Entertainment
Anthony Bridgerton, based on the character in 'The Viscount Who Loved Me'

These 'Bridgerton' Book Details Will Get You Ready For Anthony's Story In Season 2

by Ani Bundel
Liam Daniel/Netflix

There was much rejoicing when Netflix formally announced Bridgerton Season 2. But where will the series go next? Season 1's story of Simon and Daphne was based on The Duke & I, the first book of the Bridgerton novel series by Julia Quinn, but their story ended with a happily ever after. However, just because one sibling got hitched doesn't mean the show is over. There are seven more Bridgerton kids to go, and based on Quinn's second Bridgerton book, The Viscount Who Loved Me, Anthony is up next. So, what happens to Anthony Bridgerton in The Viscount Who Loved Me? And, possibly more importantly, how much of Season 2 will follow the second book?

Warning: Spoilers for Bridgerton Book 2, The Viscount Who Loved Me, and possible spoilers for Season 2 of Bridgerton follow. Bridgerton Season 1 ends with Anthony announcing he's decided to get married. He has determined the best way to proceed is to remove the difficulty of love from all romantic relations in the future, making finding a wife easy... or so he thinks.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, that is exactly where readers find Anthony at the beginning of The Viscount Who Loved Me. The novel starts in 1814, one year since Daphne and Simon met, and a new London season has begun. Turning the subject of marriage into one that's entirely transactional has made Anthony's choice easy: He will marry this year's "Diamond of the First Water," Edwina Sheffield. It's a logical decision. She's this year's perfect bride; he's the most eligible bachelor.

Of course, no one is surprised when it's not nearly that easy, despite Anthony's oh-so-logical thought process. Edwina's well-meaning stepmother, Mary, approves the match, because marrying into the Bridgerton family would solve the Sheffields' financial woes. But Edwina is not the oldest girl in the Sheffield family like Daphne was for the Bridgertons. Her sister, Kate, is 28 and still unmarried — not because she's unattractive, but because she's rather like Eloise in that she is very direct and forthright, doesn't suffer fools easily, and developed a reputation as "difficult" early on.

But however difficult she may have been as a youngster, it's got nothing on how she is in The Viscount Who Loved Me. Kate and Edwina are intensely loyal to each other, and Kate has zero intention of letting Anthony Bridgerton force her sister into a terrible, loveless marriage. She's not above doing whatever it takes to push Anthony away, including using the family corgi, Newton, if need be. (Newton is quite the loyal pup and a fan-favorite from the books.)

As one can imagine, Anthony is not pleased with discovering a brand-new nemesis has materialized to stop his well-laid plans. And he's even more irritated when his mother's decision to invite the Sheffields to the Bridgerton family home of Aubrey Hall for a house party means that Kate comes too. How is a man supposed to get married to a woman when he finds himself increasingly distracted by her infuriating sister?

Fans of romance tropes will probably guess what comes next, but as Lady Whistledown might say, that is for another column.