Julia Quinn talked about her Bridgerton series of historical romance novels, and the television series based on the books, on CBS News Boston.
In an interview at Lovestruck Books in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Quinn told CBS Boston digital producer Riley Rourke, “My favorite character to write is actually Lady Danbury,” the powerful matron portrayed in the Netflix series by Adjoa Andoh. “She has no more you-know-whats to give….In the books, she’s a little bit older, and less in charge of society, and more just there and saying what everybody wishes they could say.”
Quinn, a Harvard graduate, noted that when she was at the university in the late 1980s and early 1990s, there were no bookstores in Harvard Square that sold romance.
“It was so hard to get a romance novel at the Coop….I would have to go to MIT to get my romance novels, because there was a Waldenbooks at the Kendall Square mall.”
She discussed the genre in general, telling Rourke, “I think romance novels are important for a few reasons. One is that, for some reason, in our society, we don’t elevate or celebrate the idea of reading for pleasure. For some reason, we think reading needs to be hard....It must be improving. It must be something that I could write a paper on. I love the idea of reading for pleasure, for fun, because it gives you happiness....It’s really important to have art and messages in popular culture that tell us all that we have a right to seek happiness and love.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
