The Season: A Social History of the Debutante

by Kristen Richardson

Overview

A Smithsonian Best History Book of 2019

In this enthralling history of the debutante ritual, Kristen Richardson sheds new light on contemporary ideas about women and marriage.

Kristen Richardson, from a family of debutantes, chose not to debut. But as her curiosity drove her to research this enduring custom, she learned that it, and debutantes, are not as simple as they seem.

The story begins in England six hundred years ago when wealthy fathers needed an efficient way to find appropriate husbands for their daughters. Elizabeth I’s exclusive presentations at her court expanded into London’s full season of dances, dinners, and courting, extending eventually to the many corners of the British empire and beyond.

Richardson traces the social seasons of young women on both sides of the Atlantic, from Georgian England to colonial Philadelphia, from the Antebellum South and Wharton’s New York back to England, where debutante daughters of Gilded Age millionaires sought to marry British aristocrats. She delves into Jazz Age debuts, carnival balls in the American South, and the reimagined ritual of elite African American communities, which offers both social polish and academic scholarships.

The Season shares the captivating stories of these young women, often through their words from diaries, letters, and interviews that Richardson conducted at contemporary balls. The debutantes give voice to an array of complex feelings about being put on display, about the young men they meet, and about what their future in society or as wives might be.

While exploring why the debutante tradition persists—and why it has spread to Russia, China, and other nations—Richardson has uncovered its extensive cultural influence on the lives of daughters in Britain and the US and how they have come to marry.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393608731
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	11/19/2019
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	570,613
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Kristen Richardson was born in London, England, and lives with her son in Brooklyn, New York.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Too Many Daughters

1 The Girl Standard: Understanding the Currency of Daughters 13

2 Revolution and Republic: The Antebellum North 43

3 Frozen in Time: The Antebellum South 66

4 The Four Hundred and Beyond: Old New York 94

5 Transatlantic Crossings: The Gilded Age 117

6 The Bright Young People: An Old Ritual at the Dawn of the Modern 145

7 Café Society, Celebrity, and Conformity: 1930s-7980s 159

8 Prophets, Krewes, and Fiesta Queens: The Modern South 178

9 Creating a Black Elite: Debutantes in African American Society 196

10 Nouveau Now: The Debutante Reimagined 212

Afterword 239

Acknowledgments 245

Notes 247

Index 257

Editorial Reviews

09/30/2019

Richardson’s immersive debut uncovers the surprisingly long history and stylized rituals of the debutante tradition. Instituted by Queen Elizabeth I in the 16th century as a means “to form beneficial social and political alliances,” the ceremonial presentation of aristocratic young ladies at court had morphed, by the mid-18th century, into weekly “assemblies” hosted by “lady patronesses” seeking to match their daughters and nieces with wealthy, socially connected bachelors. In America, Richardson writes, the debutante custom reached its apotheosis as the “defining ritual” of the merchant and professional classes. Drawing from the journals and letters of colonial, antebellum, and Gilded Age debutantes, Richardson portrays young women enjoying—or enduring—their “social seasons.” In a diary account, Albany socialite Huybertie Pruyn recalls being “dragged” by her mother to the 1891 Patriarch Ball, where her escort was “her second cousin, at least 55 years old.” Exploring 20th-century rituals, Richardson reports on Mardi Gras krewes, the relationship between debutante balls and elitism in the African-American community, and the publicity-generating International Ball, held annually at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. A few minor historical errors—Anne Boleyn wasn’t pregnant when Henry VIII sought to annul his first marriage—don’t distract from the fun. This entertaining, eye-opening portrait captures a tradition that is “long dead but will never die.” (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

"My grandmother was presented to England’s King George V and my mother was Queen of the Veiled Prophet in St. Louis, but it wasn’t until I read The Season that I understood the enduring fascination and importance of that ritual. Kristen Richardson shows us, with wit and insight, how unmarried girls in long white dresses have publicly embodied the prestige of successful families—across centuries and around the world."

Carol Wallace

"The Season is a must for readers of social history, and all will appreciate Richardson's fluid, descriptive prose."

Booklist

"Who knew being a debutante was so tough, and so fascinating? Kristen Richardson takes a deep dive into this centuries-old, highly choreographed tribal rite—presentations at court in London, ‘Ethiopian Balls’ during the American Revolution, Gilded Age Assemblies in New York, the arcane rituals of a secret society in St. Louis, bejeweled dresses more like a suit of armor, and the secret codes embedded in the movement of a fan. And pity the poor Texas girls who had to master the spine-twisting curtsy known as the ‘Texas dip.’ All this for a husband!"

Donna M. Lucey

"It's an ongoing tug of war between money, race, class, culture and tradition, and The Season makes sparkling work of it."

NPR - Genevieve Valentine

"Richardson reminds us in this engaging and thought-provoking history, the use of daughters to cement power and wealth is very hard to give up."

BookPage

"Richardson’s sharp account of how the season evolved…is a more absorbing story than any period drama."

Financial Times - Cordelia Jenkins

"An immersive history, and one with remarkable empathy for the women populating it."

Lit Hub - Maitreyi Anantharaman

"Kristen Richardson writes so gracefully, and tells a story of courtship and marriage I knew nothing about and found fascinating."

Ira Glass

"Phenomenal.… [I]ncludes dozens of captivating interviews with those who’ve chosen to debut."

Bitch Reads

"A detailed examination of modern debutante societies… Richardson’s engaging study deserves credit for its persistently humane treatment of her subjects."

Sunday Telegraph - Robert Leigh-Pemberton

"[A] serious, enlightening look at debutantes throughout history.… Richardson reveals a rich and complicated world."

Book and Film Globe - Michael Giltz

"Richardson writes sharply and with greatest wit and enthusiasm of the debutante ritual’s importance."

Washington Post - Lucy Tiven

"Sharply observed and oddly timely, this history of the debutante ball explores a ritual whose social and historical significance has often been overlooked.… Richardson delves into a variety of fascinating deb scenes."

The New Yorker

"Class power has never been about wealth alone. As Kristen Richardson skillfully and colorfully documents, the marriage market—and the courtly ritual of the debutante—lays open a long, troubling, transatlantic history. This engaging book reminds us that ‘mock royalty’ and the trophy daughter, whether it’s Consuelo Vanderbilt in 1894 or Ivanka Trump more recently, are at the center of America’s love affair with the rich and beautiful."

Nancy Isenberg

"[A] fascinating social history."

Tatler - Francesca Carington