Adapting Bridgerton
Essays on the Netflix Show in Context
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About the Book
The beloved television show Bridgerton breaks racial barriers as it explores an alternate history in which biracial Queen Charlotte elevated people of color to dukes and earls, welcoming new perspectives in Regency London.
Essays in this work examine in detail the hit Netflix series. Topics covered include Bridgerton’s unique, racially conscious casting and its effect on common tropes and roles; the overt sexuality in the context of prim Jane Austen films and historical shows like Downton Abbey, Outlander, and recent nineteenth-century adaptations; dueling; art; manners; dress; social conventions; feminism; privilege; power; dreamcasting; colorism; and yes, the sex scenes.
About the Author(s)
Bibliographic Details
Edited by Valerie Estelle Frankel
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 244
Bibliographic Info: 6 photos, bibliographies, index
Copyright Date: 2024
pISBN: 978-1-4766-9331-6
eISBN: 978-1-4766-5234-4
Imprint: McFarland
Table of Contents
Introduction
Valerie Estelle Frankel 1
Section I: Identity and Intersectionality
Beyond the Pale: Genre, Race, and Intersectional Feminist Tensions in Bridgerton
Tracy H.Z. Reese 9
Casting the Future in Bridgerton’s Past
Amy Cook and Jessica Hautsch 22
Is “the price we pay … worth the fight?” Undermining the Marriage Plot
April Toadvine 39
Hornier Than Thou: Revisioning Female Empowerment
Maria Juko 52
“You can choose to love me as much as I love you”: Identity, Intentionality, and Agency
José I. Rodríguez 65
Whiteness Is the New Black: Alt–London and the EDI Industrial Complex
Tré Ventour-Griffiths 89
Section II: Period Arts, Society, and Culture
A More Colorful History Built on Thin Ice: How Modernizing History Creates Moral Issues
Marie Michlová 109
(Un)Romancing the Ton: Respectability, Leisure, and the Pursuit of Pleasure
Viviana Castellano 119
Benedict’s Gaze
Sarah Stegall 134
Off to the Modiste: A Costume Analysis of Season Two
Valerie Estelle Frankel and Madeleine Loewen 147
Section III: Comparability with Popular Works
Spice Sells: Bridgerton, Sex, and the Jane Austen Brand
Kaitlyn Reid 171
A Regency Lady and an Edwardian Woman: Tensions Between Social Performances of Femininity and Female Empowerment in Period Pieces
Joy E. Morrow 186
Bridging the Gap Between Modern Life and the Period Piece: A Directorial Comparison of Bridgerton and Downton Abbey
Schuyler Becker 199
Natasha Rostova, Mr. Malcolm, and the Duke of Hastings: Comparing Introductions to Racially Inclusive Regency Fantasy
Amanda-Rae Prescott 212
Conclusion
Valerie Estelle Frankel 227
About the Contributors 231
Index 233
