First Comes Scandal

Georgiana Bridgerton isn’t against the idea of marriage. She’d just thought she’d have some say in the matter. But with her reputation hanging by a thread after she’s abducted for her dowry, Georgie is given two options: live out her life as a spinster or marry the rogue who has ruined her life.

As the fourth son of an earl, Nicholas Rokesby is prepared to chart his own course. He has a life in Edinburgh, where he’s close to completing his medical studies, and he has no time—or interest—to find a wife. But when he discovers that Georgie Bridgerton—his literal girl-next-door—is facing ruin, he knows what he must do.

A Marriage of Convenience

It might not have been the most romantic of proposals, but Nicholas never thought she’d say no. Georgie doesn’t want to be anyone’s sacrifice, and besides, they could never think of each other as anything more than childhood friends… or could they?

But as they embark upon their unorthodox courtship they discover a new twist to the age-old rhyme. First comes scandal, then comes marriage. But after that comes love…

There were Bridgertons before the eight alphabetically named siblings. In the fourth of the Bridgerton prequel series, following The Other Miss Bridgerton, we go back to where it all began. . . from #1 New York Times bestselling author Julia Quinn

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Inside the Story:
JQ’s Author Notes

"Their classes, which were taken separately, were graded differently to the men even though the lectures were identical, resulting in diminished scholarship opportunities. The everyday jealousy the male students exhibited was vile. The men made life as difficult as possible for the Edinburgh Seven, shutting doors in their faces, howling at them and behaving aggressively. Events came to a head at their anatomy exam, when several hundred male students pelted the women with mud and other objects as they arrived. The women struggled through the crowd until a supporter unbolted a door to hurry them inside. During the exam the rioters shoved a live sheep into the hall, causing further chaos."

In 1873, however, the university ruled that it should never have admitted the women in the first place and declined to grant them diplomas, despite the fact that they had studied for four years. The University of Edinburgh did now allow women to graduate with any sort of degree until 1894. The first women doctors graduated in 1896. And in 2019, on the 150th anniversary of the matriculation of the Edinburgh Seven, the University of Edinburgh granted honorary degrees to all seven women.

  • The Dr. Monro who was giving the medical lecture at the end of the book was Alexander Monro, a noted Scottish physician, anatomist, and medical educator. He was but one of three Alexander Monros, the other two being his father and son. Together, these three generations of Monros held the Edinburgh University Chair of Anatomy for 126 consecutive years. Although it is impossible to know how Dr. Monro might have treated an asthmatic attack in the late 18th century, my research indicates that bloodletting would have been a likely course of action.