Title: The Debutante
Author: Kathleen Tessaro
Publisher: Avon A
Publication Date: October 5, 2010
Paperback: 400 pages
ISBN: 978-0061125782
Genre: Fiction
Can the secrets of one woman’s past change another woman’s future?
A gifted artist, Cate has come to London from New York to escape her recent past. Working for her aunt’s auction house, she is sent down to Devon to value the contents of Endsleigh House, the once gracious but now crumbling estate of a former socialite. There, hidden in the back of a dusty bookshelf, Cate discovers an old shoebox. Inside is a strange assortment of objects: an exquisite pair of dancing shoes circa 1930; a diamond brooch; a photograph of a young sailor; a dance card; and a pearl and emerald Tiffanys bracelet.
Intrigued by her find, Cate sets out to solve the mystery of the box, becoming immersed in the story of its owner, Baby Blythe. Bright, beautiful, and reckless, Baby was the most famous debutante of her generation . . . and the most dangerous. As the clues begin to reveal a shocking tale of destructive, addictive love, Cate finds herself being drawn deeper into Baby’s tragic life story—a story that will force Cate to face some dark truths about her own.
My Review:
The Debutante by Kathleen Tessaro is a beautiful book about lives interwoven decades apart in Devon, England, in Endsleigh House to be precise. Rachel, asks for her niece Katie, now calling herself Cate Albion, to work with her assistant Jack, a self professes loner, cataloguing the contents of Endsleigh House after the death of Lady Avalon in preparation for an auction when she stumbles upon a box most intriguing and begins to try and unravel the mystery of the Blythe sisters, especially the 1941 disappearance of Diana Blythe. Tessaro exquisitely weaves together the modern day lives of Jack and Cate, two people trying to come to terms with their lives alternating back to the lives of debutantes Irene and Diana Blythe through letters, the first one dated 1926. The Debutante is a beautiful and insightful look at society and how people relate to each other and with themselves, secrets, and scandals. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Irene’s and Diana’s experiences being debutantes and seeing London society, and the world, for that matter, through their eyes. The stories of Cate’s life as well as Jack’s were also quite compelling and while I enjoyed learning more about each of them and their respective troubled paths, my favourite parts were the letters and then of course the mystery. The Debutante is the first book of Kathleen Tessaro’s that I have read and if this novel is any indication of the depth and breadth of her writing ability, then I shall be reading her previous books. I would not hesitate to recommend The Debutante to any reader and think this would make an excellent discussion group pick.
Born in Pittsburgh, Kathleen Tessaro emigrated to London where she worked as an actress in films, television, and theater, while training to be a drama teacher and voice coach. She is the author of the novels Elegance, Innocence, and The Flirt. Kathleen currently lives in Pennsylvania.
For more reviews of the book, please follow the book tour.
I received a complimentary copy of The Debutante by Kathleen Tessaro from TLC Book Tours to be a part of this tour and offer my honest review of the book. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned book.
This does sound fascinating – I bet my mother would love it!
I had a lot of fun reading the book and was fascinated by the letters and the lives of the Blythe sisters.
As all the women in my southern family have been debutantes, I know I would love this book- your arouses my interest even more!
It is a lovely story and I do so hope you choose to read it.
Good review- I will check it out.
Touching base from the monkey group on SITS
Andrea
http://www.greatthoughts.com
Welcome to my blog Andrea! I am so pleased you stopped over and I look forward to getting to know you better. The Debutante is indeed a lovely book.
Stopping by from your Monkey group on SITS. Sounds like a great book. I do love a good read and I will usually read anything that will sit still long enough! Although since I’ve discovered blogging, Twitter & Facebook, much more of my reading is done on-line these days.
Thank you for popping over to my blog, it is lovely to meet you. The Debutante is a lovely book.
Sounds like an enjoyable read, Jennifer. I like your style of reviewing. I’ll be going through some archives to check out your other recommendations.
I’m here from the monkey tribe and just wanted to say HELLO!
Lisa,
Thank you for your very kind words and for taking the time to stop by and say hello. I look forward to getting to know you better.
I awarded you; http://fredasvoice.blogspot.com/2010/10/award-ceremony.html
Thank you Freda.
I really like Avon books. Their chick lit type books almost always appeal to me and this seems like no exception!
Hi Angie! The Debutante really is a marvelous book. I hope you give it a try.
Sounds really good. I’ll have to add it to my list.
Nice review,
Natalie :0)
It is really quite good. I hope you enjoy it.
One of the SITS girls from the Monkey Tribe coming by to get to know you a little. I’m definitely adding The Debutante to my “I Plan to Read” list.
I think you will enjoy it. Thank you for stopping by. I look forward to getting to know you better.
Hello from another SITS tribe members. You have really piqued my interest about this book; I’m going to reserve it at the library. I have a feeling I’m going to find a lot of good reads in your archives!
Jo
Welcome Jo. Thank you for stopping by! Yes, there are a lot of excellent books of various genres to chose from. The Debutante is a lovely book and I do so hope you enjoy it.
This sounds like a great book – I love reading about “society” in the 1920s! And it sounds like the writing is excellent as well, so I will definitely have to pick up a copy of this one.