How to read the Bridget Jones books in order – including Mad About the Boy

A book that needs little introductin, the first in the series was published in 1996 and became an instant international bestseller. Written in the form of a personal diary, the novel evolved from Fielding’s Bridget Jones’s Diary columns in The Independent and The Daily Telegraph. Roughly based on Jane Austen’s 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice, it follows Bridget as she navigates her love life over the course of a year in two romantic relationships.

The first is with her charming and handsome boss – and famous womanise –Daniel Cleaver. Her second is with an old childhood playmate and slightly uptight human rights barrister Mark Darcy.

As she navigates her chaotic dating life, Bridget convenes with her three best friends, Shazzer, Jude and Tom, over (many) bottles of chardonnay. Funny, relatable and expertly capturing the zeitgeist of being a woman in your Twenties, it’s a classic of the comedy genre.

The second book in the series, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason sees the main character depart Notting Hill for Thailand on a journey of self-discovery. Still working as a TV host and dating Mark Darcy, Bridget begins to feel jealous and paranoid about the time Mark spends with his younger, attractive co-worker, Rebecca.

In the wake of their eventual break-up, Bridget accepts a freelance assignment in Rome, before joining her friend Shazza on holiday in Thailand. In classic Jones style, chaos ensues in South East Asia, involving charming men on planes, stolen money and many misunderstandings.

Unlike the other books in the series, Bridget Jones’s Baby was published after the 2016 movie adaptation was released. Chronologically, it’s the third book in the series.

The novel follows Bridget accidentally falling pregnant and not knowing who the father is. Of course, the two candidates are the honourable and kind Mark Darcy and the witty but womanising Daniel Cleaver. As she rushes towards the baby-deadline while mediating the hatred the two men have towards each other, the comedy tome explores the havoc, pregnancy and childbirth in Jones’s familiar voice.

The fourth book in the series and the latest to be adapted for the big screen, Mad About The Boy follows Bridget as she grapples with single motherhood in the wake of Mark Darcy’s death in a landmine accident. Set nearly 20 years on from the first novel, both the cultural and sexual landscapes are vastly different, with Bridget now contending with the internet, texting and Botox.

Beginning four years after Mark’s death, any moments of darkness are balanced with brevity as Jones returns to the much-changed dating scene. Just as characteristically hapless and clumsy as she was in her Twenties, it’s a rollicking story of a woman in midlife navigating both dating and motherhood in the internet age. We can’t wait to see how it will be adapted for the screen – roll on 2025.