Title: The Last Dance of the Debutante
Publisher: 31st March 2022 by Canelo
Pages: 320 pages
How I Read It: ARC book
Genre: women’s fiction, historical fiction
My Rating: 4.5 cups
Synopsis:
A group of young women are swept up in a life-changing journey as they become three of the last debutantes to be presented to Queen Elizabeth II.
When it’s announced that 1958 will be the last year debutantes are to be presented at court, thousands of eager mothers and hopeful daughters flood the palace with letters seeking the year’s most coveted invitation: a chance for their daughters to curtsy to the young Queen Elizabeth and officially come out into society.
In an effort to appease her traditional mother, aspiring university student Lily Nichols agrees to become a debutante and do the Season, a glittering and grueling string of countless balls and cocktail parties. In doing so, she befriends two very different women: the cool and aloof Leana Hartford whose apparent perfection hides a darker side and the ambitious Katherine Norman who dreams of a career once she helps her parents find their place among the elite. But the glorious effervescence of the Season evaporates once Lily learns a devastating secret that threatens to destroy her entire family.
My Thoughts
“You’re going to be a debutante, Lillian,” said Grandmama. “One of the last.” “The Queen has decided that 1958 will be the final year of the court presentations,”
Julia Kelly’s, The Last Dance of the Debutante, sensationally brings to life the last official presentation of debutantes at court. Having read so much of how it was performed in Regency times for example, I was eager to read how this dying institution would play out in its final days. The story is everything I had hoped for and more. It is decadent yet also inclusive of a well written tale of a family mystery.
“That for the better part of a year we’re expected to go to lots of parties all in the hope that we’ll meet a nice man? It’s positively Victorian,”
England was on the cusp of change, especially for women. Gone were the days of a woman’s only path being one of matrimony and childhood. Julia’s research takes the facts of this final debutante season and mixes in a well crafted tale. On the one hand there are the pressures of participation in the Season and so much classism; on the other, a family secret that would have dramatic repercussions for the lead character, Lilly.
“I’m thinking about what my life would look like if no one expected me to become a deb,” she said.
I enjoyed The Last Dance of the Debutante. I thoroughly enjoyed diving into the final days of this English institution for girls being presented at court and seeking husbands. I mean, this was London 1958! Women were being seen to spread their wings and finding themselves caught between the old and emerging new ways. To have the lead character embroiled in a family secret just added that extra layer to the tale that brought the story to a whole new level.
‘To them, there was safety in even a dying tradition. To Lily, there was suffocation.’
With lush descriptions of gowns and parties, The Last Dance of the Debutante, Julia (author) brings to life this bygone era with women on the cusp of freedoms they had never dreamed possible. I found there to be the right amount of history and mystery with just a touch of romance. I felt, after all my Regency reads, that I had come full circle on this event that had been undertaken for so many years.
‘Some debutantes are a success because they are beautiful, and some are a success because of their families and their wealth. But others are a success because they understand how to play the game that is the Season.’
This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.
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