The Season: A Social History Of The Debutante

"Don’t let the evening gloves fool you – The Season is a tense history of social change. Much of debutante tradition arose from attempts to preserve narratives of power and culture and deliberately excluded families on the basis of religion, race and class. Luckily, Kristen Richardson has a wry touch with even the most mercenary moments. Though the practice of social debuts is clearly loaded, the book offers a humanizing glimpse behind the very careful performances being given at very fraught balls. Debuting is a tug of war among money, race, class, culture and tradition, and The Season makes sparkling work of it."