| Julie Cotler Pottinger | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1970 U.S. |
| Pen name | Julia Quinn |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Nationality | America |
| Period | 1994 - present |
| Genres | Romance, historical |
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www.juliaquinn.com |
|
Julia Quinn is the pseudonym used by Julie Pottinger (born Julie Cotler in 1970), a best-selling American historical romance author, who says she chose her pseudonym so her Regency romances would be on bookshelves next to those of the successful romance writer Amanda Quick.[1] Her novels have been translated into thirteen foreign languages,[2] and she has appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List nine times.[3]
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Julie Pottinger was raised primarily in New England, although she spent much time in California after her parents divorced.[2] Even as a small child she devoured books. Her father disagreed with her choices of reading material, Sweet Dreams and the Sweet Valley High books, and told her she could keep reading them only if she could prove that they were good for her. She promptly told him that she was studying them in order to write one herself. Challenged to prove that she meant her statement, Pottinger sat down at their early computer and wrote her first two chapters. After finishing her novel three years later, she submitted it to Sweet Dreams, but was rejected.[4]
Pottinger graduated from Harvard with a degree in Art History. During her senior year of college, she realized that she did not know what she wanted to do with her degree and decided to attend medical school. That decision required her to attend two additional years of college to complete the science prerequisites necessary to apply for medical school.[3]
To occupy herself during the long days of studying science, Pottinger began to write light-hearted Regency romance novels.[1] A few weeks after she was accepted to medical school, she discovered that her first two novels, Splendid and Dancing At Midnight, had been sold at auction, an unusual occurrence for a novice romance author.[5] She postponed medical school for two years while she wrote two more novels.[4]
By the time Pottinger finally entered Yale medical school to realize her dream of being a doctor, three of her books had been published. After only a few short months of studying medicine, however, Pottinger realized that she preferred writing to dissections. She left medical school and devoted herself full-time to her writing.[4]
Pottinger considers herself a feminist and gives her heroines feminist qualities that are not necessarily true to the attitudes of the times her novels are set.[1] Her books are noted for being full of humor, with sharp, witty dialogue.[4] The novels are primarily character-driven, lacking the great external conflicts that many romance novels employ. One of her novels, When He was Wicked, was highly unusual for a romance novel, as the first four chapters actually describe the heroine in a happy marriage with someone who is not the hero, and then shows the death of the original husband and deals with the grief of both the heroine and hero before allowing the second love story to flourish.[5]
Most of her books are dedicated to her husband, Paul Pottinger, often with references to amusing alternate titles for the work. She won the Romance Writers of America RITA Award in 2007 for "On the Way to the Wedding" and in 2008 for "The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever". In 2003, she enjoyed the rare honor of being profiled in Time Magazine, an accomplishment few romance novelists have achieved, and in 2005 Publisher's Weekly gave To Sir Phillip, With Love a rare starred review, and later named it one of the six best mass market original novels of the year.[3] Nine of her novels, An Offer from a Gentleman, Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, To Sir Phillip, With Love, When He Was Wicked, It's In His Kiss, On The Way to the Wedding, The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever, The Lost Duke of Wyndham and Mr. Cavendish, I Presume have appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List. Mr. Cavendish, I Presume was number one on the NY Times list in October 2008.[3]
Pottinger has appeared in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Heartwood, and was a contestant on The Weakest Link.[6] She is an avid reader, posting recommendations of her favorite books on her website.
Pottinger and her husband live in the Pacific Northwest area of the United States.
The Bridgerton family consists of eight siblings and their widowed mother. In the novels, the Bridgertons are well respected and favored among British society. The Bridgertons are an extremely loving and tight-knit clan. The series comprises eight books in which each of the siblings finds true love. Each book is set against the backdrop of upper English society during the period of Regency England.
On the Way to the Wedding, won the Romance Writers of America RITA Award in 2007. In 2002, To Sir Phillip, With Love was named one of the six best mass market original novels of the year by Publishers Weekly. Several books on the series have been on the New York Times bestseller list.
Quinn has published six "second epilogues" for The Viscount Who Loved Me, An Offer From A Gentleman, Romancing Mister Bridgerton, To Sir Phillip, With Love, When He Was Wicked, andIt's In His Kiss. The second epilogues are currently only available as e-books.[8]
According to Quinn, this two-book set was based on the premise "two men say they’re the Duke of Something. One of them must be wrong." Events are concurrent and the plots are intertwined, with some scenes appearing in both books, but from different perspectives.
The witty gossip columnist "Lady Whistledown" from the Bridgerton series ties together these two anthologies of interlinked novellas: