Featuring contemporary letters, newspapers and memoirs, The Real Bridgerton opens the bedcurtains on a century where nothing was out of bounds. As millions of viewers across the globe thrill to the assembly room exploits of the Bridgerton family and wait with bated breath for Lady Whistledown's latest despatch from Almack's, scandal has never been so delicious. In a world where appearances were everything and gossip was currency, everyone had their price. From a divorce case that hinged on a public demonstration of masturbation to the irresistible exploits of the New Female Coterie, via the Prince Regent's dropped drawers and Lady Hamilton's diaphanous unmentionables, The Real Bridgerton pulls back the sheets on the eighteenth century's most outrageous scandals. Within these pages Lord Byron meets his match, the richest commoner in England falls for a swindler with a heart of stone, and forbidden love between half-siblings leaves a wife and her children reeling. Behind the headlines and the breathless whispers in Regency ballrooms were real people living real lives in a tumultuous, unforgiving era. The fall from the very pinnacle of society to the gutter could be as quick as it was brutal. If you thought that Bridgerton was as shocking as the Georgians got, it's time to think again. AUTHOR: Catherine Curzon is a historian of the 18th century. Catherine's first play, Being Mr Wickham, premiered to sell-out audiences in 2019. An internationally acclaimed livestream in 2021 was followed by a UK tour, starring co-writer Adrian Lukis. She has spoken at venues including Kenwood House, Wellington College, the Royal Pavilion, the National Maritime Museum, and Dr Johnson's House. Her work has been featured online by Vanity Fair, BBC News, BBC History Extra and the Daily Express, and in publications including All About History, Who Do You Think You Are?, and Jane Austen's Regency World. Further afield, her expertise has been featured by Town & Country, Elle Australia, and Der Bund, among others. Catherine holds a Master's degree in Film. She lives in Yorkshire atop a ludicrously steep hill with a rakish gent, a relaxed cat, and an excitable dog. She writes for Orion as Ellie Curzon. 16 b/w illustrations
