Simon Basset (books)

*This page is about the book character. For the Netflix character, see Simon Basset*

## Biographical Information

### Title(s)

* Duke of Hastings
* Earl Clyvedon

## Familial Information

### Children

* Amelia Basset
* Belinda Basset
* Caroline Basset
* David Basset
* Edward Basset

### Parents

* Duke of Hastings †
* Sarah Basset †

### Grand-children

* Charles Joliffe
* Thomas Joliffe
* May Butler
* Henry Findlay-Watt
* Victoria Findlay-Watt

### Others

*For a complete family tree, see the Bridgerton family tree*

## Appearances

### First

*The Duke and I*

**Simon Basset** is the husband of Daphne Basset.

## History

### Early Life

Simon was born to the Duke and Duchess of Hastings after many years of trying to have a child. Simon's mother died in childbirth. When Simon was four, he was revealed to have a profound stutter. His father immediately wrote him off, saying he was dead to him. Nurse Hopkins helped Simon improve his speech considerably by the time he was 11, and he wrote his father many letters telling him of his progress. After not receiving any response, Simon insisted on Nurse Hopkins taking him to see his father. They went to London, where Simon tried to show his father that he could speak, but seeing his father made Simon unable to speak, and The Duke mocked him before sending him away. Simon walked away, hurt and swearing vengeance.

Simon took himself to Eton when his father refused to let him go to school, and used his courtesy title of Earl Clyvedon to get in. He did well in his classes, and went to Oxford, where he graduated with a first in mathematics. He also became friends with Anthony Bridgerton while at Oxford. On holidays, instead of going to Clyvedon Castle, he would often spend time with friends' relatives, including Lady Danbury, whose nephew was Simon's classmate. His father was informed of his admission to Eton and Oxford, and paid Bow Street runners to inform him of Simon's progress. When Simon kept doing well in his studies, his father stopped asking for reports.

Simon completed his studies, and entered the ton, staying as far away from his father as possible. He learned how to manage his stutter, and became known as a dangerous rake due to his quiet nature and small circle of friends. In particular, he told off Beau Brummel, an arrogant, self-centered gentleman who liked to bully the ton, by responding to one of his insults with a succinct reply, which impressed and frightened the ton. His father heard about his growing popularity, and used to simply boast of Simon as his son. Simon was furious that his father acted like they hadn't been estranged for years. They came face-to-face at a ball in London, and the Duke embraced Simon, not caring about their estrangement. Simon tried to speak, but was unable to in his father's presence. Not willing to let his father ruin the progress he'd made, Simon left the country the next day, travelling around the world. He finally returned six years later, after his father had died.

### 1813

Simon returned to England after hearing of his father's death. He intended to never marry so that he would never have children and the Hastings line would die with him; he wanted revenge on his father for abandoning him. He still attended Lady Danbury's ball as a courtesy for her kindness towards him. During the ball, he met Daphne Bridgerton, who was trying to get away from Nigel Berbrooke. Over an unconscious Berbrooke, the two talked about whether to leave him there or have him sent home. Simon got fed up with Daphne constantly changing her mind and headed from the garden into the ball. There, he was besieged by Ambitious Mamas and their daughters, who were trying to match Simon up with them. He fended them off as best he could, till Lady Danbury came to his aid. He then met with Anthony and his younger brothers, Benedict and Colin. They all saw Daphne being introduced to men by their mother, Violet, but no one had the courage to rescue her. They suggested Simon take on the task, and he agreed. He came over, and asked Daphne for a dance.

While dancing, he found out that Daphne could not attract any worthy suitors because they all felt she was too friendly to be considered a wife. Simon then gave Daphne an idea: they should pretend to court so that she could attract more suitors and he could keep mothers away. Daphne agreed to the plan, and the two carried on a fake courtship. When Anthony voiced his displeasure, Daphne and Simon brought him in on the arrangement, and he reluctantly agreed to let the charade continue. Simon spends more time with the Bridgerton family, and realizes he's growing closer to Daphne, despite his wish to stay single.

At Lady Trowbridge's ball, Simon runs into the Duke of Middlethorpe, who has letters from Simon's father meant for Simon. Simon angrily refuses to take them, and suggests Middlethorpe burn them. While talking to Daphne, she decides to go into the gardens, and Simon follows her. Their feelings become too strong to avoid, and they start kissing. Anthony catches them, and demands that Simon marry Daphne. He refuses, and agrees to meet Anthony at dawn for a duel. Daphne comes before the duel, and tells Simon they were seen by someone going into the garden, and he has to marry her or she'll be ruined. Simon refuses, then lies that he can't have children, something Daphne wants. Daphne agrees to marry him, knowing this.

Simon gifts Daphne an engagement ring to match her eyes, and vows to make her happy. They marry soon after, and head to Clyvedon Castle for their honeymoon. They end up stopping at an inn on their wedding night. Though he tries to get separate rooms, Simon and Daphne end up getting one room for the night. Daphne eventually admits in the room that she believes Simon is impotent. Initially shocked, Simon laughs at Daphne's naive mind, and assures her he is not impotent. They make love and consummate their wedding night, but Simon pulls out before his release to avoid Daphne conceiving.

Simon and Daphne head to Clyvedon where Simon finds himself happy with Daphne, despite the reminders of loneliness he has of the place. It's not long after that Daphne figures out that Simon is purposely making sure she doesn't conceive, and is angry at his deception. Though Simon believes he was honest with Daphne about not having children, he feels bad for hurting her. When she moves out of the Duke's bedroom and refuses to let Simon into her room, he becomes depressed and gets drunk. He comes back to Daphne's room, unsteady and inebriated. Daphne helps him into bed, where he passes out. Taking advantage, Daphne makes love to him while he is unconscious, forcing him to release into her. Simon wakes up just as he climaxes, and realizes what has happened. He is furious with Daphne for what she did, and begins to stutter in his anger. Shocked that his stammer came back after spending so many years controlling it, Simon runs away to avoid Daphne.

Simon heads to one of his properties in Wiltshire, leaving a letter for Daphne to let him know if she's pregnant. Two months later, Anthony arrives, angry at Simon for hurting Daphne. He delivers the letter Daphne was sending to him, and tells Simon to make amends with Daphne. Simon reads the letter, where Daphne tells Simon she's pregnant. He decides to head to London. When he gets there, he finds Daphne out riding and sees her fall off her horse. He is terrified, but she's unharmed. He yells at her for harming their unborn baby, but Daphne reveals that she's not pregnant, after all. She found out after she sent him the letter. Simon says he misses her and he felt ashamed when he started stuttering in front of her. Daphne says she doesn't think less of him, and he needs to let his hate for his father go to be happy. Simon realizes she's right, and decides to try and let his vendetta go.

Simon and Daphne return home, where Anthony, Benedict, and Colin are waiting for him. They refuse to leave until Simon proves he loves Daphne. Simon takes Daphne aside, and professes his love for her, saying he realized it long before her brothers show up. Violet comes over, and drags Daphne's brothers out. In the Duke's bedroom, Simon confides to Daphne that he wants to have children, but is afraid of them being born with stutter like him. Daphne believes that they will be fine, because Simon will love the child, unlike his father, and so will Daphne. She also gives him the letters from his father, which she took from Middlethorpe. Simon decides to keep them away, wanting to stop letting his father influence his life. He hopes to have a family with Daphne, as he accepts love and happiness.

### 1814

Simon and Daphne attend the Bridgerton country house party at Aubrey Hall, the Bridgerton country residence. They play pall-mall with Anthony, Kate and Edwina Sheffield, and Colin. After the game, Simon mentions that Daphne is pregnant. She later gives birth to a daughter; Simon and Daphne continue the Bridgerton tradition of naming their children in alphabetical order, and name their daughter Amelia.

### 1815

During Violet's grand masquerade ball, Simon and Daphne are expecting their second child. Daphne gives birth to their second daughter, Belinda.

### 1817

Simon and Daphne have a third daughter, Caroline, and Daphne is expecting their fourth child during the season. She later gives birth to her and Simon's first son, David.

### 1833–34

To both Simon and Daphne's shock, Daphne discovers she's pregnant with their fifth child. All three of their daughters are out in society looking for matches, and David is now 16. Colin and his wife, Penelope, come over to visit, and Colin tells Simon that their youngest son, George, isn't speaking; he asks Simon for his advice. Simon tells Colin to encourage George to speak, and to spend as much time with him to help him. Hoping to help Colin and Penelope more, Simon pulls out his father's letters, and reads them with Daphne. They don't find any useful information or an apology to Simon, as his father simply wrote about estate matters. Simon takes the letters and burns them, deciding that Daphne and his children are all he needs. Daphne later gives birth to another son, Edward.

### 1841

Simon is still alive and present when the Bridgerton family celebrates Violet's 75th birthday. His daughters are all married, and he's a grandfather to five grandchildren.

## Personality

Having lost his mother at birth and abandoned by his cruel father, Simon learned to take care of himself and succeed in life to prove that he could be better than his father believed him to be. Despite his success, Simon is left with bitterness over his lonely childhood, and wishes to gain the ultimate victory over his father by never marrying or having a son. He has no wish to find love or be a part of the ton – until he meets Daphne Bridgerton.

## Relationships

### Romantic

#### Daphne Basset

When Simon first met Daphne Bridgerton, he found her attractive immediately. He was happy to be in her company, despite wishing to never marry. Their fake courtship made Simon spend time with Daphne and the Bridgerton family; Simon saw the family he never had. He still told Daphne that he had no plans to marry or have children, while she wished to do both. Simon still found it difficult to stay away from Daphne, and they were caught in a compromising position by Anthony when their feelings finally became too strong to ignore. Simon still refused to marry Daphne, because he did not want to deny Daphne the chance to be a mother. Daphne still agreed to marry Simon, and he vowed to make Daphne happy in any way he could, even though he refused to have children. Thanks to Mrs. Colson, Daphne figured out that Simon was intentionally making sure she didn't conceive and became furious at his deception. Simon told her that he vowed not have children out of hatred towards his father. When he started to stutter again, he felt ashamed to let Daphne see him weak, and left. Daphne tried to talk to him, but Simon would not talk about his father to Daphne, and she walked away. He later found that she had moved out of their bedroom, and was furious that Daphne had shut him out. Daphne told him that he was choosing hate over love, so she was pushing him away. Simon was dejected over this, knowing Daphne was telling the truth, but not willing to let go of his hatred for his father. When he got angry with Daphne again and started stuttering, he again walked away, ashamed of the stutter coming back in front of her. The more time he spent away from Daphne, the more Simon realized how lonely he was without her, and finally came back. He explained to Daphne that his hatred for his father was his driving force to live, and he didn't know how to live without it. Daphne told him that he was not weak, and he was a better man than his father was, and could be a better father too. Though Simon worried about his children stuttering like him, Daphne wasn't worried, because Simon wouldn't reject them and would know how to help them if they did. Realizing Daphne mattered more to him than his father, Simon told Daphne he loved her, and promised to spend the rest of their lives proving it.

### Familial

#### Parents

Simon's mother died when he was born. He never met her, but according to Mrs. Colson, his mother's former companion, she was a kind woman who could've shown love and compassion to Simon.

Simon's father was obsessed with having an heir to the Duke of Hastings title. After Simon was born, he wanted his son to know estate and account matters, basically expecting him to be perfect. When he discovered Simon had a stutter, he quickly rejected his son for not being perfect and ignored him. Simon worked hard to overcome his stutter to prove to his father that he was capable of being a duke. He tried to show his father his efforts, but seeing him reminded Simon of the pain his father inflicted on him, and he could not speak. His father said Simon was his biggest mistake, hurting Simon even further. Simon vowed to hurt his father back; he decided to never marry or have children so that the Hastings title, which his father prized so much, would die with him. Simon continued to persist, and became a brilliant student and distinguished gentleman; his father used to brag about him, which made Simon furious after the way he had rejected him. Even when he married Daphne, he still was determined to never have children to get victory over his father. But when Daphne pushed him away over his obsession for revenge, Simon realized how lonely he was without her, and went to reconcile with Daphne. Daphne made Simon realize that Simon had won over his father long before through his own merit, and he was denying himself happiness by choosing hatred over love. Simon agreed, and decided to stop letting his father influence him to hold onto Daphne and his future. Simon let his father go for good when he burned the letters his father had written to him before he died, deciding Daphne and his kids were more important.

## Notes and Trivia

* According to Daphne, he's very good at numbers. She has even claimed that he's better at it than her older brother, Benedict.

## Appearances

 **#02** | "The Viscount Who Loved Me"
 **#03** | "An Offer from a Gentleman"