The Bridgerton series has impressed audiences from around the world, but before it was a Netflix show, it was a book series. Each of the books focuses on the love lives of each of the individual Bridgerton siblings. Thanks to epilogues that have been added to the books, readers might figure out a character's fate before their story unfolds in their proper book.
While the first season of the Netflix series mostly borrows from the first book, The Duke & I, many characters and plotlines are introduced much earlier than their literary counterparts. And some characters change completely.
10 There Was No Queen Charlotte
Queen Charlotte was a real person, but she didn't actually appear in the original Bridgerton books. This also means storylines revolving around her did not happen in the original books.
Likewise, Prince Frederich, Daphne's potential suitor and a rival to Simon for her affections, doesn't exist in the books, either.
9 Simon Kept His Stutter
In the Netflix series, Simon has overcome his stutter after years of practice and discipline. In the books, however, he still has it. This detail actually changes quite a bit from the book to the show.
A lot of times when Simon doesn't explain things to Daphne, even during an argument, it comes from his being scared his stutter will come back. His tendency to keep quiet also often causes characters to misread him as more stoic than he really is. In fact, because of his stutter, Simon was far less social in the book. His friends, Will and Alice Mondrich, were created for the Netflix show.
8 There Wasn't Any Boxing
Taking advantage of Simon's new apparent social life in the Netflix show, he was also portrayed as a boxer. This was never the case in the books, since, as mentioned, he tried to avoid people.
Similar to adding Queen Charlotte, this change might have partially been done to add an air of history: Boxing was considered a gentlemanly sport for the time.
7 Marina Is Dead
In the Netflix series, Marina is a cousin to the Featherington family who stays with them and Lady Featherington is obliged to marry her off, especially when it comes to light that she is with child. She later becomes involved in a plot to marry Colin Bridgerton. While Marina does appear in the books, albeit as a cousin to the Bridgerton family, she is only introduced in the fifth book as the dead wife of Eloise's love interest, Sir Phillip.
Viewers are also assured that Marina is indeed the same character since she goes on to marry Sir Phillip at the end of the first season. And in both the books and the series, Marina was originally going to marry Phillip's dead brother George. According to the books, Marina met her end when she attempted to drown herself, and was initially saved by her husband, but eventually succumbed to illness. Because of this, many of her plotlines in the series, like trying to marry Colin, could not have happened in the books.
6 Mr. Featherington Was Also Dead
The Featherington family structure is slightly different from what is first seen in the television series compared to the original books. Similar to Marina, Lord Featherington was a posthumous character, said to have been dead for three years at the start of the story, but viewers of the Netflix series initially see him alive.
That said, he eventually passes on by the end of the first season, so it likely won't be as much of a continuity issue in later seasons.
5 There Were Four Featherington Sisters
While the family got back their father for the series, however, they lost a daughter. In the books, there is a fourth sister, Felicity, who is initially too young to be introduced to society and is friends with Hyacinth. She gets a larger role in the fourth book as she becomes a debutante.
Interestingly, Nicola Coughlan, the actress who plays Penelope, admitted she asked about the character during a fitting and the crew didn't seem to know who she was talking about.
4 Siena Was A Minor Character
One of Anthony's biggest storylines in the first season is his love interest Siena Rosso, an opera singer, with the two representing what the other cannot have in life.
Siena appears to be based on a minor character named Maria Rosso, an Italian opera singer, who appears in the second book and was a minor character. She mostly appears for a comedic scene when Anthony finds his love interest, Kate Sheffield, hiding in his room. Interestingly, similar to the queen, she may have been partially inspired by a historical figure: A popular Regency-era courtesan named Harriette Wilson.
3 Colin Was A Bit Of A Bad Boy
In both versions, Penelope likes Colin because he's "nice," but the books imply Penelope gives him too much credit. In the first book, it's mentioned that Colin is a bit of a spendthrift, having quickly went through money Anthony sent him while traveling, and was said to be a bit of a prankster. And while Colin in the Netflix show is a bit of a romantic, practically wanting to marry Marina at first sight, his book counterpart remains a bachelor well until his mid-thirties.
Notably, the scene where he defends Penelope at the dance seems to be taken from three different scenes: Simon dancing with her in the first book, Anthony defending her from Cressida in the second book, and a mention of Cressida pouring a drink on Penelope's dress during her first year in the fourth book. By the fourth book, he's also shown not to be above insulting or rejecting Penelope, even getting physical. At one point, Penelope even acknowledges the Colin she's loved for years isn't the real Colin. Of course, Penelope gets the last laugh: they eventually get married.
2 Benedict Had No Social Life
In the books, Benedict likes to draw and is talented at it, but the series really exaggerates his role within the artistic community. In the books, he didn't go to lavish orgies or have affairs with married women. His relationship with Genevieve Delacroix, the dressmaker, also doesn't happen in the books since Genevieve was created for the show. In fact, by the third book, he actually laments having no dark secrets, saying he's never seduced an innocent or a married woman and has no gambling debts.
It seems that Julia Quinn had Prince Charming in mind when she wrote Benedict: In the books, he eventually marries an orphan named Sophie, who lives as a servant for her cruel stepmother and stepsisters, after he meets her in disguise at a costume ball. On the other hand, the book does show he can be a rake when the opportunity arises: He initially wants Cinderella to be his mistress.
1 Lady Whistledown
The first season ends with the revelation that sweet wallflower Penelope is Lady Whistledown. While this is true for the books, the original series didn't reveal this until the fourth book. Added to that, while Lady Whistledown was always a presence in the books, she was given more focus in the Netflix show.
Much of the storylines surrounding Lady Whistledown were created for the show. The Queen was not leading an investigation to expose her nor was Eloise. In fact, in the books, Eloise is suspected of being Whistledown.