From New York Times bestselling author Julia Quinn comes the first novel in
the beloved Regency-set world of her charming, powerful Bridgerton family,
now a series created by Shonda Rhimes for Netflix. In the ballrooms and
drawing rooms of Regency London, rules abound. From their earliest days,
children of aristocrats learn how to address an earl and curtsey before a
prince--while other dictates of the ton are unspoken yet universally
understood. A proper duke should be imperious and aloof. A young,
marriageable lady should be amiable...but not too amiable. Daphne
Bridgerton has always failed at the latter. The fourth of eight siblings in
her close-knit family, she has formed friendships with the most eligible
young men in London. Everyone likes Daphne for her kindness and wit. But no
one truly desires her. She is simply too deuced honest for that, too
unwilling to play the romantic games that captivate gentlemen. Amiability
is not a characteristic shared by Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings. Recently
returned to England from abroad, he intends to shun both marriage and
society--just as his callous father shunned Simon throughout his painful
childhood. Yet an encounter with his best friend's sister offers another
option. If Daphne agrees to a fake courtship, Simon can deter the mamas who
parade their daughters before him. Daphne, meanwhile, will see her
prospects and her reputation soar. The plan works like a charm--at first.
But amid the glittering, gossipy, cut-throat world of London's elite, there
is only one certainty: love ignores every rule... This novel includes the
2nd epilogue, a peek at the story after the story.