Bridgerton would have brimmed with syphilis

For the 20% of society contracting the STI in 19th-century England, there was generally no hope of recovery.
There was no effective cure for syphilis until the beginning of the 20th century. Image: Colin Hutton/ Netflix.

Esmé Louise James, The University of Melbourne

But how sexy would Bridgerton have been in real life?

The city had an astonishingly high incidence of STIs at that time. It no longer seems unreasonable to suggest that a majority of those living in London while young adults in this period contracted an STI at some point in their lives.

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