Bridgerton B2

Left: the Bridgertons (from left): Hyacinth (Florence Hunt), Colin (Luke Newton), Lady Violet (Ruth Gemmell), Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor), Eloise (Claudia Jessie), Benedict (Luke Thompson), Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) and Gregory (Will Tilston).

UPPER INTERMEDIATE

B2

ON CD 3

GLAMOUR AND DIVERSITY Bridgerton

GLOSSARY

1 to thrill: entusiasmar 2 tales: relatos 3 lust: lujuria 4 betrayal: traición 5 wealthy: adineradas 6 acquaintances: conocidos 7 flamboyant: extravagantes 8 to struggle: tener dificultades, lidiar 9 late: difunto 10 to reach: alcanzar 11 eligible: apto 12 bachelors: solteros 13 suitor: pretendiente 14 averse: contrario 15 dashing: galante 16 fed up: harto 17 to urge: apremiar 18 deal: acuerdo 19 novel: novedosa Intrigas, glamour y sexo en la alta sociedad de un fastuoso Londres de principios del siglo XIX (aunque con unas cuantas licencias históricas) son los ingredientes de la serie del momento.

Bridgerton is the hit Netflix series that thrilled1 global viewers with its tales2 of love, lust3, scandal and betrayal4 in high-society Regency London. Created by Chris Van Dusen and Shonda Rhimes, the American producer behind How to Get Away with Murder and Grey’s Anatomy, Bridgerton is set in the early 19th century but celebrates 21st-century diversity and attitudes.

HIGH SOCIETY

The series is based on the historical romance novels by the best-selling author Julia Quinn, and centres on the activities and intrigues of the wealthy5 Bridgerton family and their acquaintances6, the flamboyant7 Featheringtons. While Anthony, the oldest Bridgerton child, struggles8 with the responsibilities of his late9 father, his sister Daphne has reached10 the age when she must marry. As a debutante, she sets out at the start of the social season to meet eligible11 bachelors12; however, finding a desirable suitor13 is not as easy as it seems, particularly when her brother seems averse14 to everyone. Enter the dashing15 Duke of Hastings, Simon Basset, a man fed up16 of being urged17 to marry. He makes a deal18 with Daphne

SPEAK UP Explains

Lady Whistledown has the pen power to make or break any reputation. Lady Whistledown tiene el poder de crear o destruir cualquier

reputación con su pluma. El verbo to whistle significa literalmente ‘silbar’. Así, si bien no se explicita en la serie, es razonable deducir que el o la periodista que propaga ‘chismes’ (gossip) sobre la alta sociedad londinense ha elegido este nombre a partir de la frase hecha “to whistle someone down the wind”, literalmente ‘silbar o soplar a alguien para que se lo lleve el viento’, y que puede traducirse como ‘calumniar’ o ‘difamar’ (to slander o to defame). Tal es el poder de su ‘pluma’.

Left: Simon Basset (RegéJean Page) with Daphne and Anthony (far right). This page: Jonathan Bailey as Anthony Bridgerton and Regé-Jean Page as Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings. Below: Queen Charlotte played by Golda Rosheuvel.

GLOSSARY

to increase her desirability by pretending that he is interested in her. The subterfuge works, but the results are unexpected!

HOT GOSSIP

While Bridgerton sounds like conventional material, it is novel19 for its 21st-century style: some 7,500 items of clothing, from stunning20 dresses and corsets to ornate waistcoats21 and cravats22, were inspired by modern fashion icons Christian Dior and Chanel. Listen carefully, and you will recognise classical covers of modern songs by Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande. And the attitudes are far from antiquated: the defiant Eloise Bridgerton asks why women are treated like cattle23 , the sex scenes are hardly24prudish25, and an anonymous gossip columnist known as Lady Whistledown has the pen power to make or break any reputation.

EQUAL RESPECT

Most notable, though, is the diversity of the cast, more in line with modern high society London than that of the 19th century. Back then26, people built their wealth on slavery27 and few non-whites were respected figures. The prominence of black actors in Bridgerton has received much praise28 and, although the show has been admonished for airbrushing29 the realities of the past, millions of fans worldwide have delighted30 in the equal status accorded to black glamour, romance and power on screen.

20 stunning: deslumbrantes 21 waistcoats: chalecos 22 cravats: pañuelo 23 cattle: ganado 24 hardly: a penas 25 prudish: mojigato 26 back then: por entonces 27 slavery: sclavitud 28 praise: alabanzas 29 airbrushing: retocar 30 to delight: deleitar 31 to take over: hacerse con el poder 32 to go mad: enloquecer 33 royal: miembro de la realeza 34 mixed race: mestiza 35 descent: ascendencia

QUEEN CHARLOTTE

The Regency refers to the period of rule of George IV, who took over31 from his father George III when the king went mad32 . Queen Charlotte, one of the most memorable figures in Bridgerton, is based on a real royal33 who historians believe to have been mixed race34. The wife of George III, Charlotte, was of German descent35 but also descended from the Portuguese royal family, which may have had African origins. This has interesting implications for the rest of the British royal family, from Queen Victoria to Prince Harry.