Romance is a genre that has a complicated rep. Bridgerton author Julia Quinn never dreamed her Regency-era romance novels would become a global phenomenon, but the hit Netflix adaptation opened up the genre to an entire new audience. Turns out, we could all use a little more love, connection, happiness... a little more romance in our lives. Quinn spoke with Tudum and shared her hopes for the genre in her own words.

After Bridgerton Season 1 came out, all of a sudden there were people who were like, “Wow! That made me feel so good! I feel warm and fuzzy and happy. I was swept up in it! I wonder if there’s anything else out there that can give me these feelings.” And the giant roar you heard was a thousand romance authors being like, “Hey! We’re here! Our stories are here! We’ve been doing this for decades!”

Romance is huge. It’s one of the biggest genres. [Yet] there are people who never think to try a romance novel. There are a lot of people who would never think to go to that section in the book store. When you reach the edge of your balloon as a romance author, there’s only so much air you can get, only so much success. Within the genre of historical romance, [my books] were very popular, but I never thought my books would [be where they are now] because it never occurred to me that anything would be capable of bursting that balloon.

I’m not surprised that Shonda Rhimes was able to see the potential. Because, well, she’s Shonda Rhimes. She’s so smart! She was able to see the story and see from a business standpoint that there’s a huge built-in audience for my books and the genre as a whole. There’s nothing quite like it. So when Shondaland called to ask if the books were available, I was like, “Is that a trick question?” No one was optioning historical romance, and if they were going to do a period piece with romance, they were going to adapt Jane Austen for the 48th time. Before Shondaland came knocking on my door, there was no reason to think anyone in Hollywood would do anything other than laugh. 

I feel like a TV infomercial when I say, “I never thought it would happen to me,” but I really never thought it would happen for anyone in my genre. I just didn’t dream that big. It’s really hard to break out of that, and that’s what the Netflix adaptation did; it helped burst that balloon. Romance novels like Bridgerton would never have done what they’re doing right now without the Netflix show; there’s just no way to introduce the genre to that much of the world. 

But now that it has, you can see all the reasons why it did. 

Romance and love are universal. That’s one of the reasons the show’s so popular. That’s a theme that, for better or worse, isn’t really part of the narratives that have dominated us for so long. Our society tends to elevate and praise art, media and entertainment that doesn’t necessarily model happiness as a goal. I’m not putting any of that down. I just finished Inventing Anna and I loved it. But we don’t have enough things that say the journey toward happiness and love is just as important as a hero’s quest. 

The show also came out at a time when we were all so starved for human connection. I’d like to think people would’ve still loved it anyway, but it gave us something we were craving at the time. 

Romance novels are all about the happy ending. And the truth is that’s what we all want in life. Isn’t the human quest the happy ending? But if you’re going to have a genre that’s all about love and happy endings, then let everybody see themselves in the story. Part of the reason [the Netflix series] is so popular is because so many different kinds of people could see themselves in the story. Over the last five years, the romance genre has exploded with diversity and inclusiveness. Is it where it needs to be? No. But it has changed dramatically, and we’re seeing a lot more of it. For so long, people couldn’t see themselves in the happy endings we’re given on screen. That’s what the Netflix show is doing for so many people: just letting them see themselves in the story, in the glamor, in the happy ending.

I think [society] tends to minimize the importance of things we define as feminine. Romance novels are written almost primarily by women. They’re read almost primarily by women. They’re edited almost exclusively by women. So you have a lot of men saying, “Well, that’s women’s stuff.” And we live in a society that tells us women’s stuff isn’t that important. It’s sexism. We’re trained to look down on things that are primarily for women.

I’m hoping that the Bridgerton series can be a gateway for people to discover other romance authors. There are so many other great authors. For more historical romance, there’s Tessa Dare and Julie Anne Long. I read Evie Dunmore. There’s an author named Alexa Martin who wrote a series of books that are set in the NFL. She really knows what she’s talking about because her husband was an NFL player for eight years. I love her books. I would recommend Vanessa Riley, whose book Island Queen is being adapted for TV by Julie Anne Robinson, who directed the Bridgerton pilot. Adjoa Andoh, who plays Lady Danbury, is one of the show’s executive producers. I also recommend a historical romance every Monday on my Facebook page.

There’s this great quote by Nancy Pearl, the nation’s greatest librarian, where she says, “Literary fiction is always judged by the best examples of it, and romance is always judged by the worst.” People pass romance by because we’re trained to think that reading for entertainment isn’t important. Yes, books should be educational, but they should also be joyful. There’s room for reading with pure joy. I’m not writing books that are designed to be studied. I’m writing books that are meant to entertain, and I want to do it very well. 

I’m hoping people keep reading it. 

I hope people give it a chance.

This interview was edited for length and clarity.

As told to Jolie A. Doggett