Julie Pottinger (née Cotler; born January 12, 1970), better known by her pen name, Julia Quinn, is an American author of historical romance fiction.

Challenged to prove that she was, indeed, interested in pursuing a writing career, Quinn sat down at their computer and wrote her first two chapters.

That decision required her to attend two additional years of college to complete the science prerequisites necessary to apply for medical school.

[11] To occupy herself during the long days of studying science, Quinn began to write light-hearted Regency novels.

[1] A few weeks after she was accepted to medical school, she discovered that her first two novels, Splendid and Dancing At Midnight, had been sold at auction, an unusual occurrence for a novice romance author.

[12] By the time Quinn finally entered Yale School of Medicine, intending to become a doctor, three of her books had been published.

Quinn won the Romance Writers of America RITA Award, in 2007, for On the Way to the Wedding and again, in 2008, for The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever.

[2] Each of her last 17 novels have appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List, with Mr. Cavendish, I Presume hitting number one in October 2008.

The witty gossip columnist "Lady Whistledown" from the Bridgerton series ties together these two anthologies of interlinked novellas: