An Offer from a Gentleman

by Julia Quinn Book 3 in the Bridgerton Series series.

First published 2001

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4.5(52,072)

Sophie Beckett, the unacknowledged daughter of an earl, is reduced to service in her stepmother’s household. A brief escape to a Bridgerton masquerade allows her to dance with Benedict Bridgerton, but she disappears before he can learn her identity.

Years later Benedict encounters Sophie again without recognising the woman from the ball. Their attraction is constrained by class, legitimacy and the unequal choices available to servants and gentlemen. The novel adapts a Cinderella pattern to Regency society while asking whether Benedict can separate the woman he loves from the social status he expects her to possess.