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Smythe-Smith Quartet

by Julia Quinn

The Smythe-Smith Quartet series by Julia Quinn has 4 known books (4 published). It is best read in publication order, starting with Just Like Heaven (2011). The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy is the latest book with a fully recorded publication date.

Books
4 known books (4 novels)
Published
4
First published
2011
Status
completed
Shelved under
Romance , Historical Fiction
Start here: Just Like Heaven (2011) — then read straight through in publication order.
Book one
Cover of Just Like Heaven
Just Like Heaven (2011)

Reading order

The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.

  1. Just Like Heaven

    Novel
    Just Like Heaven, published August 30, 2011, opens the Smythe-Smith Quartet by pairing Honoria Smythe-Smith with her brother's best friend Marcus, against the backdrop of the family's infamously terrible annual musicale.
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  2. A Night Like This

    Novel
    A Night Like This (June 2012) matches the opener's 384 pages, turning to governess Anne Wynter and the family's black-sheep earl, Daniel Smythe-Smith.
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  3. The Sum of All Kisses

    Novel
    At 373 pages, The Sum of All Kisses (July 2013) is the shortest of the four, pairing sharp-tongued Sarah Pleinsworth with mathematician Hugh Prentice.
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  4. The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy

    Novel
    The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy didn't arrive until June 2015, two years after the previous book, closing the quartet at the same 384 pages as the first two entries.
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Key facts about the Smythe-Smith Quartet series

The Smythe-Smith Quartet series has 4 books on our list. Since all 4 are out now, you can read the whole list today.

Start with Just Like Heaven, since it opens the publication order in 2011. A Night Like This is book 2, from 2012. The Sum of All Kisses is book 3, from 2013. The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy is book 4, from 2015.

Each title links to its own page, while the list keeps them in date order. Each book page shows its dates and editions.

The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy is the latest book with a full release date, out on 30 June 2015. Since the catalogue marks the series as complete, we list no next book.

The books came out between 2011 and 2015, while their length runs from 373 to 384 pages. That is a run of 4 years.

Julia Quinn has 37 books on our list. Additionally, they write Splendid Trilogy, Agents of the Crown and Lyndon Sisters, plus 4 more series. We shelve the books under historical romance.

About the Smythe-Smith Quartet series

The Smythe-Smith Quartet is built around a running joke from Julia Quinn's Bridgerton universe: the Smythe-Smith family's infamous annual musicale, at which four cousins perform excruciatingly badly to a captive audience of relatives too polite to leave. Each book follows one of those cousins finding love despite (or because of) the social ordeal. Just Like Heaven pairs Honoria Smythe-Smith, worn down by yet another disastrous performance, with her brother's best friend Marcus, who has quietly loved her for years. A Night Like This follows governess Anne Wynter, hiding from a dangerous past, and Daniel Smythe-Smith, the family's black-sheep earl newly returned to London. The Sum of All Kisses turns to Sarah Pleinsworth, sharp-tongued and prone to giving too-honest opinions, and Hugh Prentice, a mathematician recovering from a duel-related injury. The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy completes the quartet with Iris Smythe-Smith, the family's most reserved cousin, and Sir Richard, a man in urgent, secretive need of a wife.

The musicale itself — cheerfully, cringingly terrible every single year — recurs across all four books as a set-piece the extended Bridgerton-adjacent social circle can't escape, giving the quartet its comic throughline even as each couple's individual courtship plays out against real emotional stakes.

Frequently asked questions

How many books are in the Smythe-Smith Quartet?

Four: Just Like Heaven, A Night Like This, The Sum of All Kisses, and The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy.

What order should I read the Smythe-Smith Quartet in?

Publication order: Just Like Heaven, A Night Like This, The Sum of All Kisses, The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy. Each book follows a different Smythe-Smith cousin.

Is the Smythe-Smith Quartet connected to Bridgerton?

Yes — it's set in the same social world as Bridgerton, with several Bridgerton characters making supporting appearances, though you don't need to read Bridgerton first.

What is the Smythe-Smith musicale?

A running joke across the quartet: an annual family recital at which the Smythe-Smith cousins perform notoriously badly, an event the wider social circle dreads but can never quite avoid.

Do I need to read the Smythe-Smith Quartet in order?

No — each book is a self-contained romance about a different cousin — but reading in order lets the recurring cast and running jokes build naturally.

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