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Jan 7, 2021 · Warning: A SPOILER for Bridgerton season 1 is in the last paragraph. Bridgerton’s most mysterious character, Lady Whistledown, is voiced by the incomparable Julie Andrews for a few important reasons. Lady Whistledown is the faceless narrator of Bridgerton. She appears to know everything that’s going on in everyone’s lives and is willing ...
Dec 25, 2020 · Yes, Dame Julie Andrews herself voices the witty narrator Lady Whistledown in Shondaland's new Regency Era period drama, adapted from the bestselling Julia Quinn romance novels. And Quinn, who acted as a consultant on the show, was thrilled when she got the news of the Oscar winner's involvement.
- Editorial Assistant
- 3 min
- Let it be known, dear reader, some major spoilers are ahead.
- Netflix's Bridgerton: Season 1 Official Photos
By Kayleigh Donaldson
Posted: Dec 30, 2020 6:00 pm
“Who is Lady Whistledown” is a question frequently asked by the robust ensemble of characters in Season 1 of Netflix's new drama, Bridgerton. The series, much like the books by Julia Quinn that the show is adapted from, is narrated by the mysterious writer. As voiced by Julie Andrews, the enigmatic lady is the seemingly omnipresent reporter of London’s most shocking secrets, and her writing frequently serves as a major obstacle for the Bridgerton family and, in particular, their eldest daughter Daphne.
But who is Lady Whistledown? We have the answers, dear reader, but let it be known, some major spoilers are ahead.
Warning: This piece contains spoilers for Netflix’s Bridgerton: Season 1. Be sure to read IGN's Bridgerton review as well.
Though it took Quinn four novels to reveal the gossip writer’s identity, Bridgerton revealed Lady Whistledown’s identity in its Season 1 finale: Eloise Bridgerton’s wallflower best friend, Penelope Featherington.
What makes the reveal of her identity all the more fun is that Eloise, more or less, is on the right path for most of the season. Eloise quickly surmises that Lady Whistledown would require access to the prestigious homes and locations of London in order to get her information. Initially, she believes the culprit to be one of her own family’s maids. Later, she discusses with Penelope the possibility that Whistledown could be a widow of prominent means, and so the main culprit of this new focus is Lady Danbury. Eloise’s final suspicion is that Lady Whistledown would be a tradesperson, someone with independent financial means and an occupation that would allow them to interact regularly with sources. This leads her to deduce that the culprit is Genevieve Delacroix, the local dressmaker. By the finale, she’s realized she’s been wrong about all her leads, and is left as in the dark about Lady Featherington’s identity as she was in the premiere.
Penelope isn’t for one moment considered a possible candidate -- both by Eloise and, Bridgerton seems to presume, by the viewer -- which makes her the perfect person to be Lady Whistledown. Nobody ever pays attention to her at major events, not even her own mother, and no one would ever suspect that a young unmarried woman on the marriage market would risk it all in such a flagrant manner.
Though viewers know the real identity of Lady Whistledown by the end of Season 1, Bridgerton likely will follow the roadmap of Quinn’s novels and delay the in-series reveal of Penelope’s alter ego for several seasons, causing even more dramatic tension between her and her best friend Eloise. Future seasons of Bridgerton will likely continue to lean heavily Lady Whistledown’s writing (and the framing device of her narration) to weave through the love stories of the next Bridgerton siblings, so the fact people watching will know it’s Penelope wreaking havoc on the ton in each future Season will make the drama that much more delicious. Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) is revealed to be Lady Whistledown in the Bridgerton: Season 1 finaleIt also will add much more complexity to the relationship between Eloise and Penelope. While neither character is featured heavily in Quinn’s first novel, The Duke and I (the basis of Bridgerton: Season 1), both women become the focuses of future novels in the series. Establishing early on that Eloise has great respect for Lady Whistledown, both because of her candid power through her writing but also because she imagines the writer to be a woman of freedom, allows Lady Whistledown becomes a symbol for her of the independence she could have, a life of financial strength and public awe that never taints her reputation. It makes it all the more exciting to imagine Eloise’s reaction to eventually discovering that Penelope is indeed Lady Whistledown.
As for what’s to come in Season 2, Penelope is in a worse situation than Eloise -- who has much disdain for the society season and no desire to be pawned off for marriage -- because Lord Featherington is dead, the family’s finances are in a questionable position, and the Featherington estate is to be inherited by a mysterious distant male relative. Penelope may have power and, presumably, some money in the bank from her Whistledown exploits, but she remains in a deeply precarious position. She exposed her own family’s secrets to prevent Marina from marrying Colin Bridgerton, a man Penelope has loved all her life. She and her family will surely face further ruin if her identity is revealed, and the Queen is more determined than ever to unmask her.
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Mar 30, 2022 · Bridgerton’s narrator, Lady Whistledown, is voiced by the fabulous Julie Andrews. At 85 years of age, Andrews is as silver-tongued as ever, her speaking voice a wickedly perfect fit for the ever-snooping Lady Whistledown, whose identity is revealed in the first season’s finale.
- Maddy Shaw Roberts
1 day ago · Bridgerton is narrated by showbiz legend Julie Andrews. Despite the fact we never see the film icon on the screen, Julie Andrews has cemented her place in Bridgerton history with her voice adding suspense and scandal to each episode as the mysterious Lady Whistledown publishes another high society gossip paper in Regency-era London.
Dec 25, 2020 · Yes, Lady Whistledown does all this and more, but Julie Andrews isn't actually playing this character, not really. Yes, she does voice the narration, reading out every letter that...
