The Reluctant Debutante – a new edition
This week I have reissued The Reluctant Debutante as a second edition. I’ve been wanting to do this for ages but hesitated because I didn’t want to confuse my established readers who may already have bought the original version of the book. I’ve now realised that my readers are really smart and I don’t need to worry about them.
When I began my career as a writer back in 2017, the third book I published was a Regency romance called The Reluctant Debutante. I had been writing as a hobby for many years but was fairly clueless about the world of independent publishing. The Reluctant Debutante was part of a practice run before I launched Paul van Daan, in the first four books of the Peninsular War Saga onto an unsuspecting world.
There were several things I would have done differently with this book. To begin with, it would never have been called the Reluctant Debutante. It didn’t occur to me to do a thorough online search for my chosen title. It seemed like a good title and indeed it was; so much so that two previous books and a film had used it before. The other thing I would have done was searched for a good editor. I had a proof reader for the early books although not a particularly good one but I had yet to discover the huge difference an editor can make.
The Reluctant Debutante was my first attempt at a traditional Regency romance. I grew up with a love of Georgette Heyer, Jane Austen and Jane Aiken Hodge and I always wanted to try my hand at this particular genre. It was published as a standalone novel. More importantly, it was written and published before any of the Peninsular War Saga or Manxman books.
The two main characters, Giles and Cordelia, were written as a fairly typical romantic hero and heroine and the book featured many of the traditional tropes of the genre. It did very well; in fact for about two years it was consistently my bestselling book. I think that was proof of the enduring popularity of the Regency genre. It wasn’t my favourite of my books however and there were always things I thought I could do better as I gained more experience as a writer and a better knowledge of the period.
Over the years I revisited it occasionally. I made small edits and tweaked sections I thought needed improving. I gave both my Regencies new covers along the same lines as my other books. Then, as the Peninsular War Saga began to take off, I had the idea of linking it to my first Regency. The Earl of Rockcliffe, after all, was described as a Waterloo veteran and a former intelligence officer. Why not incorporate a younger version of him into the main books?
Those who have read both series and my short stories will know that this went very well. The Honourable Giles Fenwick made brief appearances in several books and a ghost story, but he fully came into his own in the second Manxman book where he joined my Royal Navy characters and the second battalion of the 110th during the disastrous Walcheren campaign. Since then he has become one of the most important characters in the Peninsular War Saga. I love writing about Giles because he’s one of the characters who has really grown during the books. Reviews, messages and online chat suggest that he’s immensely popular with readers.
Moving towards the Waterloo campaign, I spoke to my editor about The Reluctant Debutante. She hadn’t been my editor during those early days and, knowing the huge difference she has made to the quality of the later books, we’ve agreed that, over time, she is going to work her way through the early books again. I thought it might be a good time to give Giles and Cordelia a bit of a tidy up and she agreed. As always, she read the book through before starting to edit, then came back with an interesting observation.
“It’s a really nice book. A good Regency romance. The only trouble is with the Earl. Perfectly good bloke. But he’s not Giles.”
Reading it through again I realised she was right. The Earl of Rockcliffe looked like Giles but didn’t sound like him. At first I was baffled but then it occurred to me that this made perfect sense. In 2017 when I wrote this book, Giles – my Giles – didn’t yet exist.
He does now and The Reluctant Debutante is the better for it. I’ve changed nothing about the plot and Cordelia is very much the same. The Earl of Rockcliffe follows the same story arc. His reactions to things are just a little different in places. This is the Giles of the Peninsular War, Walcheren, Alexandria and Waterloo. This Giles is a man I recognise.
The changes are not huge but they’re significant enough for me to designate this a second edition of The Reluctant Debutante. The book still falls squarely into the Regency romance genre but I think it will have now more meaning for readers of my other series. I hope those of you who decide to give it a try will enjoy it.
As regular readers will be aware, I like to include one of my free bonus short stories at the end of each book. This one is a new story, written to celebrate the second edition of The Reluctant Debutante. It will also be available on my website and my Substack page free of charge.
To to ensure that those readers who already bought a copy of the book can try the new edition without charge, I’ve arranged a free promotion of the Kindle book for five days between 29 May and 2 June 2026. If you already have the book on your Kindle you should be able to remove it and then download the new version. If you have trouble with this, please contact Amazon who will be able to help you. If you contact me, all I’ll be able to do is sympathise.
I’m currently working on This Indispensable Squadron, book four of the Manxman series. There will also be a third volume of the collected short stories coming soon and once she’s finished with that, my poor editor is moving on to the other Regency romance, A Regrettable Reputation to work her magic on Nicholas and Camilla.
After that, it’s back to France with the Light Division.
It is 1818.
The bloody battle of Waterloo is three years in the past but for Giles Fenwick, Earl of Rockcliffe the memories have yet to fade. Giles bears the physical scars of battle and the emotional scars of the long years of war, of friends and comrades lost. Unexpectedly come into the title, he feels ill at ease in the polite world, and despises those who fawn over his wealth and rank. He has no intention of offering for one of the Season’s debutantes and marrying for the sake of an heir.
Cordelia Summers is the daughter of a wealthy merchant who has agreed to be sponsored into the Ton to please her father. Intelligent and strong-minded, Cordelia has a lively sense of humour and is determined not to be married for her fortune. She is not at all sure she wishes to be married at all.
A brief and unexpected meeting in a wayside tavern throws Giles and Cordelia together. It is the beginning of an unlikely friendship, but as the Earl and the Cit’s daughter get to know each other better, they realise that not all marriages are created equal.
