George Mason University

24/07/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 25/07/2024 18:41

Fact vs. Fiction on the Netflix and Shondaland series ‘Bridgerton’

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Are you a fan of Netflix's Bridgerton? Can you see yourself hanging out with the rest of the Ton attending extravagant balls in over-the-top gowns? Well before you do, you might want a quick lesson on the real traditions that took place during the Regency Era. Dina Copelman, associate professor emerita of history and cultural studies at George Mason University, tells all about the facts and the fiction of all three seasons of the Shondaland drama.

Dina Copelman. Photo by Office of University Branding.

Bridgerton's depiction of the Regency Era?

Fiction.The status was a lot lower from what we see in the show. It would be the aristocracy and those below them, or those who hope to marry into them. The show does not do anything with economic class; you rarely ever even see a servant.

There was a blurring of the difference between London and the countryside. Wealthy aristocrats and landed gentry would come from their country estates to London, and often they had property in London where they would stay, but they would also have to find a place to rent for the season. The geography seems smaller on the show; they make it look like you can just go out on a hunt from London.

The historical depictions of the king and queen in Bridgerton? Are any other Bridgerton characters based on real people?

Fiction.There's this dance between the books and the show, and I think the goal is to have one season for every book, so it would take place between 1811 and 1827. The beginning is when George III no longer could rule, so his son, George IV, who would eventually come to rule, became a regent.

Queen Charlotte is obviously real, but isn't really quite adequately represented. For example, Lady Danbury was her main lady-in-waiting in the show, but Charlotte brought girls from her youth in Germany with her to be in her court.

Interestingly, the Mr. Mondrich character-the boxer turned club owner turned noble-is based on Bill Richmond, a formerly enslaved man who became a famous boxer. They played around with his name and his trajectory… he was kind of famous and part of his fan base were from high society.

Is the Pall-Mall game real?

Fact. Pall-mall is a real game! Although, it was more popular before the time show is situated in by about 50-100 years and it was popular in France and in Italy. Pall Mall in St. James Palace is the setting of the game because it required a really long, broad alley to be played. It's closest to the game croquet and cricket developed somewhat later.

Did gossip papers actually exist like Lady Whistledown's Society Papers?

Bridgerton characters, Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton. Photo by Netflix. Fact. There were cartoons that were incredibly explicit and often political in France. There were also these things called broadsides, print posters with a design or a cartoon or something at the top, and they were very satirical commentary. They would be posted on trees and the streets, and they were a pretty popular way of informing the public about whatever.

There were also a lot of newspapers with information about the aristocracy in gossip form. Maybe something like that could happen, but it would be pretty hard to have one person who just spoke to the whole season like Whistledown, though I could see something like that happening more in areas outside of London.

The depiction of ritual of courtship in the Regency Era?

Both.There was a concept called the London season from the spring through the summer where you had debutantes and their first year being presented was the most important. Courtship was also much more regulated, which is not to say that extramarital, extra parentally approved sex didn't happen, but the overall tone and Queen Charlotte's involvement in everything is a fantasy.

What about the style aesthetics such as extravagant hairdos and acrylic nails?

Fiction. The styles are very deliberately exaggerated and over the top. The colors of the costumes differ from reality because they're way brighter and more in your face in a way. In France, however, that kind of over-the-top hair was associated with Marie Antoinette. This is an age of enormous satire which was publicized. So, I associate that kind of style going farther in France.

For the Penelope character, what's most striking is that she just lets her long red hair speak for itself in what would normally be put up into a bun. The little curls, that may be one of these not- so-subliminal messages to appeal to young people today.

But the character Cressida, for example, is the only young character who goes into the extravagant hairstyle similar to the Queen Charlotte character, and [the real] Queen Charlotte didn't have a small zoo inside her wigs. Cressida's hair showed that she is more flamboyant than the other young characters.

The depiction of technological displays such as hot air balloons and the extravagant balls?

Both. Hot air balloons are credible; they were around during this era.

There were balls regularly during the Regency Era and they would chalk the floors with quite elaborate designs, although it had a practical purpose so that people didn't slip on waxed floors. So, what might be a very lovely, elaborate, design would be rubbed out and disappear by the end of the night.

Also, a lot of the balls took place in what are called assembly rooms as opposed to the show where they were always at somebody's home.

How does the show's diverse cast mark accuracy in England's relationships with other countries and/or a departure from the English Regency-era?

Fiction. The show starts in 1811 and the slave trade in Britain ended in 1807, so there were 10,000 to 20,000 people of African descent in Britain at the time. One writer [in an interview] said it's the elephant in the room as many were formerly enslaved in the colonies and fought with the British against the colonists.

So, creating a Britain that has a spectrum of people of color is realistic. It was a different approach to linking the present in the past, but it's much more serious as an inaccuracy than a hairdo or Whistledown papers.