The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club

By Helen Simonson

Book Overview

NATIONAL BESTSELLER - "Historical fiction of the highest order . . . an absolute joy of a book, warm and romantic, and with so much to say about the lives of women in the years following World War I."--Ann Napolitano, bestselling author of Hello Beautiful

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

A PARADE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

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.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1984801317
• ISBN13: 9781984801319
• Release Date: May 2024
• Publisher: Dial Press
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 1.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 6.3" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Cleverly written with witty banter - a must read!

Thanks to NetGalley & The Dial Press/Random House for a digital advance reader copy. All comments and opinions are my own. When I saw Helen Simonson was the author, I knew I had to read this, and I was not disappointed. I have loved her other two books, and this one is just as good. All are standalones and I urge you to seek these out after reading "Hazelbourne": Major Pettigrew's Last Stand and The Summer Before the War. Although it took a little while for this story to get going for me, much like a motorcycle or airplane engine, once it finally “caught” I couldn’t put it down. It takes place in the summer of 1919, just after WWI when the men return from the front and the women are expected to go back to the kitchen or drawing room. Constance Haverhill is a wonderful main character whose friendship with Poppy Wirral, founder of the Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club, helps her to emerge from the grief of losing her mother. She must work to support herself, unlike Poppy and several of her other new friends. The need for employment after Constance’s job as a companion to elderly Mrs. Fog is soon to end, is one of the plot threads of this charming story. The writing is beautiful, and I loved the story with all its subplots and historical aspects that bring this time period to life. Cleverly written with witty banter and subtle double meaning, themes of feminism and women’s independence are woven throughout this delightful historical novel. It is both a coming-of-age story and a tender romance. But more importantly, it is also a commentary on the period’s classism and racism and the emerging struggle for women’s rights. Not to be missed!