My Thoughts:
In Hazelbourne, WW1 has just ended and the women in the novel are at rather loose ends. Constance is accompanying an elderly lady to the seaside as a personal assistant while trying to figure out what is next for her. While there, she meets Poppy, a wealthy young woman with a penchant for motorcycles and flying, and very little interest in the manners of upper class British society. As Constance tries to find her way, Poppy embraces her as a member of her circle, while Harris, Poppy's brother who has been injured in the war, begins to open up to her.
This is such a sweet, enjoyable novel. The characters just come to life and are refreshingly honest. The women are aware of their place, yet constantly ready to challenge it, especially after a war that allowed them to aspire to more than just marriage and motherhood. Poppy is actually a favorite character with her "not giving a darn" attitude about what anyone says about the roles of women. The author chose an interesting time period as well, just following WW1, but before the Great Depression and the lead-in to WW2.
About The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club:
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.
Purchase The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club on Amazon.
Comments
Post a Comment