4. What does Mark’s reaction to Bridget at the christening suggest about their original breakup five years ago—was he angrier at Daniel or Bridget for what he saw?
5. What does Bridget expect from Mark and Daniel as the potential fathers of her son? Do you think that would have been different if she were having a girl?
6. Mark describes the baby as the happiest thing that ever happened to him, which came out of a moment of “unadulterated passion.” Does the novel suggest that the things one wants most in life, such as this, come about more by happenstance or by deliberate planning? How have you seen that play out in other scenarios in Bridget’s life?
7. How do Bridget’s relationships with her parents, especially her father, reflect the values she prioritizes for her own future family?
8. Bridget is known for her vices—drinking, smoking, eating unhealthily, etc.—and her obsessive recording of them in her diary. How are these behaviors different or the same in light of her pregnancy?
9. Once you know that it’s meant for Billy to read one day, what’s the difference about this diary? Do you imagine that Bridget was cognizant of its future reader and altered it accordingly, or not?
10. How does Bridget rely on her friends during her pregnancy when other, more traditional sources of support—her family or a husband/father for the baby—are unavailable?
11. Bridget reflects on a quote in Buddha’s Little Instruction Book: “If you let cloudy water settle, it will become clear. If you let your upset mind settle, your course will also become clear.” How does this idea manifest itself over the course of the novel, including with regards to the series’s continuous theme of being loved “just as you are”? What do Bridget’s various trials—the things that make her mind cloudy—ultimately reveal in each instance?
12. Were you surprised by Mark’s or Daniel’s behavior when it came to Bridget’s doctor appointments, etc., or were their reactions characteristic?
13. When Mark’s assignment at work fails and he turns to painting, do you think his character fundamentally changes, or is painting simply a phase?
14. How much were you surprised on finding out the baby’s real father? What do you think would have happened if it were the other man?
15. How does this book in the Bridget Jones series build on its original inspiration, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice? Do you imagine Austen characters would make the same decisions if they lived today?
16. If you’ve read Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, which takes place several years after this novel’s conclusion, how did you approach the book, knowing what happens next? And if you haven’t, what do you think might happen with Bridget’s new family?
Suggested Reading
Karen Joy Fowler, The Jane Austen Book Club
Emily Giffin, Baby Proof
Jojo Moyes, After You
Graeme Simsion, The Rosie Effect
Curtis Sittenfeld, Eligible
Emma Straub, Modern Lovers
Meg Wolitzer, The Interestings
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