Debutantes by Cora Harrison

Precisely written and engaging, Cora Harrison has created a novel of romance, parties and secrets in the year of 1923. I believe that Harrison has captured the essence of that era beautifully and has been able to portray it to her readers all the same.

I’m going to start by saying what I most enjoyed about this book and it was in fact the character, Rose. For a 12-year-old Harrison has portrayed her to be quite mature and already knows what she wants for a career. Although I admired this, the thing I most enjoyed was the personality of the character and the things she’d say, she seems very witty and opinionated and this made the book more enjoyable as it brought laughter to the story.

I also thoroughly enjoyed reading about the parties and the dresses the girls wore, the description given created a very real environment, and at one point I did lose myself in the book in a whirl of dresses, dancing and the party lifestyle.

However, if I am honest I was surprised by how good this book actually is because I have previously tried to read one of Cora Harrison’s books but was unable to engage with it straight away. Luckily this did now happen with Debutantes and I enjoyed it from the beginning.

A book dedicated to capturing the lifestyle of those in the 1920s… and has succeeded in doing so, an enjoyable read!