Romancing History: The Past and Present Worlds of Netflix's Bridgerton Series with Dr. Julie Taddeo

Research Education at University Libraries workshops equip researchers with the tools, concepts, and skills needed for every stage of the research lifecycle.

Since it aired in December 2020, Bridgerton has played with history, giving viewers a romanticized version of Regency England-- favoring wisteria clad townhouses, elegant balls, and passionate carriage scenes over the realities of the Napoleonic Wars, industrialization, and the dirty streets of London through which the Ton would maneuver. Everything from the cut of its gowns to the use of color blind and color conscious casting has raised criticisms about Bridgerton's lack of historical "accuracy" and the dangers of ignoring the "ugly bits" of Britain's past, primarily its involvement in the slave trade. The criticisms directed against Bridgerton are part of a long tradition of trivializing genres that cater to women's pleasure.

This talk will dispel any feelings of guilt we have been told to have when we view period dramas and romances like Bridgerton. In addition to pleasure, historical fictions do indeed afford us opportunities to interrogate the past and address our contemporary concerns. Bridgerton's premiere coincided not only with a global pandemic, but protests in the UK by Black Lives Matter activists who demanded the government and Royal family acknowledge the country's history of racism. Bridgerton also reveals the feminist potential of romance fiction, calling attention to the limited choices available to even aristocratic women, the punishment for breaking the rules, consent and sexual violence, the power of gossip, and in a youth and beauty-obsessed culture-- much like our own-- what it means to be an aging woman. Storylines involving neurodivergent and queer characters further flesh out the diversity of Regency society and speak to the diverse demographic of fans who enjoy this series. Engaging with these types of programs, as fans and/or as academics, allows us to make history relevant, entertaining, and accessible to students and audiences beyond the university classroom.

Julie Taddeo is the author of Lytton Strachey and the Search for Modern Sexual Identity (2002) and co-author of Rape in Period Drama Television: Consent, Myth, and Fantasy (2022) and several articles on British modernism, sexuality, and twentieth century popular culture. Her edited collections include Writing Australian History On-screen: Televisions and Film Period Dramas "Down Under" (2023); Diagnosing History: Medicine in Television Period Drama (2022); Conflicting Masculinities: Men in Television Period Drama (2019); Upstairs and Downstairs: British Costume Drama Television from The Forsyte Saga to Downton Abbey (2014); Catherine Cookson Country: On the Borders of Legitimacy, Fiction, and History (2012); The Tube Has Spoken: Reality TV & History (2009); and Steaming into A Victorian Future: A Steampunk Anthology (2012). She has edited a special issue on "Bridgerton" for the Journal of Popular Television (2023) and her current project is an examination of the history of the National Health Service on British Television. She has been interviewed by international news outlets including the BBC and the New York Times and featured in Maryland Today multiple times. Julie is the resident area expert on the Royal family. She also gives public lectures on British history from the Georgians through the twentieth century and uses British popular culture like period drama television to reach audiences beyond the university. One of her interviews on Royal weddings is here.

Her courses specialize in Victorian cultural and social history; Twentieth Century British history taught through the lens of popular culture; Modern British surveys; the History of Britain at War; Victorian Scandal and Crime; and The History of Women in Modern Britain.

Julie Taddeo also serves as Director of the Department of History Undergraduate Internship Program and Faculty Adviser to the History Undergraduate Association (HUA). She is the 2023 recipient of the Provost’s Excellence Award for Research for Professional Track Faculty.