A cotillion is a formal dance in which couples change partners, like a quadrille. It can also mean a general ball, specifically one for a debutant as she enters society for the first time. So, a cotillion can also be a kind of a training dance as well, one in which young children practice together for the first time before their debut in society.
In Cotillion by Georgette Heyer (published 1953), I believe the title refers to the debutant’s entry into society, but it also suggests the mixing of partners as the young single people figure out whom they want to be with. Adopted Kitty Charing is to be an heiress, if she marries one of her cousins. Her adoptive uncle, however, has kept his fortune to himself, keeping Kitty in the country on his estate and enforcing a miserly lifestyle for them both as she has grown.
Now Kitty is desperate for a chance to escape her dreary “prison,” and see London society. Unfortunately, she is disgusted by single cousins that have proposed. She wishes cousin Jack had come. He was always the fun one, and she’s secretly harbored a crush on him. Instead, she gets a chance to talk with Freddy, her friendly cousin who stumbles on her path as she tries to run away from the rural estate. She makes an agreement with him: pretend to be engaged so she can come to London and experience society herself. Secretly, she hopes she can find Jack as well so she can fall in love for real.
The riches of London overwhelm our young protagonist, but she quickly finds ways to support the single people around her, helping them to bring out their own happy endings. Jack’s rakish ways are not as endearing as she anticipated, and she finds love in a previously unlikely corner. I love Freddy’s easy going nature, and together with Kitty, there is pleasantness, even when unpleasant people show up in society. I love their conversation as they debate how to “break up” as per the agreement. “But i don’t want to argue with you, even fake argue!” they declare to each other. As can be expected, humorous resolutions for all friends drives the plot to a satisfying conclusion.
Cotillion is one of Heyer’s later novels and it is truly delightful. Heyer has found her groove and that’s clear in this nicely plotted story. One can’t help but love the characters, and the humorous social class mingling this a “debutante’s” first season is everything someone could want from a light Regency romance novel of this sort.
I read a lightly edited reissue from Sourcebooks, 2009. I am unware of any racist or inappropriate content in the original.
