To Sir Phillip, With Love
Historical Romance/ Adult
by Julia Quinn
(Bridgertons #5)
Published July 2003
372 pages
This review doesn’t contain spoilers!
Blurb:
Sir Phillip knew that Eloise Bridgerton was a spinster, and so he’d proposed, figuring that she’d be homely and unassuming, and more than a little desperate for an offer of marriage. Except . . . she wasn’t. The beautiful woman on his doorstep was anything but quiet, and when she stopped talking long enough to close her mouth, all he wanted to do was kiss her . . . and more.
Did he think she was mad? Eloise Bridgerton couldn’t marry a man she had never met! But then she started thinking . . . and wondering . . . and before she knew it, she was in a hired carriage in the middle of the night, on her way to meet the man she hoped might be her perfect match. Except . . . he wasn’t. Her perfect husband wouldn’t be so moody and ill-mannered, and while Phillip was certainly handsome, he was a large brute of a man, rough and rugged, and totally unlike the London gentlemen vying for her hand. But when he smiled . . . and when he kissed her . . . the rest of the world simply fell away, and she couldn’t help but wonder . . . could this imperfect man be perfect for her?
Read the first chapter here.
About the title:
To Sir Phillip, With Love – Uh oh! Eloise is in love! *Panic*
What I expected:
A cute love story! Letters are very romantic, are they not?
What it was:
It suprised me. For better and worse.
My Reactions:
Phillip, stop being such an a$$!
My Thoughts :
Eloise is one of my favorite characters and I really think this book didn’t made her justice. It it a great book and a very original story, but if you’ve been reading in order…Well, I was dissapointed with Julia Quinn about this one. She deserved so much better, her story could’ve been the best one! I didn’t feel like the couple was a good match.
MUST BE READ: If you’re following the series.
TO BE READ: If you’re a fan of Eloise (like me!)
NOT TO BE READ: If you hate Julia Quinn’s writing!
Worth buying? Yes.
Cover Art: 5/5
Plot: 3/5
Setting: 4/5
Writing: 5/5
Dialogue: 4/5
Originality of Plot: 5/5
Characters Development: 2/5
Ending: 5/5
Pacing: 4/5
Likelihood to Recommend: 3/5
Analytical Ratings: 35/50- I Might Be In Love
SEXUAL CONTENT – I see fireworks!
SPOILERS AHEAD- The Duke and I Extras:
My Selection of Quotes (From Goodreads):
“If one didn’t have love, was it better, then, to be alone?”
— Julia Quinn (To Sir Phillip, With Love)” Eloise just stared at him. As long as she lived, she’d never understand men. She had four brothers, and quite frankly should have understood them better than most women, and maybe it had taken all of her twenty-eight years to come to this realization, but men were, quite simply, freaks. “
This is a compilation of the material avaliable on JQ’s Site
2nd Epilogue for To Sir Phillip, With Love
Those cute kids from romance novels aren’t actually supposed to grow up, are they?
When last we saw Amanda Crane, she was eight years old and (in her own words) a blight on the face of humanity. Now she’s grown up, remarkably well-adjusted, and ready to fall in love. All she needs is the right gentleman…
To Sir Phillip, With Love begins mere hours after Romancing Mr. Bridgerton ends. Which means that 
Eloise doesn’t know RMB’s big secret! Her family could have told her halfway through the book, but I decided they wouldn’t, just to be cruel. (Not to mentions that the logistics for me, as the author, were too daunting…)
The working title for this book was FOR ELOISE, WHEREVER I MAY FIND HER, which then changed to THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING ELOISE.
Eloise’s letters (which serve as epigraphs for chapter #2 and on) were written well after I’d finished the book. I wanted to do something fun, along the lines of the Lady Whistledown entries in my previous books, but the muse didn’t strike until SIR PHILLIP was well into the editorial process.
Willow bark contains the same active indredient as aspirin and is indeed quite useful in reducing a fever.
To Sir Phillip, With Love received a facelift in September 2009 (see new cover above). But while the cover may have changed, the words have not. The story is exactly the same as it was when released in 2003.
The UK Cover and the original cover from 2002.
Julia Quinn Answers:
Why was there no mention of Lady Whistledown in To Sir Phillip, With Love? I thought for sure there would be a scene where Eloise learned the truth!
Because Lady Whistledown had nothing to do with the plot for To Sir Phillip, With Love. The introduction of Lady Whistledown and “the big secret” would have been irrelevant, not to mention confusing for readers who have not read the previous Bridgerton books.
I do like to refer to items from previous books (Anthony’s fear of bees, for example, or Colin’s ravenous appetite) but only when they make sense within the framework of the story I’m currently telling. While the Bridgerton books are a loosely connected series, each title, first and foremost, must stand on its own as an individual novel.
Readers wanted to see Eloise’s reaction so much, however, that I ended up writing a 2nd Epilogue about it. So if you’ve been dying to see Eloise completely flummoxed, check out Romancing Mr. Bridgerton: The 2nd Epilogue.
Music that inspired Julia Quinn’s writing, music that reminds her of her books: “I didn’t always realize it when I was writing them, but each of my books has a soundtrack”.
To Sir Phillip, with Love“For Emily Wherever I May Find Her” by Simon & Garfunkel
I think this might be the most romantic song ever recorded. And I sometimes thought of this book in my head as For Eloise, Wherever I May Find Her.“Your Mother Should Know” by The Beatles
Violet turned out to be the greatest surprise in the Bridgerton series. I had no idea when I began that she would emerge as such a wonderful and fully-realized character. I think it was in this book, however, that we first saw just how wise and perceptive she could be.“Life on a Chain” by Pete Yorn
“I was waiting over here for life to begin.” Doesn’t that sound like Phillip?
“Someday Someway” by Marshall Crenshaw
One of my favorite parts of this book was how Phillip is such a guy. He doesn’t want to talk about things over and over (like Eloise), and the truth is, women just baffle him. Which makes the refrain “Someday, someway, maybe I’ll understand you” totally apt.
“Someday Someway” by Marshall Crenshaw
To Sir Phillip, With Love spent four weeks on the New York Times bestseller list (paperback fiction), peaking at #6.
Named one of the six best original mass market paperbacks of 2003 by Publishers Weekly.
To Sir Phillip, With Love is in fine company as one of the top ten Favorite Books of the year (annual poll by Romance Writers of America). For those of you interested in the entire list, here it is:
#8 bestselling romance of 2003 at Amazon.com
Six weeks on the USA Today bestseller list.
Starred review, Publishers Weekly. Five weeks on the Publishers Weekly besteller list, reaching #4.
#1 on the Waldenbooks Mass Market bestseller list.
A Main Selection of the Rhapsody Book Club, and a Featured Alternate Selection of the Doubleday Book Club.
Available in large print and as an e-book.
Have you read this book before? What did you think?
