What Happened to Sophie’s Dad in Bridgerton? His Real Cause of Death Spoiled by the Books
Jason Pham
Warning: Bridgerton Season 4 spoilers ahead. Bridgerton has found its new leading lady in Sophie Baek. But if you haven’t read the books, you may be confused as to what happened to Sophie’s dad in Bridgerton and how he died before the events of Season 4 took place.
Sophie is based on Sophie Beckett from Julia Quinn’s An Offer From a Gentleman, the third book in the Bridgerton series following Sophie’s love story with Benedict Bridgerton, the second eldest Bridgerton child. The novel is described as a reimagination of Cinderella, with Sophie and Benedict meeting at a masquerade ball, with Sophie hiding her identity because of her role as a maid. At midnight, Sophie leaves the ball without telling Benedict her name, as the Bridgerton searches all throughout London for her true identity—much like Prince Charming and Cinderella.
Also like Cinderella, Sophie is the stepdaughter of an “evil” stepmother, Araminta, and the stepsister of Araminta’s two daughters: Rosamund and Posy. Similar to Cinderella, Sophie’s father died before the events of her and Benedict’s love story took place. But what happened to Sophie’s dad, as well as her mom? Read on for what occurs in the books.
What happened to Sophie’s dad in Bridgerton, and how did he die?
In An Offer From a Gentleman, Sophie’s father is Lord Richard Gunningworth, the Earl of Penwood. Lord Penwood learns that Sophie is his illegitimate daughter from an affair he had with a maid when her maternal grandmother leaves Sophie, along with a letter, on his doorstep. While Lord Penwood immediately takes Sophie in, he burns the letter within minutes of reading it in fear that his reputation would be ruined if his past were revealed.
When Sophie was 10 years old, Lord Penwood married Araminta Reilling, a widow with two daughters from her previous marriage: Rosamund and Posy Reilling. When the Reillings first met Sophie, Lord Penwood introduced her as his ward—a child under his protection as a guardian, as opposed to his own daughter—to hide the fact that Sophie was his illegitimate child.
When Araminta discovered that Sophie was Lord Penwood’s illegitimate daughter, however, she demanded that he abandon her, which he refused. Thus began Araminta and her daughters’ cruel treatment of Sophie.
As for what happened to Lord Penwood, Sophie’s father died from a heart attack after he started to experience chest pain while drinking tea in the garden and fell face down on the cobblestones. Sophie was 14 years old at the time of her father’s death. In his will, Lord Penwood left Rosamund, Posy, and Sophie sizable dowries. Araminta, on the other hand, wasn’t left with much. However, the will stipulated that if Araminta kept Sophie in her household until she was 20, her yearly allowance would triple. Araminta, assuming that Lord Penwood’s condition was her punishment for not being able to produce a male heir, agreed reluctantly. However, instead of taking her in as her own daughter, Araminta forced Sophie to work as a servant in the house as a loophole.
What happened to Sophie’s mom in Bridgerton?
Not much is known about Sophie’s biological mother other than that she died during childbirth and that she was a maid that Lord Penwood had an affair with. After her mother’s death, Sophie was raised by her maternal grandmother until she was 3 years old. Knowing that she would die soon, Sophie’s grandmother left her at Lord Penwood’s doorstep with a letter as she watched from the bushes in hopes that the earl would take her in, which he did.
