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The season : a social history of the debutante / Kristen Richardson.

Summary:

"The world of debutantes opens into a revealing story of women across six centuries, their limited options, and their desires. Digging into the roots of the debutante ritual, with its ballrooms and white dresses, Kristen Richardson - herself descended from a line of debutantes - was fascinated to discover that the debutante ritual places our contemporary ideas about women and marriage in a new light. In this brilliant history of the phenomenon, Richardson shares debutantes' own words--from diaries, letters, and interviews--throughout her vivid telling, 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 in this entertaining and illuminating book"-- Provided by publisher.

Record details

  • ISBN: 9780393608731
  • ISBN: 0393608735
  • ISBN: 9780393358537
  • ISBN: 0393358534
  • Physical Description: 276 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 25 cm
  • Edition: First edition
  • Publisher: New York, NY : W.W. Norton & Company, [2020]

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 247-256) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:
Introduction : Too many daughters -- Girl standard : understanding the currency of daughters -- Revolution and Republic : the antebellum North -- Frozen in time : the antebellum South -- Four Hundred and beyond : Old New York -- Transatlantic crossings: the Gilded Age -- Bright young people : an old ritual at the dawn of the modern -- Café society, celebrity, and conformity : 1930s-1980s -- Prophets, krewes, and fiesta queens: the modern South -- Creating a black elite : debutantes in African American society -- Nouveau now : the debutante reimagined.
Subject:
Debutantes > History.
Upper class women > Social life and customs.
Debutante balls > History.

Available copies

  • 9 of 10 copies available at NC Cardinal.
  • 0 of 1 copy available at McDowell County Public Library. (Show)

Holds

  • 0 current holds with 10 total copies.
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Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Marion Library 305.4821 RIC (Text) 37810435761415 Adult Nonfiction Checked out 08/21/2026
Braswell Memorial Main Library 305.48 RIC (Text) 37807000016631 Adult Nonfiction Available -
Cliffdale Library 305.4821 R (Text) 31781066551274 Adult Nonfiction Available -
Fairview Library 305.4821 RIC (Text) 0020512466275 Adult Nonfiction Available -
Moyock Library 305.48 RIC (Text) 39488700264619 Adult Nonfiction Available -
Newport SOCIALSC RICHA (Text) 34208900145045 Adult Nonfiction Available -
Richard H. Thornton Main Library 305.48 RICHAR (Text) 42756202230691 Adult Nonfiction Available -
South Buncombe/Skyland Library 305.4821 RIC (Text) 0020512466291 Adult Nonfiction Available -
Southern Branch 305.48 Ri (Text) 50669012626116 Adult Nonfiction Available -
Transylvania County Library 305.48 RIC (Text) 38079300198827 Adult Nonfiction Available -

Accessibility Features

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020 . ‡a9780393608731 ‡q(hardcover)
020 . ‡a0393608735 ‡q(hardcover)
020 . ‡a9780393358537 ‡q(trade paperback)
020 . ‡a0393358534 ‡q(trade paperback)
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035 . ‡a(OCoLC)1110655537 ‡z(OCoLC)1084433771 ‡z(OCoLC)1126278649
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08200. ‡a305.48/21 ‡223
1001 . ‡aRichardson, Kristen, ‡eauthor. ‡0(CARDINAL)814641
24514. ‡aThe season : ‡ba social history of the debutante / ‡cKristen Richardson.
250 . ‡aFirst edition
264 1. ‡aNew York, NY : ‡bW.W. Norton & Company, ‡c[2020]
264 4. ‡c©2020.
300 . ‡a276 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : ‡billustrations ; ‡c25 cm
336 . ‡astill image ‡bsti ‡2rdacontent
336 . ‡atext ‡btxt ‡2rdacontent
337 . ‡aunmediated ‡bn ‡2rdamedia
338 . ‡avolume ‡bnc ‡2rdacarrier
504 . ‡aIncludes bibliographical references (pages 247-256) and index.
50500. ‡tIntroduction : Too many daughters -- ‡tGirl standard : understanding the currency of daughters -- ‡tRevolution and Republic : the antebellum North -- ‡tFrozen in time : the antebellum South -- ‡tFour Hundred and beyond : Old New York -- ‡tTransatlantic crossings: the Gilded Age -- ‡tBright young people : an old ritual at the dawn of the modern -- ‡tCafé society, celebrity, and conformity : 1930s-1980s -- ‡tProphets, krewes, and fiesta queens: the modern South -- ‡tCreating a black elite : debutantes in African American society -- ‡tNouveau now : the debutante reimagined.
520 . ‡a"The world of debutantes opens into a revealing story of women across six centuries, their limited options, and their desires. Digging into the roots of the debutante ritual, with its ballrooms and white dresses, Kristen Richardson - herself descended from a line of debutantes - was fascinated to discover that the debutante ritual places our contemporary ideas about women and marriage in a new light. In this brilliant history of the phenomenon, Richardson shares debutantes' own words--from diaries, letters, and interviews--throughout her vivid telling, 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 in this entertaining and illuminating book"-- ‡cProvided by publisher.
650 0. ‡aDebutantes ‡xHistory.
650 0. ‡aUpper class women ‡xSocial life and customs.
650 0. ‡aDebutante balls ‡xHistory.
902 . ‡aMARCIVE 202012
902 . ‡aMARCIVE 202309
902 . ‡aMARCIVE 202312
901 . ‡a11597140 ‡bOCoLC ‡c11597140 ‡tbiblio ‡sSystem Local