better way to kick off the month of love than with the queen of historical romance, Julia Quinn. The Bridgerton author chats all about how her series became a global phenomenon, the unexpected ways Bridgerton has reshaped the genre, and why historical romance deserves its moment in the spotlight again. And can you believe Julia almost became a doctor instead of a novelist? She’s sharing some behind-the-scenes insights for season 4 of Bridgerton and reminding us why we should still believe in happy endings.
BOOKS MENTIONED
In Her Defense by Phillipa Malicka
Gone Before Goodbye by Reese Witherspoon and Harlan Coben
An Offer From a Gentleman by Julia Quinn
First Time Caller by B.K. Borison
The Last Lady B by Eloisa James
An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole
Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase
The Duke and I by Julia Quinn
The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love by India Holton
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Bookmarked by Reese's book Club is presented by Apple Books. Hi,
I'm Danielle Robe and welcome to Bookmarked by Reese's book Club.
Derist Rita's I am overcome with the excitement about this
week's guest, and just in time too, as the latest
installment of the Bridgeton universe has grace Netflix accounts everywhere
(00:22):
with its presence. Okay, sorry, that was the best British
accent I could muster up. But yeah, so we are
getting to talk to Julia Quinn, author of the Bridgerton
novels and Queen of Regency Romance. But first, it's the
first Tuesday of the month, so you know what that means.
It's time to announce the February Reese's book Club pick.
(00:42):
Reese take it away.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Hi, Bookmarked listeners, this is your Captain Reese speaking.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Okay, we're keeping the thriller energy going at the start
of this year.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Doesn't the pace of thrillers just make you want to
stay up all night turning pages? I can't handle it.
Our February book Club pick is no exception. In her
defense by Philippa Malika, this just feels like a classic
book club thriller.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
This book has it all.
Speaker 4 (01:11):
A celebrity on trial, a secret past revealed, a therapist
with bad intentions, and an employee who's out to get somebody.
With endless twists and turns, and an intricate web of
characters who all have different understandings of the truth.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
I could not put it down. It's a twisting, turning,
fantastic read. I hope you enjoy it. It's called In
Her Defense by PHILIPI Melika Reese.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
I cannot agree more. You're all in the right place.
Let's turn the page with Philippa Malitzka.
Speaker 5 (01:46):
Philippa, welcome to the club.
Speaker 6 (01:50):
Thank you so much. It's an absolute honor and privileged
to be here, completely amazing.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
The honor is all mine and all ours, and a
huge congratulations is in order. I'm getting to speak to
you on your first pub day. How incredibly fun for
your debut novel to also be a Reese's Book Club pick.
Speaker 6 (02:08):
I'm pinching myself, absolutely pinching myself very hard at the moment.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Who was your first call after you heard the news
that you were going to be an RBC pick?
Speaker 6 (02:17):
Well, I actually got a cryptic email from my American
editor being like call me, and I was like, okay,
and then I had no signal and four percent battery
and my heart was going like that. Can you imagine
the stakes I got through when they were all screaming,
which is amazing. And then I called my boyfriend Axel,
and we have this phrase when something goes well in
(02:40):
our lives, we say it's vodka and loves to time.
And I shouted, it's vodka and loves to time. And
he was a work did us, so he had had
to play it quite cool, but yeah, it was. It
was amazing to you know, tell my friends and family,
just amazing.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
That's so cute. I'm assuming that you guys love vodka
and loves and that's where it came from very much.
Speaker 6 (03:02):
And he's Scandinavian so it fits it so cute.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
Do you foresee any pub day traditions that you're going
to be setting besides vadca and lobster, which I love already.
Speaker 6 (03:12):
Yeah, start the day with a creative lobster, probably delivers
some vodkrin lobsters to you know, the bookshops that have
supported me, and then carry on feasting at the end
of the day. I think this time I'm going to
have a very little baby with me who'll be about
a month old, so I will be slightly dictated by him,
and hopefully he likes Wokrin lobsters.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
So one day, I can't believe how much transition you
have going on in your life, Like there's so much
excitement all at once. Are you are you able to
take it?
Speaker 5 (03:43):
Like?
Speaker 1 (03:43):
How are you doing?
Speaker 6 (03:46):
I have to say Danielle that I'm afraid this is
just what happens with my life. Like when I first
got the book deal the UK and the US one,
I had gone to visit my friend in Barcelona to
chill out because it's a very stressful time and we
were luckily okay, but we were involved in a car
accident there. So when I got the calls from my
publishers being like, can you come on a call and
(04:06):
you know, discuss your book and stuff, I was like
in a neck brace. I always feel like this stuff
happens at quite kind of transition moments. I'm not going
to compare having a baby to being in a car crash,
because I think it's not that. Yeah, it does seem
like these big things seem to happen and collide at
once in my life. So yeah, hopefully we'll be fine
(04:26):
with being carried around and taken to bookshops.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
I think everybody would like to be carried around and
taken to a bookshop. But you know what was cool
for me to learn is that I always love particularly
first time novelists. I'm like, Okay, what was your life
before this? And you worked in publishing, So for readers
who are going to be seeing your book on the
shelves for the first time today and thinking, hmmm, that
(04:50):
looks interesting, what is your elevator pitch for? In her defense?
Speaker 6 (04:55):
So I always say that I need a slightly long elevator,
like a kind of skyscraper elevator I can, And my
pitch is that in her defenses centered around a highly
publicized libel trial between a woman called Anna Fimbo who's
like a beloved TV personality and her daughter's therapist. Her
(05:16):
daughter's therapist has encouraged her daughter to cut herself off
entirely from her friends and her family. So that's kind
of we're like nearing the ground on the elevator. And
if I just continue, I say that it explores motherhood,
obsessive friendships, the unregulated therapy industry in general, and then
the precarious line between healing and harm, and then we've
(05:39):
reached the ground.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
First of all, bravo because it is a very complicated story,
so the fact that you were able to put that
into an elevator ride was very impressive. But I'm sort
of obsessed that this story is the Reese's Book Club
pick for February, because it's the month of Valentine's Day,
and I think this is a little bit of a
(06:02):
toxic love story in a way it's different. I recently
heard the term mood readers. Are you familiar with this
at all?
Speaker 6 (06:11):
I've just been learning about it too literally this week,
So yeah, I think we're talking about the same thing
people that want a vibe, a certain vibe from a.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Book exactly, so like people whose TBR piles are based
on vibes and feelings and a mood. What kind of
mood readers do you think will enjoy this novel?
Speaker 6 (06:31):
I think it would appeal to somebody who loves a
little bit of winter darkness. Maybe someone who's Valentine's Day
isn't always the happiest day of the year for them,
someone who kind of sees through some of the like
saccerin traditions there, So anybody who's looking for a kind
of who enjoys dark, academic type of contexts, somebody who
(06:53):
wants a provocative and unsettling kind of read rather than
something that's going to be neatly wrapped up by the
end of it. But also I think someone who's a
kind of a bit of a voyeur and kind of
takes pleasure in being a bit of a voy And
I guess as readers, we're all voyeurs. But my agent
calls my theme rich people destroying their lives. Somebody who
(07:15):
maybe takes a bit of pleasure in kind of watching
that unfold would be my dream kind of mood reader.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
It's funny you say that because we had Ruth wear
on this show a few months ago and she said
that she was obsessed with rich people destruction as well.
It's a really a very British thing. Yeah, it's that bad,
I think.
Speaker 6 (07:37):
So it's the kind of I'm going to say, this
is wrong with the kind of shade and freud that
you have from watching people with everything slowly start to
you know, lose it, often by their own hand. It's
just to me delicious.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
When you submitted the proposal or the book in general.
Did you have any books that you gave this one
context to, Like I guess in pop culture we could
say like it's like this book meets this TV show
meets this song. But what did you have on your proposal?
Speaker 6 (08:09):
Yeah? I think I think we referred to the talented
mister Ripley, which was, you know, a really big text
and movie. Frankly, for me, I think my agent said
at Tessa Mosfeg meets the talented mister Ripley. Now, I
wouldn't put myself in that literary camp as highly as that,
but you know, her narrators are often very unsettling as well.
(08:30):
So that kind of like, you know, that kind of
Riviera glamour of the talented mister Ripley and somebody on
the outside and wanting to participate in it was a
really instructive kind of theme for me.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
That makes sense. Are there any movies or TV shows
or music that you think would contextualize it as well?
Speaker 6 (08:51):
Oh my goodness, I've actually I've compiled a playlist for
Reese's Book Club with some yeah, in my opinion, master
songs on it that finally encapsulate it. So there's Bob
Dylan on there. There's Big Thief. I don't know if
you love Big Thief, a song called Mary, which was
super instructive throughout the book. I think music for me
(09:13):
much more than television, although I have to say that
Meryl Streep's character in Big Little Life was pretty instructive
for me as well.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
So, yeah, that makes sense because there's so much duality
in your book.
Speaker 6 (09:25):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
Yeah, were you inspired at all by real life court
cases or cult stories? Because I was peeking at the
book thinking she went down some rabbit holes here, like
your Google search history must have been wild.
Speaker 6 (09:41):
It's so dark. Yeah, it's fascinating because as soon as
you start talking about this story, everybody has a story
to kind of offer. It's really sad actually, So in
the UK the term therapist is not protected in any way,
so I could truly go online this evening by some
(10:01):
weird Mickey Mouse credential or not even at all, and
you know, get a beautiful office in little Venis and
set up as a therapist, which is mind blowing. And
I know, you know, although it's legally protected in the US,
there are obviously practitioners. You read about them every day, right,
who are abusing their positions. I mean, it was kind
(10:22):
of reading about this and learning about this really kind
of got me interested in how like how often that
kind of role gets abused. And then I think for
me what was really interesting was actually turning thirty and
like many young women, having a stint of therapy myself,
which I found really helpful, and realizing how much trust
(10:46):
I put in the woman I was talking to every week,
and it made me very aware of how badly somebody
could abuse that position if they wanted to. You know,
So my therapist obeyed all the kind of professional boundaries,
and when I asked her where she lived, she'd just
say West London and wouldn't tell me more. And you know,
she never tried to create any kind of social relationship
(11:09):
with me, quite rightly, and you know, our sessions were
only forty five minutes long, quite rightly. It started to
make me really afraid. Like you know, Gene in my
book Three Hours, four Hours, she tells things about herself
to her you know, her clients that make them feel
like they owe her something. And so as soon as
(11:30):
I started to have a good experience in therapy, it
really drove me forward in the plot, because I was like, Wow,
how badly could this go in the wrong hands? And
it's such a sacred and beautiful relationship going into a
room talking about your life, receiving guidance, and when that's
in the wrongest of hands, like, it still gives me goosebumps.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Really, it's cool because I've been a big proponents the
right word. Therapy has really helped me in my life,
and I've never really considered a therapist abusing their power
in the way that you set forth in the book.
And I actually have a lot more questions I want
(12:09):
to ask you when we meet again at the end
of the month. But there I'm wondering if there's like
a scene or a section or anything that you are
most proud of that you could read for us.
Speaker 6 (12:18):
I spent so long trying to think about how a
character like Jean would unleash her villainy, how would she
get these girls into her orbit, And I, you know,
I wrote scenes and scenes of her seducing these girls,
and they never felt right, they never felt quite true
to me until I was like, Okay, put yourself in
the shoes of your characters. You're a long way from home,
(12:42):
you know this woman takes an interest in you, she
seems glamorous, she's asking questions, she's organizing your life. That's enough,
That would actually be enough, and actually kind of staying
true to that rather than creating this whole massive Of course,
there's a massive, convoluted web that goes on in the book,
but it actually starts in such a simple way, and
(13:02):
once I kind of crack that it's about someone caring
about you on a simple base, on a simple basis,
and I think, kind of, yeah, unwrapping that and realizing
that it was simpler than it needed to be was
a proud moment.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
So shall I stand up it now? Yeah? Please?
Speaker 6 (13:22):
Yeah? Okay, So it's the beginning of part three. If
you asked me, why did I let her in? How
did I let Jeane control my life so intimately, my
answers would be embarrassingly naive, because she worried about me,
because her apartment was nice. By November, Jane was offering
(13:42):
her home as a sanctuary whenever things got a bit much,
providing me each time with freshly pressed pajamas, a caraffe
of lemon water, and stacks of good reading material. I
had been the kind of child who was expected to
make her own breakfast, so it was a novelty when
she greeted me in bed, the cup of coffee soothing
the perpetual hangovers and come downs I was sustaining from
(14:04):
trying to keep up with Mary. But as I let
her lavish all sorts of maternal comforts on me, was
there also an uneasy twinge inside a strained note which
might have warned this woman is kind, but is she
too interested in me? What is it that she wants?
If there was, I chose to ignore it. I had found,
(14:26):
for the first time in my life someone to lean on.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
M That last sentence too freaks me out. Still it does.
Why I just I think, I think I empathize.
Speaker 6 (14:43):
I empathize with Gus there, and it's that thing about
having someone to lean on, which, of course she then
you know, she becomes that person for Anna later on.
So it's the way that she kind of then repeats,
repeats the kind of patterns behavior.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
For everybody who hasn't been immersed into the book yet.
Gus is sort of our narrator. And one of the
things I love about talking to Reese's book Club authors
on their pub day is that you get to speak
to readers the very first day that they can get
their hands on the book, And so what is your
message to them? What do you want them to keep
(15:22):
in mind while they're reading. What should they pay attention
to which they keep their minds open about?
Speaker 6 (15:29):
Okay, so, I mean there's lots of questions in this book,
but I would keep a very close eye on Gus
And obviously her observations are being served to you as
a first person narrator, but I would keep a close
eye on what she's telling you and how she's kind
of giving you information and protect yourself slightly, i'd like
(15:53):
to say. And I think the other thing to really
engage in is the actual premise of the trial. You know,
it's a libel trial. Anna Thimbo has published an online
newsletter where she's named her daughter's therapist and committed libel
against her by calling her a modern day cult leader,
(16:15):
and that becomes the kind of crux of the case
because Gene says, you know, that's defamatory and that isn't true.
So kind of to keep this question in mind, what
would make a modern day cult leader? And how might
modern day cults differ from those that we might have seen,
you know, in the seventies, eighties, nineties, and how might
a therapy cult proliferate? And if you kind of do
(16:35):
you keep in that kind of prism of the trial
and in that mindset, then hopefully the book will unfold
and answer.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
Some of those questions for you, Philippo. When you said that,
I thought of this New York Times article I read
about how millennials are the least religious group in six decades,
and the author of the article was saying, therapy is
the new religion. And so I just really feel as
(17:03):
if you've touched on something so timely. I cannot wait
for everybody to dig in and to talk to you
in just a few weeks. Thank you so much.
Speaker 6 (17:12):
Oh it's such a pleasure. Thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
Welcome back to Bookmarked by Reese's book Club. Guys. I
was so excited to sit down with Julia Quinn, the
author of the original Bridgerton novels. Here's why Julia first
started publishing her novels over twenty five years ago. She
was writing romance in an era when it was still
written off and stigmatized. She chose it too. She got
(17:51):
into medical school, okay, and instead she made an incredible
career out of her passion, publishing over twenty five books,
and then decades later she got to see Bridgerton come
to life for a whole new generation of fans and
spark a total cultural phenomenon. I mean, it's really the dream. So,
as Reese said, you are in the right place. Let's
(18:14):
turn the page with Julia Quinn. Well, Julia, we're gonna
clink mugs because we're both holding our coffee this morning.
You have a read band book smug. I have a
Reese's Book Club mug.
Speaker 3 (18:29):
I want one of those.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
We have to get you one.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
I actually have a little connection to Reese that I
mean she doesn't know about. But Reese just did a
book with Harlan Coben.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
Yes, it became a bestseller.
Speaker 3 (18:43):
Yes, but their editor is my longtime editor, was a
kersh She was my longtime editor and still one of
my very closest friends. So Reese's editor is my editor, well,
my old editor.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Well I can officially welcome you to the club. Then
I love that you have a connection Reese.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
We're bestie now.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
So Julia, you are, without a question, one of the
defining romance writers of our generation. Season four of Bridgerton
is officially halfway out in the world. You actually, I'm
going to give everybody behind the scenes tea. You just
got back from Paris doing a little Bridgerton promotion.
Speaker 3 (19:18):
I did, I did, and it is as excellent as
you think. I'm not gonna be falsely modest. It was awesome.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
And you came back with some really fancy French butter
that you hit in the bottom of your suitcase.
Speaker 3 (19:29):
I did. I did. It's shrink Craft. I also had
some shrink Craft cheese and some really good chocolate too.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
Okay, so now you're making me hungry, but everybody else
is clamoring for the second half of Bridgerton. I feel
like the obsession is very real. What is it like
to have started a cultural phenomenon?
Speaker 3 (19:50):
I really like that you asked the question that way,
because what I usually get is what is it like
to see your characters come to life? And I mean,
that's all amazing and fabulous, but truly, the weird surreal
part is the cultural phenomenon part. To realize that something
(20:11):
that started like in your head, on your little computer
in a room by yourself, is now understood and recognized
by millions and millions and millions of people. I mean,
even if they don't watch Bridgerton or like Bridgerton, they
kind of know what it is, yes, And you know,
people can say like, oh, that's so Bridgerton, or you know,
(20:32):
I have friends who write romance novels and or his
say historical romance novels. And one of them thanked me.
She said, people finally understand what I do because I
can say it's like Bridgerton and then they know. And
that is truly the weirdest thing. I mean, these little
cultural touchstones, or like, for example, when the Simpsons spoofed
(20:53):
Bridgerton with Tunnelton that I wasn't sure I could ever
or top that. We're such a Simpsons family and they'll
make late night jokes. There's now Bridgerton Dove soap. There
is Bridgington ice cream. I'm super excited about the Bridgerton
ice cream.
Speaker 6 (21:12):
Cool.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
It's insane. It's absolutely surreal and insane and wonderful in
every good way.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
It must have. I just I asked the question that
way because I put myself in your shoes for a minute,
and I thought, how incredible to feel like your creativity
permeated like something that lived in your brain for I
can imagine so long also lives in people's hearts now.
It's unbelievable. And I also want to add that I
(21:42):
think it really it didn't just permeate culture. It pushed
the culture ball forward, which not everybody's work does. I'll
never forget watching an interview with Regina Hall and she
was saying that as a young actress she had never
been allowed to audition for period pieces because she was
a black woman, and change that in the coolest possible way.
Speaker 3 (22:03):
It really did, And I'm always very careful to say
I cannot personally take credit for that. I want to
make it absolutely clear. I love it. I think it's fabulous.
I support it one percent. I'm so grateful that Shondaland
chose to make the show that way, but I can't
take that credit. That was That was Shondaland's decision and
(22:24):
their work to make that happen.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
I kind of want to start with you with love
because it's something that we share. I love how openly
you talk about the legacy of romance and not just
the fantasy of it. Are there any current romance writers
who make you excited about the genre.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
Yeah, there are a lot. You know, one who is
really up and coming right now she writes contemporary books,
not historical, is BK. Borrison, and I've been really enjoying
her books. Within historical romance, there are gosh, so many
wonderful authors. I've always been a fan of Eloisa James
(23:05):
and Lisa Klaipis.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
I really love historical romance. It's it's such a fun genre.
Speaker 3 (23:10):
Yeah, and I think it's it's a little underrated right now.
It's kind of not having its moment, which is weird
because Bridgerton is having a moment and I'm not really
sure why it's happening that way, but I am personally
trying to do something about that.
Speaker 1 (23:27):
You're starting something that's specifically sort of tailored to this exactly.
Speaker 3 (23:32):
I am starting JQ Editions, which is kind of half
book club, half subscription box, And what I'm doing is
I'm choosing historical romances, which I think are the very,
very best of the best. It's a mix of brand
new books, recent gems and classics of the modern genre.
(23:56):
And right now we're doing one every other month, but
we're also bringing them out in beautiful special editions, so.
Speaker 1 (24:03):
They've got I think this is the coolest part.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
Actually, oh yay, I'm having so much fun working on it.
I'm the one who's actually working with the illustrators to
come up with these covers, because I want each cover
to truly reflect the book, to not just be like,
you know, all right, let's slap some fancy lettering on
it and you know, maybe put a guy here and
women there. I really want them to reflect the book.
(24:27):
And so we've got these beautiful covers. They all have
illustrated end papers and you know those fancy sprayed edges
everybody likes. And her first three books actually are well
won by Eloise and James, so I just mentioned and
it is her. It's a brand new book. And then
the second book is An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole,
which came out about seven or eight years ago and
(24:51):
is set during the Civil War, which is not a
very popular time period any longer. But what Alyssa did
is she made the heroine a free black woman from
I think Boston who travels to the South as a
spy whoa and actually puts yourself in the place of
an enslaved woman in order to spy for the North
(25:11):
with this organization called the Loyal League, and then finally,
our last book of twenty twenty six is Lord of
Scoundrels by Loretta Chase, which is I think considered the
best historical romance of the modern era. I have never
seen a list of historical romances that doesn't have that
one at the top. And I take no offense.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
When you're choosing these books. I kind of consider you
the godmother of historical romance. So when you are choosing
what makes the cut, what separates a good romance from
a must be on my shelf romance?
Speaker 3 (25:44):
The first thing is is like, can I put it
down right? Am I itching to pick it back up?
Do I love the characters of something within? It sparkles?
And usually it boils down to the author's voice. There's
something about the author's voice that really grabs you.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
When you say the author's voice, do you mean they're prose,
the a deafness that which they build out characters or
is it more just an emotional feeling you have.
Speaker 3 (26:13):
It's their prose and what they're pros invokes in you.
You know, I've been told that I have a very
distinct voice, which is why I think people either really
love my books or I'm just absolutely not for them,
and that's okay if people like different voices. But I
think there are you know, some authors where if you
(26:35):
pick up one of their books, if you're familiar with
them a little, you can say, yeah, I can tell
you who wrote this for sure, because I just hear her,
And to me, that's what usually moves a really good
book into a great book.
Speaker 1 (26:51):
Okay. You know, Julia, as I was reading about your
path to becoming a writer, I almost stopped in my
tracks when I read that you nearly became a doctor.
I have to know how you went from writing medical
school applications to writing Lady Whistled Down Takedowns.
Speaker 3 (27:08):
Well, I was actually writing the medical school applications at
the same time I was writing my first book. Wow. Yeah,
so that was happening.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
Said nobody ever, who has time to do that.
Speaker 3 (27:20):
I was writing these books and applying to school, and
it all kind of came down at the same time.
I got my acceptance to medical school the same month,
almost the same week I got my first book deal,
which was insane, and I knew if I entered medical
school right away that was it. There's no time really
(27:43):
to do anything else. So I deferred, and then I
deferred again, and all I could think was, if this
writing thing doesn't work out, I'm not qualified to do anything,
which which shows you how narrow my worldview was, because
I'd already had three books published, which is like the dream, right,
But I just was freaking out. And I was at
(28:03):
medical school for about two two and a half months
before I realized this really isn't the right thing, and
I withdrew Wow, and I haven't looked back.
Speaker 1 (28:13):
And so you knew anything that was in the back
of your mind kind of was washed away at that moment,
and you knew you were meant to be writing.
Speaker 3 (28:21):
Yes. Yes, And I'm very glad I did that. I mean,
I don't think i'd be sitting here today thinking like,
oh my gosh, should I have gone to medical school.
I would have figured it out. But it's still I think.
You know, you get the things that you don't do
more than the things that you do. And I had
(28:41):
that opportunity to go to start down a different road,
to realize that it wasn't the right road, or at
least it wasn't the best road, and it just made
me all the more secure in what I did.
Speaker 1 (28:54):
Eventually, choose to do, which was obviously Bridgerton. Where did
the seed of the story come from? Did you always
set out to write eight novels?
Speaker 6 (29:04):
No?
Speaker 3 (29:05):
Absolutely not. And in fact, I couldn't remember where the
seed came from at first, because I wrote the first
book in nineteen ninety eight. I mean, my first book
is old enough that it would be kicked off my
health insurance. So after about four or five interviews of
people asking me where I got the idea and me
being like, I can't remember, I finally put it together,
(29:29):
which was actually the character Simon came first. And what
had happened was I met somebody. He was I don't
even remember his name now, but he was a classmate
of my husband's. My husband was in medical school at
the time, and he had a very severe stutter. He
was a student at Yale School of Medicine. He was
(29:50):
very smart, he was doing things, but he still had
this incredible difficulty speaking. And it just made me wonder
what it would be like to have that difficulty communicate,
because I mean, I'm very chatty. I come from a
very chatty family. So I decided, you know, it's like, okay, well,
maybe we could make this character and make it the
(30:11):
male character who was supposed to be, you know, the big, strong,
tough guy, but this is his issue to overcome. And then,
you know, because historical romance and actually literature in general
is so full of bad parents, I decided to give
him this really awful father and this terrible, terrible childhood.
And I wrote the prologue to the story and it
(30:33):
was one of those magical writing moments that happens really quickly,
and you know, I think I wrote that one day,
which was incredible. And then I thought, this guy, he
doesn't just need a great woman to fall in love with.
He he needs like a new family. He deserves to
fall in love with somebody who comes from the best
(30:53):
family ever. They need to be fun and they need
to be loving, and he gets like a new family.
And that's where the bridge came from.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
I'm just gonna share for anybody who's not as familiar.
The characters go in alphabetical order, and so Daphne, who
starts with a D, is the fourth, but you actually
start season one with her love story and she's married
to Simon. Is that why you started with that one?
Speaker 3 (31:17):
Actually, in that time period, women tended to marry younger
than men. So it actually, in terms of making it chronological,
it made sense to start there, okay, and then to
go back and have her brothers. And then there's another
little switch at the end where Hyacinth gets married before Gregory,
which also makes sense in terms of just how society
(31:37):
kind of played out.
Speaker 1 (31:39):
So I pride myself on asking one unhinged question every interview. Okay,
this is yours.
Speaker 3 (31:46):
I don't know if I'm scared or excited.
Speaker 1 (31:48):
Do you have a character that you feel was written
in the image of you at all?
Speaker 3 (31:55):
Okay, that one I can kind of do. Okay, So
I am a common a nation of three.
Speaker 1 (32:03):
Okay, you have to tell me.
Speaker 3 (32:05):
Penelope.
Speaker 1 (32:06):
Okay, that makes sense.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
She's the one I pulled. I think my own more
of my own personal experiences from so many so much
of what I felt like in high school. And then
there's also Alloway's because I talked too much and I.
Speaker 1 (32:25):
That was my guest.
Speaker 3 (32:26):
And then Francesca, huh, because you know, I often feel
I love my family, I have the best family. I
often feel like I need some space. Okay, So I
really get Francesca's need to to just set herself apart
(32:50):
at times. And I've had moments where, like one of
my sisters said to me, like fine, Francesca, like what
it's like?
Speaker 6 (32:58):
Wow?
Speaker 1 (32:59):
I actually find that a lot of sibling dynamics on
screen are portrayed in a way that like does not
resonate for me with my brother and Bridgerton really does.
Where did that come from? Was that something that you
consciously crafted or it kind of just happened.
Speaker 3 (33:15):
I think it just happened because you know, I not
only have you know, these siblings, but I also have
first cousins to whom I'm extremely close, and second cousins
and even some third cousins. I mean, I have I
have this big family and I'm not super close with
all of them, but we tease each other, we don't
(33:35):
take crap from each other, and that, I think, above
everything is what the television show Bridgerton really gets from
the show.
Speaker 1 (33:45):
I mean, yeah, it does.
Speaker 3 (33:47):
I love it. They get lots of things, but that's
the one they just get perfectly, that sense of family,
that sibling dynamic, and I think I think that's one
of the things that people really love is to see
that because it is something that resonates with so many people.
I mean, if you have a sibling, and I would
venture to say more than half of us. Do you
(34:09):
get it?
Speaker 1 (34:10):
Absolutely? And I think one of the things that a
lot of people actually don't know is that your first
Bridgerton novel was published in two thousand and you were
done publishing the series in two thousand and six. How
did you hear that Shonda Rhymes wanted to adapt this show?
And I guess my even bigger question is what was
(34:30):
it like revisiting the series after fourteen years away? That
has got to be very strange.
Speaker 3 (34:36):
I heard it was in January twenty seventeen. I was
sitting in Starbucks with my computer as I frequently did
and do, and I got a phone call from my agent.
So I picked up and he said, I just have
the most interesting phone call. And I said, okay, and
then he said, have you heard of Shonda Rhymes?
Speaker 5 (35:01):
Uh?
Speaker 3 (35:02):
Yeah, And he said, well, you know, her representatives just
called to ask if the rights to the Bridgington series
are available, and if so, are we interested in talking
to them about adapting it. I was like, get off
the phone with me right now and call them right
back and say yes. I can't believe you even thought
you had to ask, and what I found out later, Well, Shanda,
(35:25):
she's a huge reader. She loves to read, and when
she travels she usually brings books with her. And she
was somewhere I don't know where, in like a hotel
room and in something, and she was sick and she
ran out of books and the book that happened to
be sitting around this inn was The Duke and I
and so she.
Speaker 6 (35:42):
Picked it up.
Speaker 3 (35:43):
And that, people, is how lucky I am, because she
said she read it and she loved it so much
that she got out of her sick bed and ran
down the street to get the rest of the books
in the series and just like read through everything. And
then and then she started making everybody at Shondaaland read it.
And she kept calling these crazy romance novels, which it's fine,
(36:04):
I think, you know, crazy just because she'd never read
romance novels before. And she's like, you have to read this.
I think, don't you think this would be a good show?
You have to read this. And the crazy thing for
me is that this is all happening down in Los
Angeles at the Shondaland offices. They told me, even like
the parking attendant was reading the books, and I had
no idea. I had no idea all this was happening
(36:25):
until the phone call.
Speaker 1 (36:33):
I have to get the season for Bridgerton T because
it's out on Netflix right now and everybody listening would
hate me if I didn't get all of the behind
the scenes info from you. I was reading the original
book for this season, which is an offer from a gentleman,
and I was immediately struck by the Cinderella parallels. First
two books play on classic romance genre tropes, But what
(36:56):
inspired the sort of retelling of a classic fairy tale?
Speaker 3 (37:00):
I had read fairytale retellings. I'm certainly not the first
person who's done that in romance, and I think it
was one of those things where I was like, Okay,
maybe it's time to try this. And there are aspects
of it that work very well for a historical romance
because I was able to take this Cinderella story and
actually turn it into kind of a forbidden love trope
(37:22):
because the issue of class was something that was almost
insurmountable in that time in England, and so Cinderella seemed
like a good way to put that out there. So
for Sophie being a servant and also I legitimate, which
(37:44):
was a huge deal. Then really makes for somebody that
somebody like a Bridgeton cannot marry. This is a big deal,
and I think that was hard for some readers to
understand because Nedict makes choices and asks things of her
that she does that she finds insulting. And I think
(38:08):
a lot of readers were insulted on her behalf and
were really angry with him. And I felt it saying, like, guys,
this is exactly how it would have happened. Then, this
is what he would have done. And the big deal
is that he overcomes it and he decides that, you know,
being with her and the love that he has for
her is more important than these issues of class. But
(38:31):
I think that the story really is his growth, not
where he started. The point is that he grew and
was able to get past that and change his mind.
Speaker 1 (38:40):
This is interesting because I actually think part two really hinges.
I can imagine on BENEDICKT. Bridgerton, everybody wants to know
what is going to happen. What do you think most
excites you about his story compared to the rest of
the Bridgerton gang.
Speaker 3 (38:58):
You love the way he loves Eloise, I love the
way he interacts with his siblings. You love you just
and Luke. I have to take this moment to say,
is the most delightful human being. He's so sweet and
so lovely and so smart. And he speaks French by
the way. I don't know if people realize this, and
(39:19):
it's this is a funny thing about season four is
that they have him speaking French, but he has to
speak French badly. Sophie corrects his accent. That's so interesting,
which is funny because he has a perfect accent because
he grew up in France.
Speaker 1 (39:33):
But well, let me ask you this, is there a
small detail from Benedict's book that you made sure made
it into this season.
Speaker 3 (39:40):
Yeah, I mean I wanted, like the prison scene, you know,
hopefully this isn't a spoiler. I wanted the lake scene.
I wanted, you know, the masquerade scene.
Speaker 1 (39:52):
That's such a magical scene.
Speaker 6 (39:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (39:55):
But according to the people who put together the show,
they said it was the I think the easiest book
to adapt. It was sort of more naturally cinematic than
the other one. So I think it actually does follow
the book a little bit more closely than most. So
we get a lot of really fun moments in there.
Speaker 1 (40:11):
So romance is now the fastest growing genre in publishing.
I read that it's a one point four billion dollar
business in the US every year, And I genuinely think
that Bridgerton arriving when it did helped push the romance
genre into cultural mainstream. And in twenty twenty it hit Netflix,
and I think it introduced this like unapologetic desire and
(40:36):
passion front and center and no shame attached, and obviously
the audience loved it. When you were writing these books
long before twenty twenty, long before it was a one
point four billion dollar business, when romance was honestly a
little bit dismissed or still sort of stigmatized. What has
(40:56):
this boom meant to you personally? After years of advocating
for this genre before it was quote unquote cool.
Speaker 3 (41:04):
Well, I do want to point out that even when
we weren't cool and we were kind of dismissed a lot,
we still were huge business. Romance has been the best
selling genre for as long as I've been writing. I mean,
so even when people are you know, pooh poohing us,
saying they're not real books or whatever, we were the
ones still bringing in the money. We're the ones who
(41:25):
were making the money for the publishing houses so that
they could publish poetry that only ten people buy. And
and I'm not putting down the poetry that only ten
people buy. I want the poetry that only ten people
buy to be published because I think that's super important.
But I think you are right that there has been
this kind of new boom where suddenly it is unapologetic.
Speaker 6 (41:46):
It is.
Speaker 3 (41:48):
You know, book talk is this massive thing, and you know,
I think I think Bridgerton definitely helped with that. But
what's very interesting is that, you know, the boom that
romance novels are seeing is not extending to historical romance.
And I don't really know why, I mean, to be honest,
except for me, I'll be frank, I'm doing great, but
(42:09):
it's not extending to other historical romances. And I'm not
sure why. And I mean that's part of the reason
why I started JQ additions, so that the people who
are asking me, like, well, what should I read after Bridgerton?
I can say, Hey, here you go. This is like
my book club. These are the best, these are the
ones I think you will love.
Speaker 1 (42:31):
I think I'm going to come back. It's going to
be cyclical. I just think like fantasy romance is having
such a moment right now. It is.
Speaker 3 (42:38):
I am all for anything that gets people to read.
If it's pulling people in, I think it's great. And
hopefully it is cyclical, and hopefully we will get people
back to historical romance again, because as I said, there's
so many wonderful, wonderful books. And actually I'm going to
totally tout one of our twenty twenty seven books because
(42:59):
it is a romanticy kind of It is The Ornithologist
Field Guide to Love by India Houlton.
Speaker 1 (43:08):
What's an ornithologist at the bird Scientist?
Speaker 3 (43:15):
Isn't this like the coolest title ever?
Speaker 5 (43:17):
And I mean, I.
Speaker 1 (43:18):
Don't know what says hot like ornithologists?
Speaker 5 (43:21):
Okay, right, what would you tell.
Speaker 1 (43:33):
Your two thousand and era of self? Knowing what you
know now.
Speaker 3 (43:39):
You're not gonna believe what's gonna happen.
Speaker 1 (43:42):
You know, when we had the sisters who created the
Rip Bodice bookstores on, they spoke really beautifully on the
community and fandom that comes from romance. I'm curious if
there's something that has surprised you about the fandom around
the Bridgerton series.
Speaker 3 (44:05):
You know, I've been in the romance world for thirty
years now, so I feel like the fandom kind of
grew up around me because I came in just as
like the Internet was taking off. I mean literally, when
I sold my first book, I did not have an
email address. So, I know, let's take a moment to
(44:27):
pause and reflect upon how old I am.
Speaker 1 (44:29):
Did you have a BlackBerry?
Speaker 6 (44:32):
No?
Speaker 3 (44:33):
But anyway, so I basically grew up with the romance fandom. So,
you know, I think nothing really surprised me because I
was a part of it for so long. But the
television fandom and the book fandom are a little bit different.
For the most part, everybody is really really lovely. I
guess what surprised me was how focused on specific couples
(44:54):
some people are, and sometimes they get really mad at
each other. I say that, but at the same time,
I want to make it clear, like ninety five percent
of all the fans are just absolutely lovely, wonderful human
beings who are so sweet, and I love the fan art.
I try to put that on my Instagram a lot.
They're just great.
Speaker 1 (45:14):
They are really So you said that romance novels are
important for two big reasons. One is that it proves
reading can be easy and just for pleasure, and the
other is that romance celebrates happy endings and seeking joy
and happiness in life. And I was wondering if there
was a moment in time where writing romance or reading
(45:35):
Romance helped you feel happiness or pleasure when you really
needed it.
Speaker 3 (45:40):
Absolutely, you know, I, like so many people have in
my life battle depression and have had moments where the
only way I could get out of my head was
reading a book that made me laugh and smile. And
I have heard from so many readers that they have
(46:01):
had similar experiences. I get so many letters from readers,
you know, just saying like your book's helped me through
a really hard time. Wow, And that is so meaningful
and and we need joy, we need that, and you know,
and I'm I'm still here for all the edgy stuff,
(46:21):
for the hard stuff, for the the tragedies. I mean,
those are also important, but I think our society has
difficulty elevating art that celebrates joy. And then also the
other point that you brought up, I guess that I said, Yami,
was also that reading for pleasure is so much fun
(46:43):
and or so important, and I I don't know why
it is because I feel like we have reached a
point in society where we accept that, like watching TV
doesn't have to be like enriching. And I'm doing air
quotes for everybody here, like we can watch TV just
(47:04):
for fun and for pleasure and to have a good time,
and it doesn't have to be hard. But for some reason,
we feel like if we're going to read a book,
it has to be hard and it has to be difficult,
it has to be enriching. And I'm like, no, we
can read books for the same reason we watch Seinfeld
because it makes us happy. Right, totally agree, And I
(47:29):
think that got lost for a long time, Like people
are like, I don't want to you know, I'm not
going to read unless like it is you know, teaching
and rich, deep and meaningful. Yeah, and writing a book
that is meant to give people pleasure, to give people joy,
to give people a lovely afternoon is not easy. I
(47:52):
think people think like it must be easy since it's
not a hard read, But making something look easy is
actually quite difficult.
Speaker 1 (47:59):
Julia, what's something that you've bookmarked this week? It can
be a fun quote or an Instagram post or something
you texted your best friend about what have you bookmarked?
Speaker 3 (48:11):
Oh?
Speaker 5 (48:11):
It was?
Speaker 3 (48:12):
It actually was an Instagram post and I don't know
if it's how you actually pronounce your name, but it's
Katie Aby and she posted like this cartoon and it
just has this little creature that might be a rabbit,
I don't know what, and it's holding something that says
magic and whimsy and political outrage, and it says we
(48:33):
navigate these times by keeping hold of both. And that's
really how I feel right now. I think it's the
only way I'm keeping my sanity is by holding on
to both my political outrage and my sense of magic
and whimsy.
Speaker 1 (48:46):
I also am realizing that you really appreciate duality and
living in the gray space, and that's part of what
makes Bridgerton so appealing and interesting and complicated.
Speaker 3 (48:58):
I hadn't really thought about it that way.
Speaker 1 (49:00):
I want to segue into something called speed read.
Speaker 3 (49:03):
Oh boy, ok So.
Speaker 1 (49:05):
Here's how it works. We're going to put sixty seconds
on the clock and see how many rapid fire literary
questions you can get through. Are you ready?
Speaker 6 (49:14):
Okay?
Speaker 1 (49:15):
Okay? Three to one? What's one literary trope that you
would ban forever, age gap and one that you'll defend
with your life friends to lovers. Which Bridgerton character are
you secretly least like Anthony? Which Bridgerton character would you
(49:35):
trade places with for a day?
Speaker 3 (49:38):
Penelope?
Speaker 1 (49:39):
Ooh, what book do you think is on Benedict Bridgerton's
bedside table?
Speaker 3 (49:47):
A Prayer for own MENI?
Speaker 1 (49:48):
How about Sophie's.
Speaker 3 (49:52):
Uh, prid and Prejudice.
Speaker 1 (49:54):
What book do you wish you could read for the
first time again?
Speaker 3 (49:57):
Dreaming of You by Lisa Clayvis.
Speaker 1 (49:59):
What's your your favorite book to recommend?
Speaker 3 (50:04):
Well? I guess right now the ornithologists feel Guide to
Love by India Holton.
Speaker 1 (50:07):
What's your favorite literary love story of all time?
Speaker 3 (50:12):
Not Romeo and Juliet And I'm just gonna say not.
How about that?
Speaker 1 (50:15):
What's a book that you wish you had written?
Speaker 3 (50:20):
Dreaming of You by Lisa Klavis Julia Quinn Clink.
Speaker 1 (50:25):
Cheers to you, Clink, Cheers to you and all of
your success and all of your whimsy and all of
your glory. Thank you for giving us so much joy
to read about and watch.
Speaker 3 (50:37):
Thank you this has been super fun.
Speaker 1 (50:41):
And if you want a little bit more from us,
come hang with us on socials. We're at Reese's book
Club on Instagram, serving up books, vibes and behind the
scenes magic and I'm at Danielle Robe. Roba y come
say hi and DM me and if you want to
go nineties on us, call us. Okay, our phone line
is open, so call now at one five zero one
(51:03):
two nine one three three seven nine. That's one five
oh one two nine one three three seven nine.
Speaker 5 (51:12):
Share your literary.
Speaker 1 (51:13):
Hot takes, book recommendations, questions about the monthly pick, or
let us know what you think about the episode you
just heard. And who knows, you might just hear yourself
in our next episode, So don't be shy, give us
a ring, and of course, make sure to follow Bookmarked
by Reese's book Club on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast,
or wherever you get your shows. Until then, see you
(51:37):
in the next chapter. Bookmarked is a production of Hello,
Sunshine and iHeart Podcast. It's executive produced by Reese Witherspoon
and Me Danielle Robe. Production is by a Cast Creative Studios.
Our producers are Matty Foley, Britney Martinez, Sarah Schleid and
Darby Masters. Our production assistant is Avery Loftus, Jenny Kaplin
(52:00):
Emile Rudder are the executive producers for a Cast Creative Studios.
Maureene Polo and Reese Witherspoon are the executive producers for
Hello Sunshine, Olga Kaminwha, Kristin Perla and Ashley Rappaport are
associate producers for Reese's book Club. Ali Perry and Lauren
Hansen are the executive producers for iHeart Podcasts.
Bookmarked by Reese's book Club is presented by Apple Books. Hi,
I'm Danielle Robe and welcome to Bookmarked by Reese's book Club.
Derist Rita's I am overcome with the excitement about this
week's guest, and just in time too, as the latest
installment of the Bridgeton universe has grace Netflix accounts everywhere
(00:22):
with its presence. Okay, sorry, that was the best British
accent I could muster up. But yeah, so we are
getting to talk to Julia Quinn, author of the Bridgerton
novels and Queen of Regency Romance. But first, it's the
first Tuesday of the month, so you know what that means.
It's time to announce the February Reese's book Club pick.
(00:42):
Reese take it away.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Hi, Bookmarked listeners, this is your Captain Reese speaking.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Okay, we're keeping the thriller energy going at the start
of this year.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Doesn't the pace of thrillers just make you want to
stay up all night turning pages? I can't handle it.
Our February book Club pick is no exception. In her
defense by Philippa Malika, this just feels like a classic
book club thriller.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
This book has it all.
Speaker 4 (01:11):
A celebrity on trial, a secret past revealed, a therapist
with bad intentions, and an employee who's out to get somebody.
With endless twists and turns, and an intricate web of
characters who all have different understandings of the truth.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
I could not put it down. It's a twisting, turning,
fantastic read. I hope you enjoy it. It's called In
Her Defense by PHILIPI Melika Reese.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
I cannot agree more. You're all in the right place.
Let's turn the page with Philippa Malitzka.
Speaker 5 (01:46):
Philippa, welcome to the club.
Speaker 6 (01:50):
Thank you so much. It's an absolute honor and privileged
to be here, completely amazing.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
The honor is all mine and all ours, and a
huge congratulations is in order. I'm getting to speak to
you on your first pub day. How incredibly fun for
your debut novel to also be a Reese's Book Club pick.
Speaker 6 (02:08):
I'm pinching myself, absolutely pinching myself very hard at the moment.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Who was your first call after you heard the news
that you were going to be an RBC pick?
Speaker 6 (02:17):
Well, I actually got a cryptic email from my American
editor being like call me, and I was like, okay,
and then I had no signal and four percent battery
and my heart was going like that. Can you imagine
the stakes I got through when they were all screaming,
which is amazing. And then I called my boyfriend Axel,
and we have this phrase when something goes well in
(02:40):
our lives, we say it's vodka and loves to time.
And I shouted, it's vodka and loves to time. And
he was a work did us, so he had had
to play it quite cool, but yeah, it was. It
was amazing to you know, tell my friends and family,
just amazing.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
That's so cute. I'm assuming that you guys love vodka
and loves and that's where it came from very much.
Speaker 6 (03:02):
And he's Scandinavian so it fits it so cute.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
Do you foresee any pub day traditions that you're going
to be setting besides vadca and lobster, which I love already.
Speaker 6 (03:12):
Yeah, start the day with a creative lobster, probably delivers
some vodkrin lobsters to you know, the bookshops that have
supported me, and then carry on feasting at the end
of the day. I think this time I'm going to
have a very little baby with me who'll be about
a month old, so I will be slightly dictated by him,
and hopefully he likes Wokrin lobsters.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
So one day, I can't believe how much transition you
have going on in your life, Like there's so much
excitement all at once. Are you are you able to
take it?
Speaker 5 (03:43):
Like?
Speaker 1 (03:43):
How are you doing?
Speaker 6 (03:46):
I have to say Danielle that I'm afraid this is
just what happens with my life. Like when I first
got the book deal the UK and the US one,
I had gone to visit my friend in Barcelona to
chill out because it's a very stressful time and we
were luckily okay, but we were involved in a car
accident there. So when I got the calls from my
publishers being like, can you come on a call and
(04:06):
you know, discuss your book and stuff, I was like
in a neck brace. I always feel like this stuff
happens at quite kind of transition moments. I'm not going
to compare having a baby to being in a car crash,
because I think it's not that. Yeah, it does seem
like these big things seem to happen and collide at
once in my life. So yeah, hopefully we'll be fine
(04:26):
with being carried around and taken to bookshops.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
I think everybody would like to be carried around and
taken to a bookshop. But you know what was cool
for me to learn is that I always love particularly
first time novelists. I'm like, Okay, what was your life
before this? And you worked in publishing, So for readers
who are going to be seeing your book on the
shelves for the first time today and thinking, hmmm, that
(04:50):
looks interesting, what is your elevator pitch for? In her defense?
Speaker 6 (04:55):
So I always say that I need a slightly long elevator,
like a kind of skyscraper elevator I can, And my
pitch is that in her defenses centered around a highly
publicized libel trial between a woman called Anna Fimbo who's
like a beloved TV personality and her daughter's therapist. Her
(05:16):
daughter's therapist has encouraged her daughter to cut herself off
entirely from her friends and her family. So that's kind
of we're like nearing the ground on the elevator. And
if I just continue, I say that it explores motherhood,
obsessive friendships, the unregulated therapy industry in general, and then
the precarious line between healing and harm, and then we've
(05:39):
reached the ground.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
First of all, bravo because it is a very complicated story,
so the fact that you were able to put that
into an elevator ride was very impressive. But I'm sort
of obsessed that this story is the Reese's Book Club
pick for February, because it's the month of Valentine's Day,
and I think this is a little bit of a
(06:02):
toxic love story in a way it's different. I recently
heard the term mood readers. Are you familiar with this
at all?
Speaker 6 (06:11):
I've just been learning about it too literally this week,
So yeah, I think we're talking about the same thing
people that want a vibe, a certain vibe from a.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Book exactly, so like people whose TBR piles are based
on vibes and feelings and a mood. What kind of
mood readers do you think will enjoy this novel?
Speaker 6 (06:31):
I think it would appeal to somebody who loves a
little bit of winter darkness. Maybe someone who's Valentine's Day
isn't always the happiest day of the year for them,
someone who kind of sees through some of the like
saccerin traditions there, So anybody who's looking for a kind
of who enjoys dark, academic type of contexts, somebody who
(06:53):
wants a provocative and unsettling kind of read rather than
something that's going to be neatly wrapped up by the
end of it. But also I think someone who's a
kind of a bit of a voyeur and kind of
takes pleasure in being a bit of a voy And
I guess as readers, we're all voyeurs. But my agent
calls my theme rich people destroying their lives. Somebody who
(07:15):
maybe takes a bit of pleasure in kind of watching
that unfold would be my dream kind of mood reader.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
It's funny you say that because we had Ruth wear
on this show a few months ago and she said
that she was obsessed with rich people destruction as well.
It's a really a very British thing. Yeah, it's that bad,
I think.
Speaker 6 (07:37):
So it's the kind of I'm going to say, this
is wrong with the kind of shade and freud that
you have from watching people with everything slowly start to
you know, lose it, often by their own hand. It's
just to me delicious.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
When you submitted the proposal or the book in general.
Did you have any books that you gave this one
context to, Like I guess in pop culture we could
say like it's like this book meets this TV show
meets this song. But what did you have on your proposal?
Speaker 6 (08:09):
Yeah? I think I think we referred to the talented
mister Ripley, which was, you know, a really big text
and movie. Frankly, for me, I think my agent said
at Tessa Mosfeg meets the talented mister Ripley. Now, I
wouldn't put myself in that literary camp as highly as that,
but you know, her narrators are often very unsettling as well.
(08:30):
So that kind of like, you know, that kind of
Riviera glamour of the talented mister Ripley and somebody on
the outside and wanting to participate in it was a
really instructive kind of theme for me.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
That makes sense. Are there any movies or TV shows
or music that you think would contextualize it as well?
Speaker 6 (08:51):
Oh my goodness, I've actually I've compiled a playlist for
Reese's Book Club with some yeah, in my opinion, master
songs on it that finally encapsulate it. So there's Bob
Dylan on there. There's Big Thief. I don't know if
you love Big Thief, a song called Mary, which was
super instructive throughout the book. I think music for me
(09:13):
much more than television, although I have to say that
Meryl Streep's character in Big Little Life was pretty instructive
for me as well.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
So, yeah, that makes sense because there's so much duality
in your book.
Speaker 6 (09:25):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
Yeah, were you inspired at all by real life court
cases or cult stories? Because I was peeking at the
book thinking she went down some rabbit holes here, like
your Google search history must have been wild.
Speaker 6 (09:41):
It's so dark. Yeah, it's fascinating because as soon as
you start talking about this story, everybody has a story
to kind of offer. It's really sad actually, So in
the UK the term therapist is not protected in any way,
so I could truly go online this evening by some
(10:01):
weird Mickey Mouse credential or not even at all, and
you know, get a beautiful office in little Venis and
set up as a therapist, which is mind blowing. And
I know, you know, although it's legally protected in the US,
there are obviously practitioners. You read about them every day, right,
who are abusing their positions. I mean, it was kind
(10:22):
of reading about this and learning about this really kind
of got me interested in how like how often that
kind of role gets abused. And then I think for
me what was really interesting was actually turning thirty and
like many young women, having a stint of therapy myself,
which I found really helpful, and realizing how much trust
(10:46):
I put in the woman I was talking to every week,
and it made me very aware of how badly somebody
could abuse that position if they wanted to. You know,
So my therapist obeyed all the kind of professional boundaries,
and when I asked her where she lived, she'd just
say West London and wouldn't tell me more. And you know,
she never tried to create any kind of social relationship
(11:09):
with me, quite rightly, and you know, our sessions were
only forty five minutes long, quite rightly. It started to
make me really afraid. Like you know, Gene in my
book Three Hours, four Hours, she tells things about herself
to her you know, her clients that make them feel
like they owe her something. And so as soon as
(11:30):
I started to have a good experience in therapy, it
really drove me forward in the plot, because I was like, Wow,
how badly could this go in the wrong hands? And
it's such a sacred and beautiful relationship going into a
room talking about your life, receiving guidance, and when that's
in the wrongest of hands, like, it still gives me goosebumps.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Really, it's cool because I've been a big proponents the
right word. Therapy has really helped me in my life,
and I've never really considered a therapist abusing their power
in the way that you set forth in the book.
And I actually have a lot more questions I want
(12:09):
to ask you when we meet again at the end
of the month. But there I'm wondering if there's like
a scene or a section or anything that you are
most proud of that you could read for us.
Speaker 6 (12:18):
I spent so long trying to think about how a
character like Jean would unleash her villainy, how would she
get these girls into her orbit, And I, you know,
I wrote scenes and scenes of her seducing these girls,
and they never felt right, they never felt quite true
to me until I was like, Okay, put yourself in
the shoes of your characters. You're a long way from home,
(12:42):
you know this woman takes an interest in you, she
seems glamorous, she's asking questions, she's organizing your life. That's enough,
That would actually be enough, and actually kind of staying
true to that rather than creating this whole massive Of course,
there's a massive, convoluted web that goes on in the book,
but it actually starts in such a simple way, and
(13:02):
once I kind of crack that it's about someone caring
about you on a simple base, on a simple basis,
and I think, kind of, yeah, unwrapping that and realizing
that it was simpler than it needed to be was
a proud moment.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
So shall I stand up it now? Yeah? Please?
Speaker 6 (13:22):
Yeah? Okay, So it's the beginning of part three. If
you asked me, why did I let her in? How
did I let Jeane control my life so intimately, my
answers would be embarrassingly naive, because she worried about me,
because her apartment was nice. By November, Jane was offering
(13:42):
her home as a sanctuary whenever things got a bit much,
providing me each time with freshly pressed pajamas, a caraffe
of lemon water, and stacks of good reading material. I
had been the kind of child who was expected to
make her own breakfast, so it was a novelty when
she greeted me in bed, the cup of coffee soothing
the perpetual hangovers and come downs I was sustaining from
(14:04):
trying to keep up with Mary. But as I let
her lavish all sorts of maternal comforts on me, was
there also an uneasy twinge inside a strained note which
might have warned this woman is kind, but is she
too interested in me? What is it that she wants?
If there was, I chose to ignore it. I had found,
(14:26):
for the first time in my life someone to lean on.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
M That last sentence too freaks me out. Still it does.
Why I just I think, I think I empathize.
Speaker 6 (14:43):
I empathize with Gus there, and it's that thing about
having someone to lean on, which, of course she then
you know, she becomes that person for Anna later on.
So it's the way that she kind of then repeats,
repeats the kind of patterns behavior.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
For everybody who hasn't been immersed into the book yet.
Gus is sort of our narrator. And one of the
things I love about talking to Reese's book Club authors
on their pub day is that you get to speak
to readers the very first day that they can get
their hands on the book, And so what is your
message to them? What do you want them to keep
(15:22):
in mind while they're reading. What should they pay attention
to which they keep their minds open about?
Speaker 6 (15:29):
Okay, so, I mean there's lots of questions in this book,
but I would keep a very close eye on Gus
And obviously her observations are being served to you as
a first person narrator, but I would keep a close
eye on what she's telling you and how she's kind
of giving you information and protect yourself slightly, i'd like
(15:53):
to say. And I think the other thing to really
engage in is the actual premise of the trial. You know,
it's a libel trial. Anna Thimbo has published an online
newsletter where she's named her daughter's therapist and committed libel
against her by calling her a modern day cult leader,
(16:15):
and that becomes the kind of crux of the case
because Gene says, you know, that's defamatory and that isn't true.
So kind of to keep this question in mind, what
would make a modern day cult leader? And how might
modern day cults differ from those that we might have seen,
you know, in the seventies, eighties, nineties, and how might
a therapy cult proliferate? And if you kind of do
(16:35):
you keep in that kind of prism of the trial
and in that mindset, then hopefully the book will unfold
and answer.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
Some of those questions for you, Philippo. When you said that,
I thought of this New York Times article I read
about how millennials are the least religious group in six decades,
and the author of the article was saying, therapy is
the new religion. And so I just really feel as
(17:03):
if you've touched on something so timely. I cannot wait
for everybody to dig in and to talk to you
in just a few weeks. Thank you so much.
Speaker 6 (17:12):
Oh it's such a pleasure. Thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
Welcome back to Bookmarked by Reese's book Club. Guys. I
was so excited to sit down with Julia Quinn, the
author of the original Bridgerton novels. Here's why Julia first
started publishing her novels over twenty five years ago. She
was writing romance in an era when it was still
written off and stigmatized. She chose it too. She got
(17:51):
into medical school, okay, and instead she made an incredible
career out of her passion, publishing over twenty five books,
and then decades later she got to see Bridgerton come
to life for a whole new generation of fans and
spark a total cultural phenomenon. I mean, it's really the dream. So,
as Reese said, you are in the right place. Let's
(18:14):
turn the page with Julia Quinn. Well, Julia, we're gonna
clink mugs because we're both holding our coffee this morning.
You have a read band book smug. I have a
Reese's Book Club mug.
Speaker 3 (18:29):
I want one of those.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
We have to get you one.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
I actually have a little connection to Reese that I
mean she doesn't know about. But Reese just did a
book with Harlan Coben.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
Yes, it became a bestseller.
Speaker 3 (18:43):
Yes, but their editor is my longtime editor, was a
kersh She was my longtime editor and still one of
my very closest friends. So Reese's editor is my editor, well,
my old editor.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Well I can officially welcome you to the club. Then
I love that you have a connection Reese.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
We're bestie now.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
So Julia, you are, without a question, one of the
defining romance writers of our generation. Season four of Bridgerton
is officially halfway out in the world. You actually, I'm
going to give everybody behind the scenes tea. You just
got back from Paris doing a little Bridgerton promotion.
Speaker 3 (19:18):
I did, I did, and it is as excellent as
you think. I'm not gonna be falsely modest. It was awesome.
Speaker 1 (19:24):
And you came back with some really fancy French butter
that you hit in the bottom of your suitcase.
Speaker 3 (19:29):
I did. I did. It's shrink Craft. I also had
some shrink Craft cheese and some really good chocolate too.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
Okay, so now you're making me hungry, but everybody else
is clamoring for the second half of Bridgerton. I feel
like the obsession is very real. What is it like
to have started a cultural phenomenon?
Speaker 3 (19:50):
I really like that you asked the question that way,
because what I usually get is what is it like
to see your characters come to life? And I mean,
that's all amazing and fabulous, but truly, the weird surreal
part is the cultural phenomenon part. To realize that something
(20:11):
that started like in your head, on your little computer
in a room by yourself, is now understood and recognized
by millions and millions and millions of people. I mean,
even if they don't watch Bridgerton or like Bridgerton, they
kind of know what it is, yes, And you know,
people can say like, oh, that's so Bridgerton, or you know,
(20:32):
I have friends who write romance novels and or his
say historical romance novels. And one of them thanked me.
She said, people finally understand what I do because I
can say it's like Bridgerton and then they know. And
that is truly the weirdest thing. I mean, these little
cultural touchstones, or like, for example, when the Simpsons spoofed
(20:53):
Bridgerton with Tunnelton that I wasn't sure I could ever
or top that. We're such a Simpsons family and they'll
make late night jokes. There's now Bridgerton Dove soap. There
is Bridgington ice cream. I'm super excited about the Bridgerton
ice cream.
Speaker 6 (21:12):
Cool.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
It's insane. It's absolutely surreal and insane and wonderful in
every good way.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
It must have. I just I asked the question that
way because I put myself in your shoes for a minute,
and I thought, how incredible to feel like your creativity
permeated like something that lived in your brain for I
can imagine so long also lives in people's hearts now.
It's unbelievable. And I also want to add that I
(21:42):
think it really it didn't just permeate culture. It pushed
the culture ball forward, which not everybody's work does. I'll
never forget watching an interview with Regina Hall and she
was saying that as a young actress she had never
been allowed to audition for period pieces because she was
a black woman, and change that in the coolest possible way.
Speaker 3 (22:03):
It really did, And I'm always very careful to say
I cannot personally take credit for that. I want to
make it absolutely clear. I love it. I think it's fabulous.
I support it one percent. I'm so grateful that Shondaland
chose to make the show that way, but I can't
take that credit. That was That was Shondaland's decision and
(22:24):
their work to make that happen.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
I kind of want to start with you with love
because it's something that we share. I love how openly
you talk about the legacy of romance and not just
the fantasy of it. Are there any current romance writers
who make you excited about the genre.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
Yeah, there are a lot. You know, one who is
really up and coming right now she writes contemporary books,
not historical, is BK. Borrison, and I've been really enjoying
her books. Within historical romance, there are gosh, so many
wonderful authors. I've always been a fan of Eloisa James
(23:05):
and Lisa Klaipis.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
I really love historical romance. It's it's such a fun genre.
Speaker 3 (23:10):
Yeah, and I think it's it's a little underrated right now.
It's kind of not having its moment, which is weird
because Bridgerton is having a moment and I'm not really
sure why it's happening that way, but I am personally
trying to do something about that.
Speaker 1 (23:27):
You're starting something that's specifically sort of tailored to this exactly.
Speaker 3 (23:32):
I am starting JQ Editions, which is kind of half
book club, half subscription box, And what I'm doing is
I'm choosing historical romances, which I think are the very,
very best of the best. It's a mix of brand
new books, recent gems and classics of the modern genre.
(23:56):
And right now we're doing one every other month, but
we're also bringing them out in beautiful special editions, so.
Speaker 1 (24:03):
They've got I think this is the coolest part.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
Actually, oh yay, I'm having so much fun working on it.
I'm the one who's actually working with the illustrators to
come up with these covers, because I want each cover
to truly reflect the book, to not just be like,
you know, all right, let's slap some fancy lettering on
it and you know, maybe put a guy here and
women there. I really want them to reflect the book.
(24:27):
And so we've got these beautiful covers. They all have
illustrated end papers and you know those fancy sprayed edges
everybody likes. And her first three books actually are well
won by Eloise and James, so I just mentioned and
it is her. It's a brand new book. And then
the second book is An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole,
which came out about seven or eight years ago and
(24:51):
is set during the Civil War, which is not a
very popular time period any longer. But what Alyssa did
is she made the heroine a free black woman from
I think Boston who travels to the South as a
spy whoa and actually puts yourself in the place of
an enslaved woman in order to spy for the North
(25:11):
with this organization called the Loyal League, and then finally,
our last book of twenty twenty six is Lord of
Scoundrels by Loretta Chase, which is I think considered the
best historical romance of the modern era. I have never
seen a list of historical romances that doesn't have that
one at the top. And I take no offense.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
When you're choosing these books. I kind of consider you
the godmother of historical romance. So when you are choosing
what makes the cut, what separates a good romance from
a must be on my shelf romance?
Speaker 3 (25:44):
The first thing is is like, can I put it
down right? Am I itching to pick it back up?
Do I love the characters of something within? It sparkles?
And usually it boils down to the author's voice. There's
something about the author's voice that really grabs you.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
When you say the author's voice, do you mean they're prose,
the a deafness that which they build out characters or
is it more just an emotional feeling you have.
Speaker 3 (26:13):
It's their prose and what they're pros invokes in you.
You know, I've been told that I have a very
distinct voice, which is why I think people either really
love my books or I'm just absolutely not for them,
and that's okay if people like different voices. But I
think there are you know, some authors where if you
(26:35):
pick up one of their books, if you're familiar with
them a little, you can say, yeah, I can tell
you who wrote this for sure, because I just hear her,
And to me, that's what usually moves a really good
book into a great book.
Speaker 1 (26:51):
Okay. You know, Julia, as I was reading about your
path to becoming a writer, I almost stopped in my
tracks when I read that you nearly became a doctor.
I have to know how you went from writing medical
school applications to writing Lady Whistled Down Takedowns.
Speaker 3 (27:08):
Well, I was actually writing the medical school applications at
the same time I was writing my first book. Wow. Yeah,
so that was happening.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
Said nobody ever, who has time to do that.
Speaker 3 (27:20):
I was writing these books and applying to school, and
it all kind of came down at the same time.
I got my acceptance to medical school the same month,
almost the same week I got my first book deal,
which was insane, and I knew if I entered medical
school right away that was it. There's no time really
(27:43):
to do anything else. So I deferred, and then I
deferred again, and all I could think was, if this
writing thing doesn't work out, I'm not qualified to do anything,
which which shows you how narrow my worldview was, because
I'd already had three books published, which is like the dream, right,
But I just was freaking out. And I was at
(28:03):
medical school for about two two and a half months
before I realized this really isn't the right thing, and
I withdrew Wow, and I haven't looked back.
Speaker 1 (28:13):
And so you knew anything that was in the back
of your mind kind of was washed away at that moment,
and you knew you were meant to be writing.
Speaker 3 (28:21):
Yes. Yes, And I'm very glad I did that. I mean,
I don't think i'd be sitting here today thinking like,
oh my gosh, should I have gone to medical school.
I would have figured it out. But it's still I think.
You know, you get the things that you don't do
more than the things that you do. And I had
(28:41):
that opportunity to go to start down a different road,
to realize that it wasn't the right road, or at
least it wasn't the best road, and it just made
me all the more secure in what I did.
Speaker 1 (28:54):
Eventually, choose to do, which was obviously Bridgerton. Where did
the seed of the story come from? Did you always
set out to write eight novels?
Speaker 6 (29:04):
No?
Speaker 3 (29:05):
Absolutely not. And in fact, I couldn't remember where the
seed came from at first, because I wrote the first
book in nineteen ninety eight. I mean, my first book
is old enough that it would be kicked off my
health insurance. So after about four or five interviews of
people asking me where I got the idea and me
being like, I can't remember, I finally put it together,
(29:29):
which was actually the character Simon came first. And what
had happened was I met somebody. He was I don't
even remember his name now, but he was a classmate
of my husband's. My husband was in medical school at
the time, and he had a very severe stutter. He
was a student at Yale School of Medicine. He was
(29:50):
very smart, he was doing things, but he still had
this incredible difficulty speaking. And it just made me wonder
what it would be like to have that difficulty communicate,
because I mean, I'm very chatty. I come from a
very chatty family. So I decided, you know, it's like, okay, well,
maybe we could make this character and make it the
(30:11):
male character who was supposed to be, you know, the big, strong,
tough guy, but this is his issue to overcome. And then,
you know, because historical romance and actually literature in general
is so full of bad parents, I decided to give
him this really awful father and this terrible, terrible childhood.
And I wrote the prologue to the story and it
(30:33):
was one of those magical writing moments that happens really quickly,
and you know, I think I wrote that one day,
which was incredible. And then I thought, this guy, he
doesn't just need a great woman to fall in love with.
He he needs like a new family. He deserves to
fall in love with somebody who comes from the best
(30:53):
family ever. They need to be fun and they need
to be loving, and he gets like a new family.
And that's where the bridge came from.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
I'm just gonna share for anybody who's not as familiar.
The characters go in alphabetical order, and so Daphne, who
starts with a D, is the fourth, but you actually
start season one with her love story and she's married
to Simon. Is that why you started with that one?
Speaker 3 (31:17):
Actually, in that time period, women tended to marry younger
than men. So it actually, in terms of making it chronological,
it made sense to start there, okay, and then to
go back and have her brothers. And then there's another
little switch at the end where Hyacinth gets married before Gregory,
which also makes sense in terms of just how society
(31:37):
kind of played out.
Speaker 1 (31:39):
So I pride myself on asking one unhinged question every interview. Okay,
this is yours.
Speaker 3 (31:46):
I don't know if I'm scared or excited.
Speaker 1 (31:48):
Do you have a character that you feel was written
in the image of you at all?
Speaker 3 (31:55):
Okay, that one I can kind of do. Okay, So
I am a common a nation of three.
Speaker 1 (32:03):
Okay, you have to tell me.
Speaker 3 (32:05):
Penelope.
Speaker 1 (32:06):
Okay, that makes sense.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
She's the one I pulled. I think my own more
of my own personal experiences from so many so much
of what I felt like in high school. And then
there's also Alloway's because I talked too much and I.
Speaker 1 (32:25):
That was my guest.
Speaker 3 (32:26):
And then Francesca, huh, because you know, I often feel
I love my family, I have the best family. I
often feel like I need some space. Okay, So I
really get Francesca's need to to just set herself apart
(32:50):
at times. And I've had moments where, like one of
my sisters said to me, like fine, Francesca, like what
it's like?
Speaker 6 (32:58):
Wow?
Speaker 1 (32:59):
I actually find that a lot of sibling dynamics on
screen are portrayed in a way that like does not
resonate for me with my brother and Bridgerton really does.
Where did that come from? Was that something that you
consciously crafted or it kind of just happened.
Speaker 3 (33:15):
I think it just happened because you know, I not
only have you know, these siblings, but I also have
first cousins to whom I'm extremely close, and second cousins
and even some third cousins. I mean, I have I
have this big family and I'm not super close with
all of them, but we tease each other, we don't
(33:35):
take crap from each other, and that, I think, above
everything is what the television show Bridgerton really gets from
the show.
Speaker 1 (33:45):
I mean, yeah, it does.
Speaker 3 (33:47):
I love it. They get lots of things, but that's
the one they just get perfectly, that sense of family,
that sibling dynamic, and I think I think that's one
of the things that people really love is to see
that because it is something that resonates with so many people.
I mean, if you have a sibling, and I would
venture to say more than half of us. Do you
(34:09):
get it?
Speaker 1 (34:10):
Absolutely? And I think one of the things that a
lot of people actually don't know is that your first
Bridgerton novel was published in two thousand and you were
done publishing the series in two thousand and six. How
did you hear that Shonda Rhymes wanted to adapt this show?
And I guess my even bigger question is what was
(34:30):
it like revisiting the series after fourteen years away? That
has got to be very strange.
Speaker 3 (34:36):
I heard it was in January twenty seventeen. I was
sitting in Starbucks with my computer as I frequently did
and do, and I got a phone call from my agent.
So I picked up and he said, I just have
the most interesting phone call. And I said, okay, and
then he said, have you heard of Shonda Rhymes?
Speaker 5 (35:01):
Uh?
Speaker 3 (35:02):
Yeah, And he said, well, you know, her representatives just
called to ask if the rights to the Bridgington series
are available, and if so, are we interested in talking
to them about adapting it. I was like, get off
the phone with me right now and call them right
back and say yes. I can't believe you even thought
you had to ask, and what I found out later, Well, Shanda,
(35:25):
she's a huge reader. She loves to read, and when
she travels she usually brings books with her. And she
was somewhere I don't know where, in like a hotel
room and in something, and she was sick and she
ran out of books and the book that happened to
be sitting around this inn was The Duke and I
and so she.
Speaker 6 (35:42):
Picked it up.
Speaker 3 (35:43):
And that, people, is how lucky I am, because she
said she read it and she loved it so much
that she got out of her sick bed and ran
down the street to get the rest of the books
in the series and just like read through everything. And
then and then she started making everybody at Shondaaland read it.
And she kept calling these crazy romance novels, which it's fine,
(36:04):
I think, you know, crazy just because she'd never read
romance novels before. And she's like, you have to read this.
I think, don't you think this would be a good show?
You have to read this. And the crazy thing for
me is that this is all happening down in Los
Angeles at the Shondaland offices. They told me, even like
the parking attendant was reading the books, and I had
no idea. I had no idea all this was happening
(36:25):
until the phone call.
Speaker 1 (36:33):
I have to get the season for Bridgerton T because
it's out on Netflix right now and everybody listening would
hate me if I didn't get all of the behind
the scenes info from you. I was reading the original
book for this season, which is an offer from a gentleman,
and I was immediately struck by the Cinderella parallels. First
two books play on classic romance genre tropes, But what
(36:56):
inspired the sort of retelling of a classic fairy tale?
Speaker 3 (37:00):
I had read fairytale retellings. I'm certainly not the first
person who's done that in romance, and I think it
was one of those things where I was like, Okay,
maybe it's time to try this. And there are aspects
of it that work very well for a historical romance
because I was able to take this Cinderella story and
actually turn it into kind of a forbidden love trope
(37:22):
because the issue of class was something that was almost
insurmountable in that time in England, and so Cinderella seemed
like a good way to put that out there. So
for Sophie being a servant and also I legitimate, which
(37:44):
was a huge deal. Then really makes for somebody that
somebody like a Bridgeton cannot marry. This is a big deal,
and I think that was hard for some readers to
understand because Nedict makes choices and asks things of her
that she does that she finds insulting. And I think
(38:08):
a lot of readers were insulted on her behalf and
were really angry with him. And I felt it saying, like, guys,
this is exactly how it would have happened. Then, this
is what he would have done. And the big deal
is that he overcomes it and he decides that, you know,
being with her and the love that he has for
her is more important than these issues of class. But
(38:31):
I think that the story really is his growth, not
where he started. The point is that he grew and
was able to get past that and change his mind.
Speaker 1 (38:40):
This is interesting because I actually think part two really hinges.
I can imagine on BENEDICKT. Bridgerton, everybody wants to know
what is going to happen. What do you think most
excites you about his story compared to the rest of
the Bridgerton gang.
Speaker 3 (38:58):
You love the way he loves Eloise, I love the
way he interacts with his siblings. You love you just
and Luke. I have to take this moment to say,
is the most delightful human being. He's so sweet and
so lovely and so smart. And he speaks French by
the way. I don't know if people realize this, and
(39:19):
it's this is a funny thing about season four is
that they have him speaking French, but he has to
speak French badly. Sophie corrects his accent. That's so interesting,
which is funny because he has a perfect accent because
he grew up in France.
Speaker 1 (39:33):
But well, let me ask you this, is there a
small detail from Benedict's book that you made sure made
it into this season.
Speaker 3 (39:40):
Yeah, I mean I wanted, like the prison scene, you know,
hopefully this isn't a spoiler. I wanted the lake scene.
I wanted, you know, the masquerade scene.
Speaker 1 (39:52):
That's such a magical scene.
Speaker 6 (39:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (39:55):
But according to the people who put together the show,
they said it was the I think the easiest book
to adapt. It was sort of more naturally cinematic than
the other one. So I think it actually does follow
the book a little bit more closely than most. So
we get a lot of really fun moments in there.
Speaker 1 (40:11):
So romance is now the fastest growing genre in publishing.
I read that it's a one point four billion dollar
business in the US every year, And I genuinely think
that Bridgerton arriving when it did helped push the romance
genre into cultural mainstream. And in twenty twenty it hit Netflix,
and I think it introduced this like unapologetic desire and
(40:36):
passion front and center and no shame attached, and obviously
the audience loved it. When you were writing these books
long before twenty twenty, long before it was a one
point four billion dollar business, when romance was honestly a
little bit dismissed or still sort of stigmatized. What has
(40:56):
this boom meant to you personally? After years of advocating
for this genre before it was quote unquote cool.
Speaker 3 (41:04):
Well, I do want to point out that even when
we weren't cool and we were kind of dismissed a lot,
we still were huge business. Romance has been the best
selling genre for as long as I've been writing. I mean,
so even when people are you know, pooh poohing us,
saying they're not real books or whatever, we were the
ones still bringing in the money. We're the ones who
(41:25):
were making the money for the publishing houses so that
they could publish poetry that only ten people buy. And
and I'm not putting down the poetry that only ten
people buy. I want the poetry that only ten people
buy to be published because I think that's super important.
But I think you are right that there has been
this kind of new boom where suddenly it is unapologetic.
Speaker 6 (41:46):
It is.
Speaker 3 (41:48):
You know, book talk is this massive thing, and you know,
I think I think Bridgerton definitely helped with that. But
what's very interesting is that, you know, the boom that
romance novels are seeing is not extending to historical romance.
And I don't really know why, I mean, to be honest,
except for me, I'll be frank, I'm doing great, but
(42:09):
it's not extending to other historical romances. And I'm not
sure why. And I mean that's part of the reason
why I started JQ additions, so that the people who
are asking me, like, well, what should I read after Bridgerton?
I can say, Hey, here you go. This is like
my book club. These are the best, these are the
ones I think you will love.
Speaker 1 (42:31):
I think I'm going to come back. It's going to
be cyclical. I just think like fantasy romance is having
such a moment right now. It is.
Speaker 3 (42:38):
I am all for anything that gets people to read.
If it's pulling people in, I think it's great. And
hopefully it is cyclical, and hopefully we will get people
back to historical romance again, because as I said, there's
so many wonderful, wonderful books. And actually I'm going to
totally tout one of our twenty twenty seven books because
(42:59):
it is a romanticy kind of It is The Ornithologist
Field Guide to Love by India Houlton.
Speaker 1 (43:08):
What's an ornithologist at the bird Scientist?
Speaker 3 (43:15):
Isn't this like the coolest title ever?
Speaker 5 (43:17):
And I mean, I.
Speaker 1 (43:18):
Don't know what says hot like ornithologists?
Speaker 5 (43:21):
Okay, right, what would you tell.
Speaker 1 (43:33):
Your two thousand and era of self? Knowing what you
know now.
Speaker 3 (43:39):
You're not gonna believe what's gonna happen.
Speaker 1 (43:42):
You know, when we had the sisters who created the
Rip Bodice bookstores on, they spoke really beautifully on the
community and fandom that comes from romance. I'm curious if
there's something that has surprised you about the fandom around
the Bridgerton series.
Speaker 3 (44:05):
You know, I've been in the romance world for thirty
years now, so I feel like the fandom kind of
grew up around me because I came in just as
like the Internet was taking off. I mean literally, when
I sold my first book, I did not have an
email address. So, I know, let's take a moment to
(44:27):
pause and reflect upon how old I am.
Speaker 1 (44:29):
Did you have a BlackBerry?
Speaker 6 (44:32):
No?
Speaker 3 (44:33):
But anyway, so I basically grew up with the romance fandom. So,
you know, I think nothing really surprised me because I
was a part of it for so long. But the
television fandom and the book fandom are a little bit different.
For the most part, everybody is really really lovely. I
guess what surprised me was how focused on specific couples
(44:54):
some people are, and sometimes they get really mad at
each other. I say that, but at the same time,
I want to make it clear, like ninety five percent
of all the fans are just absolutely lovely, wonderful human
beings who are so sweet, and I love the fan art.
I try to put that on my Instagram a lot.
They're just great.
Speaker 1 (45:14):
They are really So you said that romance novels are
important for two big reasons. One is that it proves
reading can be easy and just for pleasure, and the
other is that romance celebrates happy endings and seeking joy
and happiness in life. And I was wondering if there
was a moment in time where writing romance or reading
(45:35):
Romance helped you feel happiness or pleasure when you really
needed it.
Speaker 3 (45:40):
Absolutely, you know, I, like so many people have in
my life battle depression and have had moments where the
only way I could get out of my head was
reading a book that made me laugh and smile. And
I have heard from so many readers that they have
(46:01):
had similar experiences. I get so many letters from readers,
you know, just saying like your book's helped me through
a really hard time. Wow, And that is so meaningful
and and we need joy, we need that, and you know,
and I'm I'm still here for all the edgy stuff,
(46:21):
for the hard stuff, for the the tragedies. I mean,
those are also important, but I think our society has
difficulty elevating art that celebrates joy. And then also the
other point that you brought up, I guess that I said, Yami,
was also that reading for pleasure is so much fun
(46:43):
and or so important, and I I don't know why
it is because I feel like we have reached a
point in society where we accept that, like watching TV
doesn't have to be like enriching. And I'm doing air
quotes for everybody here, like we can watch TV just
(47:04):
for fun and for pleasure and to have a good time,
and it doesn't have to be hard. But for some reason,
we feel like if we're going to read a book,
it has to be hard and it has to be difficult,
it has to be enriching. And I'm like, no, we
can read books for the same reason we watch Seinfeld
because it makes us happy. Right, totally agree, And I
(47:29):
think that got lost for a long time, Like people
are like, I don't want to you know, I'm not
going to read unless like it is you know, teaching
and rich, deep and meaningful. Yeah, and writing a book
that is meant to give people pleasure, to give people joy,
to give people a lovely afternoon is not easy. I
(47:52):
think people think like it must be easy since it's
not a hard read, But making something look easy is
actually quite difficult.
Speaker 1 (47:59):
Julia, what's something that you've bookmarked this week? It can
be a fun quote or an Instagram post or something
you texted your best friend about what have you bookmarked?
Speaker 3 (48:11):
Oh?
Speaker 5 (48:11):
It was?
Speaker 3 (48:12):
It actually was an Instagram post and I don't know
if it's how you actually pronounce your name, but it's
Katie Aby and she posted like this cartoon and it
just has this little creature that might be a rabbit,
I don't know what, and it's holding something that says
magic and whimsy and political outrage, and it says we
(48:33):
navigate these times by keeping hold of both. And that's
really how I feel right now. I think it's the
only way I'm keeping my sanity is by holding on
to both my political outrage and my sense of magic
and whimsy.
Speaker 1 (48:46):
I also am realizing that you really appreciate duality and
living in the gray space, and that's part of what
makes Bridgerton so appealing and interesting and complicated.
Speaker 3 (48:58):
I hadn't really thought about it that way.
Speaker 1 (49:00):
I want to segue into something called speed read.
Speaker 3 (49:03):
Oh boy, ok So.
Speaker 1 (49:05):
Here's how it works. We're going to put sixty seconds
on the clock and see how many rapid fire literary
questions you can get through. Are you ready?
Speaker 6 (49:14):
Okay?
Speaker 1 (49:15):
Okay? Three to one? What's one literary trope that you
would ban forever, age gap and one that you'll defend
with your life friends to lovers. Which Bridgerton character are
you secretly least like Anthony? Which Bridgerton character would you
(49:35):
trade places with for a day?
Speaker 3 (49:38):
Penelope?
Speaker 1 (49:39):
Ooh, what book do you think is on Benedict Bridgerton's
bedside table?
Speaker 3 (49:47):
A Prayer for own MENI?
Speaker 1 (49:48):
How about Sophie's.
Speaker 3 (49:52):
Uh, prid and Prejudice.
Speaker 1 (49:54):
What book do you wish you could read for the
first time again?
Speaker 3 (49:57):
Dreaming of You by Lisa Clayvis.
Speaker 1 (49:59):
What's your your favorite book to recommend?
Speaker 3 (50:04):
Well? I guess right now the ornithologists feel Guide to
Love by India Holton.
Speaker 1 (50:07):
What's your favorite literary love story of all time?
Speaker 3 (50:12):
Not Romeo and Juliet And I'm just gonna say not.
How about that?
Speaker 1 (50:15):
What's a book that you wish you had written?
Speaker 3 (50:20):
Dreaming of You by Lisa Klavis Julia Quinn Clink.
Speaker 1 (50:25):
Cheers to you, Clink, Cheers to you and all of
your success and all of your whimsy and all of
your glory. Thank you for giving us so much joy
to read about and watch.
Speaker 3 (50:37):
Thank you this has been super fun.
Speaker 1 (50:41):
And if you want a little bit more from us,
come hang with us on socials. We're at Reese's book
Club on Instagram, serving up books, vibes and behind the
scenes magic and I'm at Danielle Robe. Roba y come
say hi and DM me and if you want to
go nineties on us, call us. Okay, our phone line
is open, so call now at one five zero one
(51:03):
two nine one three three seven nine. That's one five
oh one two nine one three three seven nine.
Speaker 5 (51:12):
Share your literary.
Speaker 1 (51:13):
Hot takes, book recommendations, questions about the monthly pick, or
let us know what you think about the episode you
just heard. And who knows, you might just hear yourself
in our next episode, So don't be shy, give us
a ring, and of course, make sure to follow Bookmarked
by Reese's book Club on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast,
or wherever you get your shows. Until then, see you
(51:37):
in the next chapter. Bookmarked is a production of Hello,
Sunshine and iHeart Podcast. It's executive produced by Reese Witherspoon
and Me Danielle Robe. Production is by a Cast Creative Studios.
Our producers are Matty Foley, Britney Martinez, Sarah Schleid and
Darby Masters. Our production assistant is Avery Loftus, Jenny Kaplin
(52:00):
Emile Rudder are the executive producers for a Cast Creative Studios.
Maureene Polo and Reese Witherspoon are the executive producers for
Hello Sunshine, Olga Kaminwha, Kristin Perla and Ashley Rappaport are
associate producers for Reese's book Club. Ali Perry and Lauren
Hansen are the executive producers for iHeart Podcasts.
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