The Ex-Debutante: A Novel

The Ex-Debutante: A Novel

by Linda Francis Lee
The Ex-Debutante: A Novel

The Ex-Debutante: A Novel

by Linda Francis Lee

Paperback(Reprint)

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Overview

When Carlisle Wainwright Cushing, of the old-moneyed Texas Wainwrights, moved to Boston three years ago to work at one of the city's most prestigious divorce law firms, she thought she had escaped the high society she'd grown up in – after all, no one in Boston, not even her fiancé, knew she was an heiress. But now, Carlisle has been lured back to Texas to deal with her mother's latest divorce and the family-sponsored 100th annual debutante ball, which is on the verge of collapse. She's afraid she'll never get back to Boston, at least with her reputation intact, especially when good 'ole Southern boy Jack Blair shows up on the opposite side of the divorce court, making her wonder if he's going after her mother in the proceedings—or her.

Carlisle's trip home challenges her sense of who she really is and forces her to face her family's secrets. Funny, smart, and poignant, The Ex-Debutante is a story about the risks one woman must take if she stands a chance of finding herself, real love, and her place in that crazy thing we call family.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780312354985
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date: 03/03/2009
Edition description: Reprint
Pages: 352
Sales rank: 960,595
Product dimensions: 5.52(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.93(d)

About the Author

Bestselling author of nineteen novels LINDA FRANCIS LEE is a former Texas Debutante who has high hopes that all photos of the experience are long gone. She currently lives in New York City with her husband where she is at work on her next novel.

Reading Group Guide

When Carlisle Wainwright Cushing, of the old-moneyed Texas Wainwrights, moved to Boston three years ago to work at one of the city's most prestigious divorce law firms, she thought she had escaped the high society she'd grown up in – after all, no one in Boston, not even her fiancé, knew she was an heiress. But now, Carlisle has been lured back to Texas to deal with her mother's latest divorce and the family-sponsored 100th annual debutante ball, which is on the verge of collapse. She's afraid she'll never get back to Boston, at least with her reputation intact, especially when good 'ole Southern boy Jack Blair shows up on the opposite side of the divorce court, making her wonder if he's going after her mother in the proceedings—or her.

Carlisle's trip home challenges her sense of who she really is and forces her to face her family's secrets. Funny, smart, and poignant, The Ex-Debutante is a story about the risks one woman must take if she stands a chance of finding herself, real love, and her place in that crazy thing we call family.


1. How do you think Carlisle's mother's pending divorce affects her relationship with Jack?

2. According to Ridgley, there are three types of women: Those born fabulous, those who learned to be fabulous, and those who would never, no matter what, be fabulous. How do you think Carlisle brought out the fabulousness of her less than fabulous debutantes?

3. How does Carlisle grow into her own fabulousness? Does she redeem herself for her first attempt at being a debutante?

4. Throughout the novel, Carlisle pits her Texas upbringing and her newfound Eastern brashness against each other. When have you ever had to shift between two worlds?

5. Willow Creek is vividly divided by the "Haves" and "Have-nots." How does the debutante ball bring the town together? How does it pull it apart?

6. If you had to choose between the worlds represented by Jack and Phillip, which would you pick? Why?

7. What kind of role does family play in The Ex-Debutante?

8. How do you think the current generation of Wainwright Cushings mirrors their ancestors' reputation in Willow Creek?

9. How does the debutante ball bring Carlisle, Savannah, and Janice together as partners and sisters?

10. As you read The Ex-Debutante, which character did you most identify with? Who did you least identify with? Why?

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