Bridget Jones: Books vs. Movies
The four Bridget Jones movies, released between 2001 and 2025, are adapted from Helen Fielding's four books, published between 1996 and 2016. Each book has its own page here; this page is for the entire series.
From Books Adapted
How much of the book it covers
The movies tell her story in a different order
The first two movies follow the first two books. Then the order flips: the movies tell the pregnancy story before Mad About the Boy, while the books came out the other way round.
| Movie | Based on |
|---|---|
| Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) | The first book |
| Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004) | The second book, with changes to the story |
| Bridget Jones's Baby (2016) | Fielding's newspaper columns about the pregnancy, not the book of the same name |
| Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy (2025) | The 2013 book, set later in Bridget's life |
Mad About the Boy came out in 2013 and Bridget Jones's Baby: The Diaries in 2016, but in Bridget's life the baby comes first. Every book has a movie, though the book and the movie of Baby tell the pregnancy differently.
What changed from the book
Contains spoilersTap to show
In the book, the other possible father is Daniel
In Bridget Jones's Baby: The Diaries, the father is either Mark Darcy or Daniel Cleaver. The movie swaps Daniel for a new character, Jack Qwant, a tech billionaire played by Patrick Dempsey.
Both versions grew out of the columns Fielding wrote for The Independent in 2005 and 2006.
Every movie has its own page
Vote on them one at a time: each has its own question, results and comments.
- Book 1
Bridget Jones's DiaryMovie, 2001 · Directed by Sharon Maguire · 1 hr 37 minFrom Bridget Jones's Diary · 1996 · 336 pagesSharon Maguire’s Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001) adapts Helen Fielding’s 1996 novel. A London publishing assistant’s plans for self-improvement collide with office flirtation, family interference, and an unexpected romantic rivalry.Which was better? Vote - Book 2
Bridget Jones: The Edge of ReasonMovie, 2004 · Directed by Beeban Kidron · 1 hr 44 minFrom Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason · 1999 · 352 pagesBeeban Kidron’s Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004) adapts Helen Fielding’s 1999 novel. Bridget’s new relationship with Mark Darcy comes under strain as jealousy grows and Daniel Cleaver returns to her working life.Which was better? Vote - Book 3
Bridget Jones: Mad About the BoyMovie, 2025 · Directed by Michael Morris · 2 hr 5 minFrom Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy · 2013 · 496 pagesMichael Morris’s Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy (2025) adapts Helen Fielding’s 2013 novel. Widowed and raising two children, Bridget returns to work and dating while the family adjusts to life without Mark.Which was better? Vote - Book 4
Bridget Jones's BabyMovie, 2016 · Directed by Sharon Maguire · 2 hr 3 minFrom Bridget Jones's Baby: The Diaries · 2016 · 240 pagesSharon Maguire’s Bridget Jones’s Baby and Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’s Baby: The Diaries both arrived in 2016. These related stories follow Bridget through an unexpected pregnancy with two possible fathers.Which was better? Vote
The books, in order
Details
- Author
- Helen Fielding
- Year
- 1996
- Pages
- 336
- Audiobook length
- 8 hr 28 min
- Narrator
- Imogen Church
- Series
- Bridget Jones, book 1
Bridget Jones begins a diary to record the improvements she intends to make to her weight, habits, career, and love life. Instead, the entries document flirtation with her boss Daniel Cleaver, unwelcome encounters with family acquaintance Mark Darcy, and a steady stream of advice from friends and married acquaintances. As her mother’s own romantic adventures disrupt the family, Bridget struggles to separate what she wants from what everyone says she should want.
Details
- Author
- Helen Fielding
- Year
- 1999
- Pages
- 352
- Audiobook length
- 10 hr 56 min
- Narrator
- Rosalyn Landor
- Series
- Bridget Jones, book 2
Having found a boyfriend in Mark Darcy, Bridget Jones discovers that being in a relationship has not silenced her doubts about herself. Friends, self-help books, and suspicions about another woman supply competing explanations for everything Mark does. Between television assignments, troubles with her flat, and a holiday in Thailand, her diary records increasingly elaborate attempts to take control of a life that refuses to follow the advice she reads.
Details
- Author
- Helen Fielding
- Year
- 2013
- Pages
- 496
- Audiobook length
- 11 hr 22 min
- Narrator
- Samantha Bond
- Series
- Bridget Jones, book 3
Widowed and raising two young children, Bridget Jones tries to make room for a life beyond school routines and memories of Mark. A romance with the much younger Roxster sends her back to analyzing messages and worrying about her appearance, now alongside attempts to write a screenplay and master Twitter. Her diary follows the awkward overlap of grief, sexual excitement, and the everyday demands of being the parent who remains.
Details
- Author
- Helen Fielding
- Year
- 2016
- Pages
- 240
- Audiobook length
- 3 hr 37 min
- Narrator
- Morwenna Banks
- Series
- Bridget Jones, book 4
Bridget Jones is pregnant, delighted, and unable to answer the question everyone will eventually ask: is the father Mark Darcy or Daniel Cleaver? As both former lovers become involved, medical appointments and preparations for the birth take on the complications of their long rivalry. Recording the pregnancy in her diary, Bridget negotiates contradictory advice and her own expectations of motherhood without knowing what shape her new family will take.
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