Does this book need to be read in order with other Bridgerton novels?

This title is the fourth installment in the Rokesby series, which functions as a prequel to the main Bridgerton books. While it shares the same fictional universe and features appearances by members of the Bridgerton family, it can be enjoyed as a standalone story.

How does this book connect to the wider Bridgerton universe?

The story features the parents of the eight siblings from the original Bridgerton series and includes appearances by the older Bridgerton children as young characters. It provides historical context for the family dynamics and social world established in the later books.

First Comes Scandal

Historical Fiction Historical Romance

Pages: 384
Published: 2020
Language: English

First Comes Scandal, the fourth Rokesby novel from Julia Quinn, opens with Georgiana Bridgerton's reputation in tatters after a fortune-hunting suitor abducts her hoping to force a marriage. Facing ruin or a match with her kidnapper, she's rescued by an unexpected proposal from Nicholas Rokesby, the physician-in-training who grew up next door. Their arrangement is meant to be practical: a marriage that salvages her name and gives him a wife who won't complicate his plans for medical school. But old friendship has a way of turning into something else, and the more time Georgiana and Nicholas spend as husband and wife in name, the harder it becomes to keep their feelings strictly convenient.

Prose complexity: 1/10

Lighthearted Funny Heartwarming

Friends to Lovers Marriage of Convenience

Julia Quinn

Julia Quinn is the pen name of Julie Pottinger, born Julie Cotler in 1970, an American writer of Regency-set historical romance. She was raised primarily in New England, took a degree in art history from Harvard, and had begun preparatory coursework for medical school when her first two novels, Splendid and Dancing at Midnight, appeared in 1995. She chose the name Quinn so that her books would shelve alongside those of Amanda Quick. Her best-known work is the Bridgerton series — eight novels pu...

Georgiana BridgertonProtagonist

Nicholas RokesbyProtagonist

All characters in First Comes Scandal

Frequently asked questions

Does this book need to be read in order with other Bridgerton novels?
This title is the fourth installment in the Rokesby series, which functions as a prequel to the main Bridgerton books. While it shares the same fictional universe and features appearances by members of the Bridgerton family, it can be enjoyed as a standalone story.
How does this book connect to the wider Bridgerton universe?
The story features the parents of the eight siblings from the original Bridgerton series and includes appearances by the older Bridgerton children as young characters. It provides historical context for the family dynamics and social world established in the later books.