Quinn's Colin Bridgerton: Imperfect Yet Lovable

My comments are based on the book, not the Netflix show. I watched the first two Bridgerton seasons and enjoyed them. And I will likely watch the later seasons if they ever show up in the library. But I don't have enough interest that I would pick up another streaming service right now. 

Romancing Mr. Bridgerton is one of my favorite Quinn books, in part because it is about writing. In fact, I use a passage from the book to teach description to my students, specifically the passage about sensory adjectives and similes when Penelope discusses Colin's diary with him. 

Both Penelope and Colin are strong characters. I am praising Colin here because Quinn makes him imperfect yet entirely lovable and that achievement is admirable. 

Colin is the third oldest son. He travels quite a lot, being somewhat at loose ends as was typical of young men of that time period and class--those whose parents weren't pushing them towards the military or church. He is whimsical and kind-hearted. He also carries about him a kind of observer's distance. He gets on well with his family yet he seems to hold onto the role of outsider. 

When he discovers Penelope's secret--that she is writing columns under a pseudonym for a society page--he is at first alarmed. He is also jealous.

My image of Colin--personality-wise.

Penelope won't give up her craft, and she treats it and refers to it as a craft. She has been writing the pieces for years and has steadily honed her skills. The pieces are lightweight but as anyone who has tried comedy writing versus drama writing can attest, comedy writing is infinitely more difficult. Short, pithy, and memorable is not the easiest style to pull off. 

And Colin--a travel writer without an audience and at loose ends--covets what she has accomplished. He has to acknowledge how he feels before he can move forward in a relationship with a woman that he finds captivating. 

I think Quinn wisely has Penelope and Colin interested in different types of writing. Penelope is basically a journalist and commentator while Colin is more of a travel writer, Gerald Durrell-style. They can encourage each other rather than compete directly with each other for commissions and fans.