Quinn was born as Julie Cotler in 1970 to Jane and Stephen Lewis Cotler.[5] She has three sisters: Emily, Abigail, and Ariana.[6][7][8] She is Jewish.[9] She was raised primarily in New England, although she spent much of her time in California, following the divorce of her parents. [10]
Quinn developed an appreciation for literature at an early age, and since childhood, she thoroughly enjoyed reading. At age 12, her father disagreed with her choices of reading material, which included the Sweet Dreams and the Sweet Valley High book series, and he told her she could only continue reading them if she could prove that they contributed to the development of her reading skills. She promptly told him that she was studying the literary series, in order, because she was interested in writing a novel in the future. Challenged to prove that she was, indeed, interested in pursuing a writing career, Quinn sat down at their computer and wrote her first two chapters. After finishing her novel, three years later, she submitted it to Sweet Dreams, but it was rejected.[11]
Quinn graduated from Hotchkiss School and Harvard University with a degree in Art History. During her senior year of college, she realized that she did not know what she wanted to do with her degree and decided to attend medical school. That decision required her to attend two additional years of college to complete the science prerequisites necessary to apply for medical school.[2] She postponed medical school for two years while she wrote two more novels.[11]
Career
To occupy herself during the long days of studying science, Quinn began to write light-hearted Regency novels.[1] A few weeks after she was accepted to medical school, she discovered that her first two novels, Splendid and Dancing At Midnight, had been sold at auction, an unusual occurrence for a novice romance author.[12] By the time Quinn finally entered Yale School of Medicine, intending to become a doctor, three of her books had been published. After a few months of studying medicine, Quinn realized that she preferred writing to medical study. She left medical school and devoted herself, full-time, to her writing.[11]
Quinn considers herself a feminist and gives her heroines feminist qualities that are not necessarily true to the most prevalent attitudes of the times her novels are set in.[1] Her books are noted for their humor and sharp, witty dialogue.[11] The novels are primarily character-driven, lacking the great external conflicts that many romance novels employ. One of her novels, When He Was Wicked, was unusual for a romance novel, as the first four chapters describe the heroine in a happy marriage with someone who is not the hero, and then shows the death of the original husband and deals with the grief of both the heroine and hero, before allowing the second love story to flourish.[12]
Most of her books are dedicated to her husband, Paul Pottinger, often with references to amusing alternate titles for the work. Quinn won the Romance Writers of America RITA Award, in 2007, for On the Way to the Wedding and again, in 2008, for The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever. When she won, in 2010, for What Happens in London, she became (at the time) the youngest member and is now one of only 16 authors to be inducted into the RWA Hall of Fame.
In 2003, she enjoyed the rare honor of being profiled in Time Magazine, an accomplishment few romance novelists have achieved. In 2005, Publishers Weekly gave To Sir Phillip, With Love a rare starred review, and later, the novel was named as one of the six best mass market original novels of the year.[2]
Each of her last 17 novels have appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List, with Mr. Cavendish, I Presume hitting number one in October 2008. Most recently, The Girl With the Make-Believe Husband was on the NYT list in June 2017. In addition to those, both her Lady Whistledown anthologies appeared on the NY Times list, as did both of her novel-in-three-part collaborations with Connie Brockway and Eloisa James (The Lady Most Likely and The Lady Most Willing), and the Bridgertons: Happily Ever After collection of Bridgerton’s second epilogues.
On June 29, 2021, Quinn's sister and father, Ariana Elise Cotler and Stephen Lewis Cotler, respectively, were killed by a drunk driver in Kaysville, Utah.[21]
All books from Splendid through First Comes Scandal are mass market paperbacks published by Avon Books; Bridgerton Collection Volume 1 through Bridgerton Collection Volume 3 and The Wit and Wisdom of Bridgerton are e-books; Bridgerton Box Set 1-4, Miss Butterworth and Bridgerton Box Set 5-8 are mass market paperbacks; Bridgerton Prequels Collection is an e-book; Queen Charlotte is a mass market paperback;
and the last four collection books, also by Avon, are hardcover books.
According to Quinn, this two-book set was based on the premise, "Two men say they’re the Duke of something. One of them must be wrong," inspired by a lyric from the Dire Straits song, "Industrial Disease".[23] The events are concurrent and the plots are intertwined, with some scenes appearing in both books but from different perspectives.
Bridgerton Collection Volume 1 (2020) – The Duke and I (2000) / The Viscount Who Loved Me (2000) / An Offer from a Gentleman (2001)
Bridgerton Collection Volume 2 (2021) – Romancing Mister Bridgerton (2002) / To Sir Phillip, With Love (2003) / When He Was Wicked (2004)
Bridgerton Collection Volume 3 (2021) – It's In His Kiss (2005) / On the Way to the Wedding (2006) / Because of Miss Bridgerton (2016)
Bridgerton Box Set 1-4 (2022) – The Duke and I (2000) / The Viscount Who Loved Me (2000) / An Offer from a Gentleman (2001) / Romancing Mister Bridgerton (2000)
Bridgerton Box Set 5-8 (2022) – To Sir Phillip, With Love (2003) / When He Was Wicked (2004) / It's In His Kiss (2005) / On the Way to the Wedding (2006)
Bridgerton Prequels Collection (2023) – Because of Miss Bridgerton (2016) / The Girl with the Make-Believe Husband (2017) / The Other Miss Bridgerton (2018) / First Comes Scandal (2020)
Bridgerton Collector’s Edition, 1 (2024) – The Duke and I (2000) / The Viscount Who Loved Me (2000)
Bridgerton Collector’s Edition, 2 (2024) – An Offer from a Gentleman (2001) / Romancing Mister Bridgerton (2000)
Bridgerton Collector’s Edition, 3 (2024) – To Sir Phillip, With Love (2003) / When He Was Wicked (2004)
Bridgerton Collector’s Edition, 4 (2024) – It's In His Kiss (2005) / On the Way to the Wedding (2006)
Lady Whistledown
The witty gossip columnist "Lady Whistledown" from the Bridgerton series ties together these two anthologies of interlinked novellas:
"Thirty-Six Valentines" in The Further Observations of Lady Whistledown (2003, anthology with Suzanne Enoch, Karen Hawkins and Mia Ryan)
"The First Kiss" in Lady Whistledown Strikes Back (2004, anthology with Suzanne Enoch, Karen Hawkins and Mia Ryan)
". . . and a Sixpence in Her Shoe" in Four Weddings and a Sixpence (December 27, 2016 an anthology with Elizabeth Boyle, Stefanie Sloane and Laura Lee Guhrke)
Graphic novels
Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron, a Graphic Novel (illustrated by Violet Charles) (2022)
2002 – Romancing Mister Bridgerton voted one of the top ten books of the year by RWA membership Finalist for the RWA RITA Awards in the Long Historical category
2002 – To Sir Phillip, With Love named one of the six best mass market original novels of the year by Publishers Weekly
2003 – Quinn was profiled in Time magazine
2007 – Received Romance Writers of America RITA Award for Best Long Historical Romance, for On the Way to the Wedding
2008 – Received Romance Writers of America RITA Award for Best Regency Historical Romance, for The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever
2010 – Received Romance Writers of America RITA Award for Best Regency Historical Romance for What Happens in London[26]
2010 – Quinn was inducted into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame[26]
2016 – Quinn taught the inaugural romance writing course at the Yale Summer Writers Conference[27]
^Lammerhirt, Pia; Wehr, Isolde (February 2001). "Interview With Julia Quinn". Die Romantische Buecherecke. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-04-03.
