Penelope, who is now 28 years old in Romancing Mister Bridgerton, finds herself in rather different circumstances since
the tale takes place in 1824, ten years after Anthony Bridgerton (Jonathan Bailey) married Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley).
Considered an old maid in the book, Penelope’s fashion shift is mostly the result of her mother’s eventual separation from her when she chooses not to marry.
Although Pen in the novel worries about spending the rest of her life with her mother, this concern does not lead her to look for a spouse.
One more significant distinction? Until almost halfway through the fourth book, no one—not even the reader!—knows
that she is the town gossip Lady Whistledown; Netflix fans, on the other hand, were exposed to that shocking revelation in season one.
