The popular historical romance, the Bridgerton series, might take place in the Regency era, but we know that it isn’t historically accurate. Even the author, Julia Quinn herself makes sure she reminds fans that “Bridgerton isn’t a history lesson”. However, among all the siblings, Quinn says that Benedict’s storyline is the most historically accurate. 

Over the last 2 seasons of the Netflix adaptation of the Bridgerton books, we have seen Benedict gradually become a fan favorite. Even Julia Quinn says that the “delightful” Luke Thompson “kind of stole every scene he was in.”

However, after the release of Benedict’s book An Offer From A Gentleman, fans were not happy with the character and with Julia Quinn for the decision she made. Here’s all that went down

The historical accuracy of Benedict Bridgerton’s story, according to Julia Quinn

After Kate and Anthony are all settled in, it is now time for Benedict Bridgerton to find a partner. It seems like he finally fell in love with a girl. But, the mysterious lady leaves him as the clock turns to midnight. Later, he comes across another woman who catches his interest, but she isn’t of noble birth as he is. Hence, Benedict does something fans had not expected to see in a Julia Quinn novel. He asks her to be his mistress.

Right from the initial release of her books, Julia Quinn had received comments saying that they were “too modern”. As a result, she ended up doing something with Benedict that, according to her, is “very, very realistic to the time” in asking Sophie to be his mistress instead of his wife. Although fans, who were used to seeing innocent romance in the series, found this appalling, Quinn thinks this “made total sense.”

In the case of Benedict Bridgerton in Julia Quinn’s books and possibly the upcoming season of the Netflix Original, this plot is going to work out very well. It made Quinn write a story “looking at differences in social class and how that affected them in that time period.” However, that is not always the case.

This shows fans how it always isn’t a bad thing for a piece of art, be it a book, show, or movie, to stay “inaccurate” factually. These works are meant to be enjoyed. If like The Crown, Downton Abbey, or Vikings, these shows had to be realistic, they would be. Other times, like Julia Quinn and her romance series, don’t aim to be a history lesson, but that doesn’t make them any less enjoyable.

The first two seasons of Bridgerton are streaming on Netflix now!