The Reluctant Debutante

by William Douglas-Home

It is a light-hearted, almost farcical, comedy which revolves around the mother's deep anxiety and attempts to avoid scandal after she confuses two men (both called David) and accidentally sets up her daughter with 'David Hoylake-Johnston' (who has a reputation as a philanderer) instead of 'David Bulloch' (who she believes to be the perfect match for her daughter).5 women, 3 men

Genres: Plays, Fiction

88 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

Reviews

[Petra X · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rewritten in a bitter kind of way 24th Jan, 2012

Fluffy light rubbish. A farce that might have amused the Noel Coward school of social playrights, but then again, since The Reluctant Debutante is pure fluff and no social commentary, might not. It's about an aristocratic family attending the debutante balls in London and trying to get their daughter married 'well' (meaning to someone even richer than they are) and not getting her bedded by a moneyless Lothario. The farce comes from the slight fact that both the wealthy and the randy are called David.

William Douglas-Home was the son of a lord, his eldest brother was Sir Alec Douglas-Home, a Conservative Prime Minister, both of whom went to deb balls, huntin', shootin' and fishin' and so perhaps the shallowness of The Reluctant Debutante is but a true reflection of this wealthy and self-exalted class of society. Funny really, since almost all of them are descended from warmongers, pirates and exploiters who gained their titles and land by sharing their spoils with the Crown. They've all long lost sight of their roots though and swallowed their own PR. Not only their own PR but also a plum resulting in the strange haw haw haw accents and peculiar pronounciations of names that ought to be straightforward - 'Douglas-Home' is pronounced 'Douglas-Hume'.

WDH is as famous for being court-martialled for not obeying orders as he is for having stood -and lost - in three by-elections, on the platform of opposing Winston Churchill's policy of requiring unconditional surrender of the Germans in WWII. What a snotty little shit he must have been and that perhaps is why The Reluctant Debutante is such a small, snotty little effort.

[Lori · Rating 1 out of 5]

This play was completely boring. The movie "What a Girl Wants" with Amanda Bynes says it is based on this play. I would have to say it is VERY loosely based on this play. Of course, it was written in the 1950's, and the female characters just drove me insane.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this because my book club chose to read a Play. Reading it on my own I found it just ok, but after reading aloud a scene with my book club I can see how it would be quite ridiculous and silly and fun to watch on stage.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this play because the movie adaptation is one of my favorites! The play and movie are very similar and both hilarious! Gotta love British social comedies.

[Pee Poo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun comedy and a quick read. The first play I've read since shakespeare in highschool and honestly I really enjoyed it. There are definitely parts that did not age well but, the family dynamics are very timeless and relatable. I laughed out loud a few times. I can also see where different parts of what a girl wants got inspiration, the movie is a veeery loose adaptation of this play. Also it took me so long to find a digital version of this play omg. If you're looking, there's a digital version on Concord+

[Radwa]

What a Girl Wants (2003)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0286788/...

[maddie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Found it tucked away in the library and thought the descriptions of the characters were interesting. The rest was goofy as hell.