Beyond Bridgerton And Into The Manor

It’s not that the Netflix series “Bridgerton” wasn’t popular already. Surely Regency-era sexual excitement bubbling beneath the surface of the mores of the time always makes good fodder for steamy novels and even PG-rated movies. But this most in-demand Guiness World Book of Records-rated show of a romantic drama, rendered for a decided female gaze (Netflix reports that a whopping 80 percent viewership of “Bridgeton” is female) viewers' bosoms are heaving over heaving bosoms, sights are set on silk brocades and lavish set pieces and horse-drawn carriage rides are all the rage.  

Where Downtown Abbey flashed some skin on occasion, viewers have yet to see the likes of “Bridgerton,” a show that would surely make Jane Austen blush.

And as these things go in our world culture, very soon we knew we’d see an X-rated take on “Bridgerton,” even as naughty as the show can be at times. Erika Lust and director Inka Winter give us “Ashford Manor” from Lust Cinema for the next evolution in Regency sex.

What happens in the manor stays in the manor

The Lust Cinema page for the series describes "Ashford Manor" as “a playful homage to the work of Jane Austen, set in the Recency Era, Ashford Manor follows Annabel (Nicole Kitt) and her friend Beatrice (Jasmine Tea) as they pursue love and sexual awakening. Adventure arrives in the idyllic countryside when Beatrice's friend Katherine (Nolina Nyx) visits with her husband Philip (Dillon Diaz) and their friend Graf Willhelm (Jonte). Will the budding tension between Annabel and Wilhelm bloom into romance? Meanwhile, Beatrice and Katherine explore their affections with each other...and share their adventures with Philip.”

The costumes, set pieces and declared period here are reminiscent of the famed Netflix show to be sure, but that’s where the comparisons end. As one should expect with an adult-themed homage, there is plenty of same-gender canoodling, oral sex of all kinds, and multiple partner liaisons happening in the drawing rooms of this manor. Surely an homage, not in any way a porn parody (of which there certainly are plenty) Ashford Manor takes its adult action very seriously.

Bridgerton sex

When a mainstream publication like Glamour takes to ranking your sex scenes, as they do here, you know a show must be delivering erotica correctly. And often. Based on Julia Quinn’s novels of upper-class British folks romping through the 18^th century, while Glamour claims a goodly amount of heat-inducing hookups occur in "Bridgeton's" season one, not so many in two, they promise the heat rises in the just-released season three.

But on top of all the tight bodices and askance glances, as this article makes plain, "Bridgerton" does one thing that other period pieces have not done, “it implemented a distinctly modern adaptation of the British Regency era.” As is stated in the above piece, even with its 'flat costumes' (the argument being other movies and shows did/do a better job at capturing the nuances of the costumes of the era) the sex, plus the covers of modern music from artists like Taylor Swift, BTS and Billie Eilish put into the show, make "Bridgerton" that much more relatable.

And hot, it is own way, set in a sex manor or not.