17 Romance Novels to Read After 'Bridgerton,' From Regency-Era Love Stories to Literary Classics

As the first book by a female author to ever win a Pulitzer prize, The Age of Innocence would be worth a read even if it wasn't a tale of tortured love set in Gilded Age New York. Its central conflict will be peak fodder for Bridgerton fans, however, who will recognize Newland Archer's plight as he battles his desire for the unconventional (and sometimes uncouth) Countess Ellen Olenska against his duty to his family and his fiancée, the sure and steady May Welland.

If you haven’t yet read Jane Austen’s defining novel, it’s time you cracked its spine: The author is, after all, a huge inspiration for the Bridgerton series author. “Like most authors writing in my time period, I worship at the altar of Jane Austen,” Quinn said in the afterward that she wrote a 2007 reprint of Mansfield Park.

As Quinn later explained, “She was writing about love and happy endings in a time that viewed marriage…as more of a business contract than a bond of love. I’d like to think that my books honour Austen by adhering to these ideals.”

If you ask us, there’s no better example of that sentiment than Pride and Prejudice, which sees the sharp-but-judgmental Elizabeth Bennett’s adversarial relationship with the honorable but proud Mr. Darcy grow into a union of love for the ages.

If it’s historical romance you’re after, it doesn’t get much more classic than Emily Brontë’s 1847 tale of passion and retribution between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, the stable boy taken in by her father. (Let’s just say Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi had a lot of sexual tension to work with in the 2026 film adaptation.) Head over heels in love but divided by social class, theirs isn’t exactly a happy ending, but Brontë’s account of life on the moors in the Georgian era will appeal to those who enjoy learning about life in the past.

A handsome duke looking for a wife to bear his heir? Check. A strong-willed woman with designs on a more-than-perfunctory marriage? Double check. The push-pull between The Duchess Deal’s Duke of Ashbury and Emma Gladstone is giving major Simon and Daphne vibes (you know, minus the Bridgerton Duke’s hesitancy to have children). Still, Tessa Dare manages to put her own witty spin on this new noble couple. Like Quinn, she also has a slew of follow-up novels to keep you engaged for a good long while.

Readers looking for historical Black love stories need look no further than Beverly Jenkins, who has been writing critically acclaimed novels since 1994. Start with Rebel, the first book in her Women Who Dare series. When vandals in Reconstruction-era New Orleans target teacher Valinda Lacey, she seeks refuge in the arms of Captain Drake LeVeq, an architect who also works to rebuild the newly emancipated city. Naturally, he finds himself admiring the determined Valinda, and a passionate love story is born.

Lisa Kleypas has plenty of historical romances to choose from (she’s written over 50 novels), but this one in particular draws several parallels to our fave TV show and book series. Like the Featherington girls, Annabelle Peyton has been saddled with saving her family from financial ruin through marriage. There’s just one problem: The wealthy admirer she’s landed, Simon Hunt, is only interested in a mistress. True to form, however, Annabelle and Simon are both about to get a lot more than they bargained for.

Sarah MacLean’s debut novel sees Calpurnia Hartwell living the life she’s always been told she must live as a woman—one where she's dutiful, never smokes, fences, or attends duels. But frankly, Calpurnia is sick and tired of following the rules. And with the wicked Gabriel St. John, Marquess of Ralston, ready to lead her into temptation, her whole world’s about to change. To be determined if it will be for the better...

Imagine if Bridgerton had a baby with She’s All That. That’s kind of the premise of this 2023 offering from Laura Lee Guhrke. Basically, there’s a good-looking duke, Maximillian Shaw, who makes a bet with his friends that he can turn shy, introverted bookkeeper Evie Harlow into the “diamond of the season.” But Evie’s not as helpless as she seems—and now that she has the attention of the ton, Shaw’s not sure he likes it.

Lara Ramsey, the orphaned daughter of a British colonel and his Indian wife, is the ward of a benevolent aristocrat, whose nephew is Tristan Wentworth, Duke of Wolverton. The pair have been at odds since Lara was taken in, with her rebellious nature irking Tristan's proper ways. When the duke catches Lara and his younger sister at a scandalous masquerade, he demands that she find a husband within six months, or a match will be decided for her. Of course, the only member of the ton she's interested in is Tristan himself.

Quinn is also a fan of this multicultural Regency romance. When her English husband dies under mysterious circumstances, West Indian heiress Patience Jordan loses everything, including her son and her freedom. She ends up posing as her son's nanny to reunite with him, working under the miliaristic ex-rake Busick Strathmore, Duke of Repington. As she and the duke break down each other's walls, they also have to deal with enemies and obstacles toward the future they dare to dream of together.

Chloe Fong is a list-loving woman who has no time for nonsense, and when her childhood sweetheart confessed his feelings, she told him he could only court her if he became a serious man. But Jeremy Wentworth, the Duke of Lansing, can't change his mischievous nature. Now three years after Chloe's ultimatum and his disappearance, Jeremy has returned to her village to woo her, just as he is.

If you’re still swooning over the Cinderella adaptation that was Benedict and Sophie’s season of Bridgerton, you’re bound to enjoy Marry Me by Midnight, which also revisits the classic fairytale, but flips the gender role script. There’s a charming heiress named Isabelle looking to meet her match at a series of balls, and a custodian named Aaron who’s been enlisted to help her vet her prospects. But what if the poor man she’s aligned herself with is the one to steal her heart?

If the title alone isn’t giving you flashbacks to Anthony and Kate, we don’t know what will. Ivy Bennett is independent and unavailable, with her only interest in the new viscount, whether or not he’s behind a string of crimes. But Owen Viscount Brackley has offered to court her to buy her some reprieve from the Marriage Mart—and he’s about to discover her secrets.

Scottish philanthropist Jonathan MacLean travels all over seeking adventure and escaping his past, until a blizzard traps him in a mountaintop village with jeweler Angelica Parker. The talented woman has just landed the project of her dreams, with a contract anchoring her in place for seven years, when a drifter comes through town and takes her heart. This book is also part of a series filled with dashing dukes, so feel free to read all the rest once you fall for Erica Ridley's writing.

This M/M Regency romance sees a reclusive aristocrat and a retired boxer turned pub owner find love in the middle of a crime. Hartley Sedgwick rarely leaves his inherited home after his secrets became the subject of salacious gossip. Sam Fox, owner of The Bell, agrees to find and destroy a scandalous painting of his best friend, Kate. When his search leads him to Hartley's door, Sam would rather steal the heart of the lonely man than the painting in his house.

This book is the perfect start for a deep dive into Olivia Waite's W/W romances. Lucy Muchelney, the daughter of a famous astronomer, is employed by Catherine, the Countess of Moth, to translate a French astronomy text. When she arrives at the widowed Countess's home, the two women fall for each other. After they get closer, sabotage and old baggage threaten their love.