Jacqueline Masterson

A world of `seasons,' and `coming out balls' in 1956 England. In this case, the young girls, debutantes, are not shown off at balls and court to find a husband, but to find an "owner." These high-class women undergo a period of severe training, and then face the ball season. A season when barely clad young women service the guests under the dinner table, are whipped while chained to walls and pillars and serve as tables and ottomans, and are otherwise played with against their will.

Lady Lucinda and Angela Carstairs enter this world and find pleasure and pain, and a lot of humiliation. Lord Randolph Southdean, Lady Anais Fakenham and Valencia Dacourt are the main characters on the side of "owners."

Twenty-one year old Angela Carstairs' parents were eaten by lions in 1941, and she has spent a most of her life in a boarding school in Birmingham. Now she has traveled from Birmingham to visit her Aunt Anais and Uncle George (George being something of a second cousin to her father) in London, and visit the "good life." Almost immediately on meeting her Aunt Anais, Angela begins to learn that she has entered a different world than what she is used to, or expected. When she arrives at Aunt Anais' home, a maid, Mary, lets them into the house and Aunt Anais notes that Mary will still receive her punishment, whipping by cane on bare flesh. Angela can't believe what is happening, and eventually speaks out "I don't think you should be whipping her . . ." and learns that she has truly entered a new world. The Aunt states that if that is the way Angela feels, well, then Angela will receive the rest of the whippings. Afterwards, Angela is led to her room, where she strips and has her clothes are burned. The trunk she had brought with her on the trip down did not make the final voyage to the house, and so, she must wear what is given her. Her season is just about to start. Scenes at a training school (where Angela meets up with Lady Lucinda, or Lucy), at balls and at various homes occur throughout the book. Including one scene where Angela is used as a table, naked except for stockings and evening gloves, with an ashtray and two glasses on the small of her kneeling back.

Along with Mary, various servants fill out the minor characters and one somewhat major character, that of a male named Jem. Jem has just joined in this world as a servant, and whose sections are easily skipped, unless you like the subservient male receiving beatings and the like.

Lady Lucinda has no desire to go through a `season,' but will do so, because she is told that being a `debutante' in this world will be her only way of reaching the side she is very interested in. Lucinda really likes dominating the servants, and wants to get her hands on the debutantes. Lucinda's fiery temper and large ego are overcome on numerous occasions, but never really tamed (at least that is what she claims).

Overall, while the book is obviously not for everyone, it was quite good in my opinion. The book flowed along, only bogging down occasionally when some scenes are drawn out too long, and when the need arises to skip certain sections. Includes humiliation, bondage, whipping . . .… (más)