Becoming Bridgerton: The Regency Era: The Porter Sisters

Anna Maria Porter  Artist: George Henry Harlow, c. 1805	Jane Porter  Artist: George Henry Harlow

Though born in Durham, in 1775 (Jane) and 1778 (Anna Maria), the Porter sisters were raised in Edinburgh after their army surgeon father died in 1779. The sisters were very close, spending their todays together and writing letters to each other, favoring the use of the adjective "blazing" in their descriptions of events and experiences. The elder sister, Jane, was a tall beauty with long, auburn hair and was said to be graceful and calm, commanding rooms when she entered. Maria, on the other hand, was impulsive, enthusiastic, lively, and very social. She was a romantic who fell in love with people, animals, and experiences quickly. 

Jane and Anna Maria Porter were famous sister novelists of the 19th century, writing 26 books between them, and they are credited with inventing the historical romance genre, often writing tales of love and war. Their books were so successful that it is said Queen Victoria and President Andrew Jackson's favorite book was Jane's 1810 novel The Scottish Chiefs. Jane's 1803 book Thaddeus of Warsaw, a about an underdog war hero standing up against a tyrant, was considered to be so politically dangerous that Napoleon banned the book.

Despite having the most basic charity school education, the sisters enjoyed a robust writing career and lived together until Maria's death on June 21, 1832, from typhus fever in Montpelier. Jane died on May 24, 1850, in Bristol.

Sources: National Endowment for the Humanities, Sister Novelists, The Huntington, Wikipedia, Wikipedia