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Series · historical romance

Splendid Trilogy

by Julia Quinn

The Splendid Trilogy series by Julia Quinn has 4 known books (4 published). It is best read in publication order, starting with Splendid (1995).

Books
4 known books (3 novels + 1 collection)
Published
4
First published
1995
Status
completed
Shelved under
Romance , Historical Fiction
Start here: Splendid (1995) — then read straight through in publication order.
Book one
Cover of Splendid
Splendid (1995)

Reading order

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

  1. Splendid

    Novel
    Splendid is the novel that opens Julia Quinn's Splendid Trilogy, published in 1995. It's followed here by Dancing at Midnight. It's the natural place to begin the series, which ran to completion between 1995 and 1996 across 4 books. It's the Blydon Family Saga.
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  2. Dancing at Midnight

    Novel
    Dancing at Midnight is by Julia Quinn, the second novel in the Splendid Trilogy, published in 1995. In the reading order it follows Splendid and precedes Minx.
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  3. Minx

    Novel
    Minx is the Splendid Trilogy's third entry, a novel by Julia Quinn, published in 1996, at 400 pages. In the reading order it follows Dancing at Midnight and precedes Where's My Hero?.
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  4. Where's My Hero?

    Collection
    Where's My Hero? is co-written by Julia Quinn, Kinley MacGregor, and Lisa Kleypas, a story collection in the Splendid Trilogy, published in 2003. It follows Minx as the most recent entry in the series so far. It's a later multi-author anthology in which Quinn's contributed novella is set in the Blydon world; it's catalogued here as a companion piece rather than a core trilogy entry.
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Key facts about the Splendid Trilogy series

Our list has 4 books in the Splendid Trilogy series. Since all 4 are out now, you can read the whole list today. 3 are novels, while the rest is a collection.

Start with Splendid, since it opens the publication order in 1995. Dancing at Midnight is book 2, from 1995. Minx is book 3, from 1996. Where's My Hero? is book 4, from 2003.

The list keeps the books in date order, while each title links to its own page. Each book page shows its dates and editions. Since the catalogue marks the series as complete, we list no next book.

The books came out between 1995 and 2003, while their length runs from 374 to 400 pages. That is a run of 8 years.

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

About the Splendid Trilogy series

The Splendid Trilogy, also known as the Blydon Family Saga, was Julia Quinn's debut series, written while she was still in medical school and published across 1995 and 1996. Splendid follows Emma Dunster, who's spent seasons avoiding marriage, and Alexander Ridgely, the Duke of Ashbourne, whose reputation as a rake makes him the last man her family expects her to fall for. Dancing at Midnight turns to Belle Blydon, Emma's close friend, and Alexander's cousin John Blackwood, a soldier struggling to readjust to civilian life after the Napoleonic Wars, whose growing bond with Belle helps him find his footing again. Minx completes the trilogy with Henry Barrett — raised as a boy in the countryside and forced into London society as a young woman for the first time — and William Dunford, the family friend tasked with guiding her through her first season, who finds his feelings for her far from brotherly.

As Quinn's first published books, the Splendid Trilogy already carries her signature blend of banter-driven courtship and genuine emotional stakes, though the interconnected social world she'd later build across Bridgerton and Bevelstoke was still several years away.

Frequently asked questions

How many books are in the Splendid Trilogy?

Three: Splendid, Dancing at Midnight, and Minx.

What order should I read the Splendid Trilogy in?

Publication order: Splendid, Dancing at Midnight, Minx.

Is the Splendid Trilogy also called the Blydon Family Saga?

Yes — that's an alternate name used for the same three-book series, named for the Blydon family who connect the books' overlapping cast.

Was the Splendid Trilogy Julia Quinn's first published series?

Yes — Splendid, published in 1995, was Julia Quinn's debut novel, written while she was in medical school.

Is the Splendid Trilogy connected to Bridgerton?

No, it's Julia Quinn's earliest, standalone series, predating the Bridgerton universe.

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