Let’s do a through back in the 1800s… In a society where the only purpose of women is marry a man, possibly from a good family, and give birth to children. Society in which the only value of a woman is her dowry, the sum of money that will be given to the future husband. Society in which a woman must be fine, elegant, submissive, in short, she must be decent and not talk about certain things! Well… Welcome to Bridgerton! The TV series that went crazy on Netflix and just released the second season.
In the middle of this closed society that doesn’t leave space to women, Lady Whistledown broke the silence and spreads the rumours of everyone through her newspaper, earning the hatred and laughter of the citizens. (Spoiler alert, I warn you!)
But who is the madame hiding behind a fictitious name? She is actually not a madame but a young girl, Penelope Featherington, played by Nicola Coughlan. The curvy and clumsy girl is excluded from society, this pushes her to be always in the corners of the ballrooms to overhear all the gossips. Little Pen has lost her mind for Colin, one of the Lord Bridgerton, who is in love with another girl and sees Penelope as part of her family, also because she is the best friend of her sister Eloise. Poor girl, stuck in the friend zone!
But let’s see how Lady Whistledown is born. Nothing is more interesting than a freshly baked gossip. Everyone wants to know everything about everyone. Why not use this point in our favour and create a business? This is the moment when Pen closes himself in his room and begins to write, revealing all the nobility backstory and scandals behind the figure of Lady Whistledown.
“Poor woman, running her business all on her own” This is one of Mrs Featherington’s jokes, referring to Genevieve Delacroix, the modiste, who has her own clothing store. If only she knew who her daughter really is… Pen is a real business woman!
