With sales surging since 2020, romance novels are having a moment, and Julia Quinn is here for it.
The author of the steamy stories on which the Netflix series Bridgerton is based credits passionate fans on social media for rekindling the genre’s resurgence—more than the so-called “Bridgerton effect,” although the show has inspired an interest in “regency-core” fashion and home décor since it premiered on the streaming service in late 2020. All three seasons remain on Netflix’s list of its Top 10 Most Popular Shows, and Season 4 is coming in 2026.
“Social media has always been this great way for people to connect with other book lovers,” says Quinn, 55. “It really resonates with me because before I was published…I had nobody to talk to about romance books. I didn’t know anybody else who was reading them, or I didn’t know that they were reading them, and I had no way to get information because they weren’t reviewed anywhere.”
The author of about 30 historical romance novels spoke on the eve of Valentine’s Day at Kenmore Middle School, kicking off Arlington Public Library’s 2025 Arlington Reads author talk series. This year’s theme is “Share the Love.”
One of Quinn’s biggest challenges as a writer of historical romance—books based on bygone eras but not necessarily historically accurate—is incorporating modern themes. For instance, she says, the leading men in contemporary romance novels seek consent before touching their love interests. That consideration was less common in the past.
“It’s a little bit difficult when you’re writing these historical characters,” she says. “I’m not going to be perfectly, 100% historically accurate, but I do want you to have that feel. I don’t want to write completely modern characters and plug them in history because that’s also not fun.”
She points to three types of historical novels: those with actual historical figures as the main characters; those with fictional characters but factual historical settings; and those that are wholly fictional but with a historical flair.
“I have very, very few real historical figures who show up in my books…. It’s called costume drama, where basically everybody’s made up, but they’re in a real milieu,” Quinn says. “It means I don’t have to do the same level of historical research as somebody is doing [for] the two other types of books, and so I rarely have to look up something before I begin.”
Still, fact-checking questions arise in the writing process. “In It’s in His Kiss (the seventh Bridgerton novel) Gareth, the hero, makes a joke about Little Bo Peep,” she says. “Then it occurred to me: ‘Oh my gosh, what’s the earliest known reference of Little Bo Peep? I don’t know. It turns out it’s in Shakespeare, so I’m good.’”
When Shonda Rhimes, founder of the Shondaland TV production company (Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder), approached Quinn about adapting the series for the little screen, the author jumped at the chance, even though it meant giving up creative control of her stories. “I knew that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” she recalls. “I had never dreamed something like this would happen.”
The result has been a learning experience for her. “When I wrote them, I didn’t ever actually say that all the characters were white, but it’s implied,” Quinn says of the Bridgerton books. “It didn’t occur to me that they weren’t.”
Rhimes’ reinterpretation of the characters gave the stories a fresh edge. “I love that they’ve instead flipped that world on the head,” Quinn says. “I was never setting out to write a history lesson. Shondaland was never setting out to show a history lesson. And if the choice is pure historical accuracy versus more people being able to see themselves in a happy ending, I’m all for more people being able to see themselves in the happy ending.”
The next authors in this year’s Arlington Reads series are Curtis Sittenfeld (April 10), Casey McQuiston (Aug. 14), and David and Nicola Yoon (Nov. 6).