'My husband gave me a pendant full of melted snow from the top of Everest': Bridgerton's Julia Quinn on romantic gestures and her consuming passions

‘I feel like most of the [literary] canon is depressing,’ says Julia Quinn. ‘I want to write really well-written entertainment.’ As the mind behind Bridgerton, I’d say she’s done just that. The author’s novels have been translated into 41 languages and been New York Times and Sunday Times bestsellers. Among them, of course, is the series which follows the aristocratic Bridgerton family, with a Netflix adaptation now in its fourth series.

She is jet-lagged when we speak. Just home from Sri Lanka and about to hop aboard another plane to the UK — such has been the success of Bridgerton, 26 years after Julia published the first installment, The Duke and I. ‘I wrote it in the year 2000 when I had a newborn,’ says Julia. ‘I’m an empty nester now.’

The last time she was in the UK she met two queens — Queen Camilla and Dame Jilly Cooper, the UK's queen of romance novels and author of The Rutshire Chronicles, who sadly died last year. ‘She was absolutely lovely,’ Julia says, ‘and honestly so delighted to hear somebody share an experience of reading one of her books. It clearly hadn’t gotten old for her.’ Julia, I think, is America’s answer to Jilly.

The latest series of Bridgerton is based on her novel An Offer from a Gentleman, which follows the second Bridgerton brother, Benedict, as he falls in love with a maid, Sophie Beckett. In the series, Sophie’s surname has been changed to Baek, to reflect her East Asian casting. Colour-conscious casting has been a large staple of the show, produced by Shondaland. ‘The casting is so good,’ says Julia. ‘I realise now that I picture all the characters like the actors… I'm also learning that it is very important to let everybody see themselves in a story about joy, about happiness, and I think that the way that the people at Shondaland managed to craft this universe that they built is brilliant. I never thought of doing it that way.’

‘Quinn’, just a stone's throw away from the ‘quill’ Bridgerton’s beloved Lady Whistledown uses, is Julia’s pen name. Julie Pottinger, now in her 50s, was born Julie Cotler in 1970 and raised in New England, in the USA. The middle child of three girls, Julia was a bookish child. Her first trip outside of America was in 1987, during her gap year, where she spent six-months at an all girls’ school in Gloucestershire, and sometimes visited Bath. She described it as ‘very romantic’. She attended Harvard University and achieved a bachelor’s degree in History of Art, but originally decided to be a doctor. It was two months into her studies at the Yale School of Medicine when she decided to drop out and commit to being a full-time author. She lives in Seattle, Washington, and is married with two grown-up children. Her husband, Paul Pottinger, is a specialist in infectious diseases.

Julia is outspoken when it comes to politics, but would never criticise other writers for not speaking out, as she knows it can jeopardise people’s careers in the creative industry. ‘I’m very fortunate. I'm in a position where, if thousands of people decide they don't like me because I speak out about something, I'm okay with them leaving.’ She adds: ‘[George Orwell novels] are basically happening in my country right now. I feel like I apologise to every foreigner I meet, and say: “I didn’t vote for this. It’s horrifying. Don’t come to the United States right now. It isn’t safe for you”.’

The author has just launched a book subscription service, JQ Editions, which supplies custom editions of historical romance novels selected by Julia, for anyone still desperate for their Bridgerton fix after bingeing the remainder of this series on Netflix.

Your aesthetic hero

You know, the first person who comes to mind is Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden. She seems like a truly kind person who's hard working and does her job and cares about people. I don't know why she comes up first, but I think she's kind of the model of what a monarchy could really be to support a country. My other hero is Gloria Steinem — who is one of the smartest, most thoughtful people I know. I've known her for many years, and when you hear her speak, you can't believe anybody would ever disagree with her, because she makes so much sense. She's just a remarkable person.

A book that has really inspired you

Lost in Place: Growing Up Absurd in Suburbia by Mark Salzman. It’s a memoir and he actually grew up in my hometown. He’s a bit older than I am, so it's not quite the same experience, but that's really how I discovered it. It was just super inspiring, because it's a great book, but also for me, there's that extra connection of it being my hometown. I've given it to many, many people, and I don't think it's very well known.

The last thing of note that you bought yourself

My husband and I totally splurged and went on a National Geographic expedition cruise to Antarctica. I saw hundreds of thousands of penguins and it was just incredible. The ship was wonderful. It was a three week cruise and I've never done anything for three weeks before, travel wise — my husband took leave from work. Also, it's a very self-selecting group of people who want to go on a trip like that, so the people who were on the cruise were super interesting and nice as well. It was just great. I think I'm more about spending money on experiences than things. That's what I would rather do.

A possession you’d never sell

Again, I’m not so much about things, so it’s a little difficult.

The items you collect

Books are really the first thing that come to mind. I also always keep an eye out for memorabilia that says 7 Up on it. My grandfather owned a 7 Up bottling plant, so that was a big part of my childhood.

An exhibition that has really impressed you

Pretty recently I saw Yayoi Kusama at the Seattle Art Museum — that’s the most recent one that really sticks in my memory.

The music you work to

It's funny, when I'm writing I often write in a café, and I have no trouble, whatever music they're playing. But if I'm working at home where there isn't ambient noise, I can only work to music without words, so I can't really explain that. I mean, I am a Swifty. I do like Taylor Swift a lot. I also love The Beatles — my tastes are really quite eclectic.

Your favourite painting

I mean, it’s like everybody’s favourite painting, but A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat.

The most recent podcast you listened to

I'm not a huge podcast listener. Actually, the last podcast that I listened to, to be completely frank, was The New York Times’ Book Review podcast interview with me. I just listened to that. Is that okay to say? In terms of the last one I listened to that doesn't have me in it, that would be Pod Save America — which is a political one with a lot of profanity.

The person that would play you in a film of your life

Oh, I don't know. I can't do that one. I mean, then again, Anthony Fauci said he wanted Brad Pitt, and he got Brad Pitt playing him on Saturday Night Live, which was kind of awesome. I’ve never even been able to dream cast my books, like a lot of authors do, so I would never know how to cast me. There are two actresses that people say look like me. One is Mary-Louise Parker, although she's quite a bit taller, and then some people say Claire Foy, which I don't see, but which I take as a huge compliment.

What you’d take with you to a desert island

An eReader with a whole lot of books on it, and a power source.

The thing that gets you up in the morning

Coffee. And, it’s funny, because I'm an empty nester now, so, what do I have to do? It was a tough adjustment for me to have them gone. I miss them a lot. You know, everyone's always saying: ‘Oh, my kids moved back in.’ I would love it if my kids moved back in. I really like my kids, but I don't think they want to. So that's okay. Now, every morning, each day is different. So what gets me up in the morning is probably checking the news, answering my emails.

A hotel you could go back and back to

The Lanesborough in London. They do the Bridgerton high tea there and it is so lovely. There’s also a cat who lives there called Lilibet, I think she’s orange.

The most memorable meal you’ve ever had

Probably an Omakase sushi meal, you know, where you just get what you get. I think that's kind of fun — the surprise of it all — and I love sushi.

The best present you’ve ever received

My husband, for our 25th anniversary, gave me a necklace that had a pendant on it, which was actually like a little flask, and he put melted snow from the top of Mount Everest in. He had reached the summit in 2016 and he held on to it until five years later. I think he’s much more romantic than I am. But my kids got me really nice fuzzy North Face slippers this year, so I’m going to say they’re up there too.

The Deluxe Collector’s Editions of the first three Bridgerton titles – The Duke and I, The Viscount Who Loved Me and An Offer From A Gentleman – are published by Piatkus in hardback on 3 March