Kristen Richardson, from a family of debutantes, chose not to debut but her curiosity drove her to research this enduring custom. 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 presentations at court expanded into London's season of dances, dinners and courting, extending to the corners of the British empire and beyond. Richardson traces the social seasons of young women, and shares their captivating stories, often through their words from diaries, letters and interviews. 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.

From Georgian England and Edith Wharton's New York to the contemporary International Debutante Ball, the presentation of young women into society has persisted. In this "sharply observed" (The New Yorker) exploration of the debutante ritual, Kristen Richardson uncovers its extensive cultural influence in Britain and the United States, how daughters in these countries have come to marry, and the ritual's spread around the world-reaching France, Russia and China. The Season gives voice to an array of complex feelings about being put on display, and about what these women's futures in society might be.