The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club
Ratings2
Average rating3.8
15
Ratings2
Average rating3.8
A timeless comedy of manners—refreshing as a summer breeze and bracing as the British seaside—about a generation of young women facing the seismic changes brought on by war and dreaming of the boundless possibilities of their future, from the bestselling author of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand
It is the summer of 1919 and Constance Haverhill is without prospects. Now that all the men have returned from the front, she has been asked to give up her cottage and her job at the estate she helped run during the war. While she looks for a position as a bookkeeper or—horror—a governess, she’s sent as a lady’s companion to an old family friend who is convalescing at a seaside hotel. Despite having only weeks to find a permanent home, Constance is swept up in the social whirl of Hazelbourne-on-Sea after she rescues the local baronet’s daughter, Poppy Wirrall, from a social faux pas.
Poppy wears trousers, operates a taxi and delivery service to employ local women, and runs a ladies’ motorcycle club (to which she plans to add flying lessons). She and her friends enthusiastically welcome Constance into their circle. And then there is Harris, Poppy’s recalcitrant but handsome brother—a fighter pilot recently wounded in battle—who warms in Constance’s presence. But things are more complicated than they seem in this sunny pocket of English high society. As the country prepares to celebrate its hard-won peace, Constance and the women of the club are forced to confront the fact that the freedoms they gained during the war are being revoked.
Whip-smart and utterly transportive, The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club is historical fiction of the highest order: an unforgettable coming-of-age story, a tender romance, and a portrait of a nation on the brink of change.
Reviews with the most likes.
Constance Haverhill's future is dismally uncertain. During the Great War, she managed the estate office for the Mercer family. Lady Mercer and Constance's mother were childhood chums, but because of their social class differences, Constance's mother was relegated to part-time governess and invitee to the “less distinguished” dinner parties. With the war over now, Constance is just one of thousands of women who are being told to vacate their jobs to make way for the returning soldiers. Constance's beloved mother was a victim of the influenza epidemic, and the young woman is not welcome at her brother's farm, where he and his wife are grieving the flu-related loss of their baby. A temporary reprieve is found when Constance is asked to be caretaker for Lady Mercer's mother, who is planning a summer-long seaside holiday. At the Hazelbourne-on-Sea's Meredith Hotel, Constance meets Poppy Wirrall, an ebullient iconoclast whose cadre of female motorcycle riders provided messenger services during the war, and are now planning to continue working as taxi drivers. Constance is drawn into Poppy's circle of friends and family, including her brother Harris, a former fighter pilot who lost his leg in a fiery plane crash. The plot takes most of the novel's first half to get off the ground (sorry not sorry), but once it is truly launched it soars. Simonson (author of the bestselling [b:Major Pettigrew's Last Stand 6643090 Major Pettigrew's Last Stand Helen Simonson https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320539020l/6643090.SX50.jpg 6837577]) weaves in numerous themes on her way to an explosive climax: the post-war reversal of women's equality gains; the reestablishment of class distinctions that were weakened in the trenches; the hypocrisy of honoring the men who died in battle while hiding away the seriously wounded; the toxic, lingering anti-German sentiment; and the unyielding racism towards Black and Indian people. The redoubtable Constance is a bit Mary Sue-ish, always on the side of Justice and Fairness (her name can't be a coincidence), but it's rewarding to watch her come out of her shell and find a place in the this New Normal. Predictably, she is a key to Harris' emergence from depression and isolation, but his recovery journey is predicated on more than just the love of a Good Woman. Poppy is a fascinating character, torn between forging a new path and acknowledging the still limited choices available for women. And it's impossible to not love the elderly Mrs. Fog, who proves that there's no age limit on a HEA ending. There is a bit of humor in the story, primarily in the townspeople's increasingly futile attempts to get rid of a German U boat that washed up on their shore. But the events of the final chapters have a sobering effect. Constance has found her place and her man, but there's already a hint that the extreme xenophobia seen in Hazelbourne's otherwise delightful residents will contribute to a short-lived peace. ARC received from Net Galley in exchange for objective review.
This was a good story. It was a very interesting to read about how things may have during the time the story took place. It was right after WWI and things were not very liberating for women.
But the women in this story are mostly courageous and have wonderful dreams for our future.
And although there are several tough things to read about, I would recommend this story to anyone who love a great tale about powerful women.
