How ‘Bridgerton’ Author Julia Quinn Teamed With Shonda Rhimes to Go Beyond Series for ‘Queen Charlotte’ Book

[This story contains spoilers from the Queen Charlotte book by Julia Quinn and Shonda Rhimes.]

In Queen Charlotte (Avon Books), out Tuesday, co-author Julia Quinn tells the origin story of Bridgerton’s Queen Charlotte and her love story with King George III.

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Quinn, who wrote nine books for her Bridgerton series, says working on this novel was significantly different because she had a collaborator in Bridgerton show creator Shonda Rhimes. “The fact that it says ‘By Julia Quinn and Shonda Rhimes’ still kind of blows my mind,” the author tells The Hollywood Reporter of the novel.

And after learning that there was interest in a Queen Charlotte spinoff series, Quinn admits she “couldn’t believe it.”

“It was amazing enough that my books were adapted for television, and then it was even more amazing that they did so well, but to have a spinoff? I was like, ‘Oh my God,'” she recalls.

While at the world premiere of the second season of Bridgerton — which marked the first time she met Rhimes in person given the series filmed and premiered amid the pandemic — Quinn first expressed an interest in writing a novel version of Queen Charlotte. She would later learn that Rhimes had already “been independently thinking the same thing.”

“Then a few months later I heard from her book agent and it was full steam ahead,” the Bridgerton creator tells THR.

Writing the book required a quick turnaround to coincide with the show’s premiere but resulted in a different experience for the seasoned author who now had Rhimes’ vision and finished scripts to build from.

“I had never done any type of writing where I had source material before and especially to have source material that’s in a very specific structure,” Quinn says. “So what you really have to do is break down the architecture of a television script and then figure out how to put the pieces back together as a novel. To somebody like me who loves puzzles, it is really fun.”

Queen Charlotte is portrayed by Golda Rosheuvel in the Netflix series, but the character didn’t originate in the Bridgerton books, giving Quinn the chance to deliver a story that goes beyond the series and — in true Bridgerton fashion — builds an in-depth romance. The book also dives into the earlier years of Queen Charlotte’s relationship with Lady Agatha Danbury, as well as the union between Queen Charlotte’s secretary Brimsley and King George’s right-hand man Reynolds.

Though Queen Charlotte the series alternates between showing Charlotte as both a young woman and older royal in the Bridgerton-era, the book takes place only in the past. Using Rhimes’ scripts for the six-episode Netflix series, Quinn says she was able to flesh out Charlotte’s early years as a royal, adding new dialogue and more thoroughly explore the internal thoughts of the characters. The author cites Charlotte and George’s wedding as an example of when she was able to add more conversations, while their meet-cute remains entirely from the series. “It was just so perfect. It didn’t need anything,” she says.

Given Queen Charlotte and King George are real people, Quinn was also able to incorporate elements from her early research of the two into the book, such as Charlotte’s German background and George’s love of science. As for Charlotte and George’s relationship, Quinn hopes that the book feels “like you’re reading a romance novel” one can get lost in, while offering readers a chance to learn why Charlotte is “willing to take this leap” with George. Especially as, Quinn notes, “in the back of her mind, she’s worried about what might happen to him” amid his health struggles and the brutal, antiquated therapies he turns to in an attempt to treat it.

“You can just see the love. It’s different for me because when I write a romance novel, it’s always like, ‘They’re going to have this happily ever after and everything’s going to be great.’ It’s a little bittersweet because we all know, not just from the show but from history, what happens. This is looking at a very specific period of time, just about a year or so before things started falling apart for him health-wise,” she explains.

While Charlotte and George’s relationship may face hurdles, for the author, their love is pure and everlasting. Throughout the story, Quinn aimed to simultaneously capture that “period of great love and happiness” and offer an understanding for readers that what drives Queen Charlotte when she’s older is “the way that she sees her husband and loves him so much, even though he’s really not there for her anymore.”

Another relationship explored in the book is between Brimsley and Reynolds, both the constants for Queen Charlotte and King George, respectively. It’s a romance Quinn describes as “new and fun” for her to delve into.

“Even though I hadn’t written a gay romance before, I have written romances where for some reason it’s not accepted by society,” Quinn says. “I think it’s a similar sense of longing, of wanting to be with a person that society says you can’t be with in that way. In the end, yeah maybe they’re two men, but they’re two people and they’re in love. It was just lovely to write them sort of finding each other and also to show all the ways in that it’s totally the same as anything else.”

Both the story and series offer not only an intimate portrait of Charlotte as she navigates her new role as queen while caring for her husband, but also the experience of a young woman of color who spearheads a societal shift, frequently referred to as the “great experiment.”

To go in-depth on the importance of Charlotte’s race and gender during this time, Quinn explains how she leaned into Rhimes’ storytelling and tone: “I really was following her lead there. Another thing to remember, too, about Charlotte — and this was Shonda’s idea — is that when Charlotte gets there, she doesn’t even realize that there’s something revolutionary about that. … It’s really just trying to get that sense of finding your place in a society that has not been historically made room for you.”

The Netflix series adaptation of Bridgerton reflects a much more diverse representation of the time period — and one that is also not present in Quinn’s original books. When asked how writing Queen Charlotte might affect the stories she pens moving forward, the author says she isn’t sure but reiterates she’ll continue to amplify voices wherever she can.

“On my Facebook page, I recommend a historical romance once a week. They’re not all by women of color, but I’m very purposeful in seeking out books by women of color where I can because I think they’re not getting the spotlight that they deserve. Romances written by white women like me, we haven’t had any problem getting the shelf space. You’ll find them in the bookstore. But the books written by women of color have historically been really cut off at the knees by both publishing and the bookstores. I’ve been really trying to showcase that wherever I can.”

The Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story Netflix series, which premiered on May 4, stars India Ria Amarteifio in the titular role with Corey Mylchrees starring as King George. Though an expansion of Bridgerton universe, a third season of Bridgerton is also underway with the story set to focus on Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) and Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton). It’s a departure from the book’s order, which — had it been followed in the series — would have seen Benedict’s love story next.

“A lot of readers were really upset about it,” Quinn says. “Someone got mad at me for allowing it. I’m like, ‘OK, I don’t know how much power you think I have.'”

But after asking the show’s team if they were sure about switching the order, especially given “readers really love Benedict,” Quinn says their explanation “made sense.”

“I’m like, ‘Go for it!'” she notes of her own shift in thinking about the decision. “I try to remind people once these characters have their season, you see a lot less of them. So, if you love Benedict, the fact that he got moved back means we just get to see more of him.”

Now, as Quinn prepares for Queen Charlotte to hit shelves, she admits that despite seeing her works come to life already through the series, working on this book helped her gain a newfound appreciation for the process of taking a book to the screen. She also hints that in terms of future spinoff books, she’s up for it, citing Lady and Lord Featherington as examples of characters that could be fun to explore. “I had a pretty healthy respect for the adaptation process before,” she tells THR. “Now I have even more respect, having had to go backwards.”

Quinn also hopes that through this process everyone sees “how complex these characters’ lives are. And maybe see how we never know what’s going on in somebody’s private life.”

“You see the Queen — Shonda calls her the Beyoncé of the Bridgerton world — and she’s got everything. Well now you see she’s got everything, but she’s got this heartbreak, too. I hope [readers] will take away this kind of expanded understanding of everything and just get a richer, full multimedia experience.”

Queen Charlotte is available at bookstores now. And the Netflix series Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story is now streaming.

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