BRIDGERTON: What's Jane [Austen] Got to Do With It? (Ep. 55)

Historical Drama with The Boston Sisters

In episode 55, we talk with DAMIANNE “DAMI” SCOTT, creator of Black Girl Loves Jane, a Facebook group and blog about the Shonda Rhimes Shondaland series BRIDGERTON on Netflix.

BRIDGERTON (now in its 3rd season plus Shonda Rhimes’s prequel/origin story, QUEEN CHARLOTTE: A BRIDGERTON STORY) is based on the characters in Julia Quinn’s series of historical romance novels set in Regency England. The stories center an aristocratic family of 8 siblings and their widowed mother who is navigating the marriage market with and for her children.

One can’t help but wonder how the BRIDGERTON series is being received by passionate fans of Jane Austen and recent adaptations of her 19th century novels for film and limited series like PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, and SANDITON (inspired by an unfinished novel).

What has been the BRIDGERTON series’s impact on fan perceptions of the Regency era and the diversity of the society in that time? What would Jane think of the ton?

Ep. 55 Transcript link is available on the podcast website at https://michonbostongroup.com/bostonsisters/episode55-bridgerton-blackgirllovesjane

PLEASE NOTE: TRANSCRIPTS ARE GENERATED USING A COMBINATION OF SPEECH RECOGNITION SOFTWARE AND HUMAN TRANSCRIBERS, AND MAY CONTAIN ERRORS.

TIMESTAMPS

2:28 - Bridgerton Season 3 recap

Correction: in an earlier version of the BRIDGERTON 3 recap (Ep. 55), Queen Charlotte's reward was mentioned as 1,000. It has been changed in this podcast to reflect the correct amount: 5,000 pounds.

6:57 Damianne "Dami" Scott and Black Girl Loves Jane (Austen)

12:55 - Representation and belonging in historical literature

18:14 - Race and diversity in historical dramas

24:39 - What would Jane (Austen) think of "the ton?"

29:39 - "The Bridgerton Effect" on diversity in romantic fiction

37:25 - Favorite and not-so-favorite characters in Bridgerton

48:52 - Can friendship lead to romantic love?

54:21 - Time travel and time capsule

1:00:41 - Epilogue - Boston Sisters riff on Austen and Bridgerton

1:14:42 - Share your thoughts about Bridgerton 3

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