The season : a social history of the debutante
(Book)

Includes bibliographical references (pages 247-256) and index.

The world of debutantes opens into a revealing story of women across six centuries, their limited options, and their desires. Richardson shares debutantes' own words-from diaries, letters, and interviews-beginning in Henry VIII's era, sweeping through Queen Elizabeth I's court, crossing back and forth the Atlantic to colonial Philadelphia, African American communities, Jane Austen's England, and Mrs. Astor's parties, ultimately arriving at the contemporary New York Infirmary and International balls. Whether maligned for its archaic attitude and objectification of women or praised for raising money for charities and providing a necessary coming-of-age ritual, the debutante tradition has more to tell us.