All the major differences between Bridgerton season two and the book it’s based on

Season two of Bridgerton is based on the Julia Quinn novel The Viscount Who Loved Me, the second in her series of Bridgerton books. However, the way season two played out on screen is quite different in parts to what happened in the Bridgerton book it’s based on.

From characters not even existing in the books, to dramatic scene changes and even extra love interests – here are the biggest differences between season two of Bridgerton on Netflix, and the book the show is based on.

via Netflix

The Sharma sisters are called the Sheffield sisters in the book and they are completely different characters

One of the first major differences between season two of Bridgerton on Netflix and the book is that the Sharma sisters are the Sheffield sisters in the book. In the show we briefly hear about the Sharma’s history with the Sheffields, as a nod to the book characters. In the book, the girls aren’t Indian and are described as blonde and pale and living in the English countryside.

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Speaking of the change, producer Shonda Rhimes said: “Making the Sharmas of South Asian descent was actually a very simple choice. I wanted to feel like the world we were living in was as three-dimensional as possible, and I wanted to feel like the representation was as three-dimensional as possible, too. Finding some South Asian women with darker skin and making sure that they were represented on screen authentically and truthfully feels like something that we haven’t seen nearly enough of. I felt like it was time for us to make sure that we were seeing as much as possible.”

Kate is much older in the show

In the show, Kate is 26 and is often shunned for not being married yet. She is 21 in the book.

via Netflix

Mary’s parents and the inheritance is not in the book

A major subplot for the Sharma’s is Mary Sharma being shunned by her parents after she chose to marry for love. However, her parents agree to keep an inheritance for Edwina, for if she marries a man with a title. This doesn’t happen at all in the book.

Lady Danbury isn’t in the book at all!

Lady Danbury literally isn’t in this book at all. She is briefly mentioned as having a ball at the beginning, but isn’t actually in the book as a character. Her main plot in the show revolves around hosting the Sharmas from India, but seeing as this is adapted for the show, it isn’t part of the book.

via Netflix

It is Eloise who sees her father’s death in the book, not Anthony

Episode three of Bridgerton season two is a flashback of Anthony witnessing his father Edmund being stung by a bee and dying. In the book, Anthony and Benedict are out horse-riding when the incident happens, and it is Eloise who witnesses it.

The bee sting scene is *very different*

One of the most tense scenes showing Anthony and Kate’s chemistry in the show is when Kate is stung by a bee and Anthony immediately worries she is about to die – having witnessed his father die from a bee sting. Kate is shocked at his extreme fear and reaction, but in the book it goes so much further. Kate is stung, and Anthony pulls down her bodice and sucks the venom out of her skin. Violet Bridgerton and Lady Featherington both see this happening, and to protect Kate’s reputation, Anthony agrees to marry her then and there.

via Netflix

There is no wedding between Edwina and Anthony in the book, but the book does have a wedding for Kate and Anthony

During the show, we see the failed marriage of Anthony and Edwina, and are just told of the marriage of Kate and Anthony. In the book this is the other way around. Edwina and Anthony’s relationship doesn’t go very far in the book, and there is a wedding for him and Kate.

The Duke makes a brief appearance in the book

Famously, Regé-Jean Page is not in season two of Bridgerton, which is a difference between the Netflix show and the book. In the book, the Duke turns up for the pall mall game between the Bridgerton family and the visiting Sharma sisters.

Eloise doesn’t make her debut in this book

In the first scenes of Bridgerton season two, we see Eloise basically being forced to make her debut onto the wedding market in front of the Queen. However, in the book The Viscount Who Loved Me, Eloise is yet to make her debut.

via Netflix

The Queen isn’t a character in the book

In season two, Queen Charlotte plays a pivotal role – naming Edwina as the diamond and even hosting her and Anthony’s wedding. But, she isn’t in the Bridgerton books.

Edwina has a second love interest in the book

After her failed wedding to Anthony Bridgerton, in the show we hear the Queen briefly hint she has a prince who Edwina may be interested in. But in the book, Edwina has a whole other love interest after Anthony. She ends up falling for a Mr Bagwell who is an archeologist at Oxford.

Kate’s injury at the end of the show is different in the book

At the end of the Netflix series, Kate and Anthony spend a night outside together, before she disappears in the morning on her horse and injures herself falling off. In the book, Kate does suffer an injury – she is crushed by a carriage and this moment helps Anthony see he truly is in love with her.

via Netflix

‘Absolutely nothing is word for word’

Speaking to the Metro, author Julia Quinn admitted that absolutely nothing in Bridgerton season two is word for word with how she wrote the book. “I’ve always said that you could do a masterclass on how to adapt a novel with what they’re doing, because there’s almost nothing that’s word for word or even scene by scene, and yet the characters are absolutely true to who they are in the books and the overall story arc is absolutely true to it,” she said.

Season two of Bridgerton is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, drops, quizzes and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook. 

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