Julie Pottinger (; born January 12, 1970), better known by her pen name, Julia Quinn, is an American author. Her novels have been translated into 41 languages and have appeared on The New York Times Bestseller List nineteen times. She has been inducted into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. Her Bridgerton book series has been adapted for Netflix into a television series of the same name.
Early life and education Quinn was born as Julie Cotler in 1970 to Jane and Stephen Lewis Cotler. She has three sisters: Emily, Abigail, and Ariana. She is Jewish. She was raised primarily in New England, although she spent much of her time in California after the divorce of her parents.
Quinn's favorite books as a child included the Sweet Dreams and the Sweet Valley High series, which inspired her to begin writing at age 12.
Quinn graduated from the Hotchkiss School and Harvard University with a bachelor's degree in History of Art. During her senior year of college, she decided to become a doctor. She was accepted to Yale School of Medicine but deferred her entrance for two years to focus on writing novels.
Career While she was a student, Quinn began to write light-hearted Regency novels. Her then-fiancé’s father, novelist John Stanley Pottinger, got her manuscript into the right hands. A few weeks after her acceptance 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 new romance author. By the time Quinn entered medical school, three of her books had been published. She left medical school after two months to become a full-time writer.
Quinn considers herself a feminist and gives her heroines feminist qualities that are not necessarily true to the most prevalent attitudes of the times her novels are set in. Her novels are primarily character-driven and have been noted for their humor and sharp, witty dialogue. Most of her books are dedicated to her husband, Paul Pottinger, often with references to amusing alternate titles for the work.
In 2003, she was profiled in Time Magazine, an accomplishment few romance novelists have achieved. In 2005, Publishers Weekly gave To Sir Phillip, With Love a rare starred review, and later, the novel was named as one of the six best mass market original novels of the year.
Quinn won the Romance Writers of America RITA Award, in 2007, for On the Way to the Wedding and again, in 2008, for The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever. At the time of her 2010 RITA award for What Happens in London, she became RWA's youngest member. She is one of only 16 authors to be inducted into the RWA Hall of Fame.
Many of Quinn's novels have appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List, with Mr. Cavendish, I Presume hitting number one in October 2008. In addition, both her Lady Whistledown anthologies appeared on the NY Times list, as did both of her novel-in-three-part collaborations with Connie Brockway and Eloisa James (The Lady Most Likely and The Lady Most Willing), and the Bridgertons: Happily Ever After collection of Bridgerton's second epilogues.
Her Bridgerton series of books has been adapted for Netflix by Shonda Rhimes, under the title Bridgerton.
Personal life In 2001, Quinn won $79,000 on The Weakest Link. She is an avid reader and posts recommendations of her favorite books on her Facebook page.
Quinn resides in Seattle, Washington, with her husband, infectious disease specialist Paul Pottinger, and two children.
On June 29, 2021, Quinn's sister and father, Ariana Elise Cotler and Stephen Lewis Cotler, were killed by a drunk driver in Kaysville, Utah.
Bibliography Publications May 1, 1995 Splendid ISBN: December 1, 1995 Dancing At Midnight ISBN: September 1, 1996 Minx ISBN: March 1, 1997 Everything and The Moon ISBN: December 1, 1997 Brighter Than the Sun ISBN: July 1, 1998 To Catch an Heiress ISBN: March 9, 1999 How to Marry a Marquis ISBN: June 1, 1999 Scottish Brides ISBN: January 5, 2000 The Duke and I ISBN: December 1, 2000 The Viscount Who Loved Me ISBN: July 3, 2001 An Offer from a Gentleman ISBN: July 2, 2002 Romancing Mister Bridgerton ISBN: January 28, 2003 The Further Observations of Lady Whistledown ISBN: June 24, 2003 To Sir Phillip, With Love ISBN: September 1, 2003 Where's My Hero? ISBN: April 27, 2004 Lady Whistledown Strikes Back ISBN: June 29, 2004 When He Was Wicked ISBN: June 28, 2005 It's In His Kiss ISBN: June 27, 2006 On the Way to the Wedding ISBN: May 27, 2008 The Lost Duke of Wyndham ISBN: September 30, 2008 Mr. Cavendish, I Presume ISBN: June 30, 2009 What Happens in London ISBN: October 13, 2009 The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever ISBN: May 25, 2010 Ten Things I Love About You ISBN: December 28, 2010 The Lady Most Likely... ISBN: May 31, 2011 Just Like Heaven ISBN: May 29, 2012 A Night Like This ISBN: December 26, 2012 The Lady Most Willing... ISBN: April 2, 2013 The Bridgertons: Happily Ever After ISBN: October 29, 2013 The Sum Of All Kisses ISBN: January 27, 2015 The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy ISBN: March 29, 2016 Because of Miss Bridgerton ISBN: December 27, 2016 Four Weddings and a Sixpence ISBN: May 30, 2017 The Girl with the Make-Believe Husband ISBN: November 20, 2018 The Other Miss Bridgerton ISBN: April 21, 2020 First Comes Scandal ISBN: May 26, 2020 Bridgerton Collection Volume 1 ISBN: March 30, 2021 Bridgerton Collection Volume 2 ISBN: March 30, 2021 Bridgerton Collection Volume 3 ISBN: November 9, 2021 The Wit and Wisdom of Bridgerton ISBN: March 15, 2022 Bridgerton Box Set 1-4 ISBN: May 10, 2022 Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron, a Graphic Novel ISBN: October 18, 2022 Bridgerton Box Set 5-8 ISBN: May 2, 2023 Bridgerton Prequels Collection ISBN: May 9, 2023 Queen Charlotte ISBN: July 23, 2024 Bridgerton Collector's Edition, 1 ISBN: August 13, 2024 Bridgerton Collector's Edition, 2 ISBN: September 17, 2024 Bridgerton Collector's Edition, 3 ISBN: September 17, 2024 Bridgerton Collector's Edition, 4 ISBN:
All books from Splendid through First Comes Scandal are mass market paperbacks published by Avon Books; Bridgerton Collection Volume 1 through Bridgerton Collection Volume 3 and The Wit and Wisdom of Bridgerton are e-books; Bridgerton Box Set 1-4, Miss Butterworth and Bridgerton Box Set 5-8 are mass market paperbacks; Bridgerton Prequels Collection is an e-book; Queen Charlotte is a mass market paperback; and the last four collection books, also by Avon, are hardcover books.
Splendid Trilogy
Splendid (1995) Dancing at Midnight (1995) Minx (1996) "A Tale of Two Sisters" in Where's My Hero? (2003, anthology with Lisa Kleypas and Kinley MacGregor)
Lyndon Sisters
Everything and the Moon (1997) Brighter Than the Sun (1997)
Agents of the Crown
To Catch an Heiress (1998) How To Marry a Marquis (1999)
Bridgerton series
The Duke and I (2000) The Viscount Who Loved Me (2000) An Offer From a Gentleman (2001) Romancing Mister Bridgerton (2002) To Sir Phillip, With Love (2003) When He Was Wicked (2004) It's In His Kiss (2005) On the Way to the Wedding (2006) The Bridgertons: Happily Ever After (2013)
Two Dukes of Wyndham 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," inspired by a lyric from the Dire Straits song, "Industrial Disease". The events are concurrent and the plots are intertwined, with some scenes appearing in both books but from different perspectives. The Lost Duke of Wyndham (2008) Mr. Cavendish, I Presume (2008)
Bevelstoke series The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever (2007) What Happens in London (2009) Ten Things I Love About You (2010)
Smythe-Smith quartet Just like Heaven (2011) A Night like This (2012) The Sum of All Kisses (2013) The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy (2015)
Rokesby series The Rokesby series is often considered a prequel series as it follows the Rokesby and Bridgerton families. Because of Miss Bridgerton (2016) The Girl with the Make-Believe Husband (2017) The Other Miss Bridgerton (2018) First Comes Scandal (2020)
Collections Bridgerton Collection Volume 1 (2020) – Bridgerton Collection Volume 2 (2021) – Bridgerton Collection Volume 3 (2021) – Bridgerton Box Set 1-4 (2022) – Bridgerton Box Set 5-8 (2022) – Bridgerton Prequels Collection (2023) – Bridgerton Collector's Edition, 1 (2024) – Bridgerton Collector's Edition, 2 (2024) – Bridgerton Collector's Edition, 3 (2024) – Bridgerton Collector's Edition, 4 (2024) –
Lady Whistledown The witty gossip columnist "Lady Whistledown" from the Bridgerton series ties together these two anthologies of interlinked novellas: "Thirty-Six Valentines" in The Further Observations of Lady Whistledown (2003, anthology with Suzanne Enoch, Karen Hawkins and Mia Ryan) "The First Kiss" in Lady Whistledown Strikes Back (2004, anthology with Suzanne Enoch, Karen Hawkins and Mia Ryan) and also The Wit and Wisdom of Bridgerton (2021)
The Lady Most... The Lady Most Likely... (December 28, 2010 a novel in three parts with Connie Brockway and Eloisa James) The Lady Most Willing... (December 26, 2012 a novel in three parts with Connie Brockway and Eloisa James)
Novellas "Gretna Greene" in Scottish Brides (June 1, 1999 an anthology with Christina Dodd, Stephanie Laurens and Karen Ranney) "... and a Sixpence in Her Shoe" in Four Weddings and a Sixpence (December 27, 2016 an anthology with Elizabeth Boyle, Stefanie Sloane and Laura Lee Guhrke)
Graphic novels Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron, a Graphic Novel (illustrated by Violet Charles) (2022)
Adaptations Queen Charlotte (2023 TV tie-in for Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, with Shonda Rhimes)
Other Contributor to Encounters with Jane Austen: Celebrating 250 years. (2025)
Recognition 1997 – Everything and the Moon nominated for Best Regency Historical by Romantic Times Magazine 2001 – Finalist in the Romance Writers of America's RITA Awards 2002 – Romancing Mister Bridgerton voted one of the top ten books of the year by RWA membershipFinalist for the RWA RITA Awards in the Long Historical category 2002 – To Sir Phillip, With Love named one of the six best mass market original novels of the year by Publishers Weekly 2003 – Quinn was profiled in Time magazine 2007 – Received Romance Writers of America RITA Award for Best Long Historical Romance, for On the Way to the Wedding 2008 – Received Romance Writers of America RITA Award for Best Regency Historical Romance, for The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever 2010 – Received Romance Writers of America RITA Award for Best Regency Historical Romance for What Happens in London 2010 – Quinn was inducted into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame 2016 – Quinn taught the inaugural romance writing course at the Yale Summer Writers Conference
References
External links Official Julia Quinn Website Chapter excerpts and title list (Official publisher web page)