The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson
(2024, 420 pages, Genre: Historical Fiction)
Summer 1919. Constance Haverhill is employed as a companion to an elderly woman, Mrs. Fog. Constance is no longer welcome at home on her family’s farm, through no fault of her own. Constance and Mrs. Fog are staying at a seaside hotel at Hazelbourne-on-Sea. Mrs. Fog lets Constance have some free time to herself. One afternoon, Constance meets Poppy, the daughter of a local baronet. Poppy is a free spirit and a firebrand. She wears trousers and runs a motorcycle taxi and delivery service, catering to women who don’t want to ride in taxis that smell of cigar smoke. Poppy introduces Constance to the young people in the area, and soon she is swept up in the social scene, going to picnics and dances.
But there are somber aspects to life after the war, too. Poppy’s brother Harris is a fighter pilot who was recently wounded. He is bitter because he cannot fly but seems to enjoy Constance’s presence. Poppy buys a plane and wants Harris to give her flying lessons, and Constance gets roped into her schemes as well. The village is slowly recovering from the war, and tensions are still high. German-born waiter Klaus has been released from an internment camp. He feels lucky to be back at his old job, but he faces discrimination because he is German.
As the summer continues, there is romance, heartbreak, and betrayal. An old friendship is renewed, an old romance rekindled, and a dangerous wager is made. What will Constance do when Mrs. Fog no longer needs her services? Constance hopes to find a job as a bookkeeper (she ran a large estate and did the books during the war). But there are many people applying for just a few jobs. After helping win the war by doing all sorts of jobs—being mechanics, factory workers, and dispatch riders—young women are seeing their freedoms and jobs being taken away from them. And society is beginning to change.
This is a great story with charming characters, humor, and some daring exploits. It also deals with serious issues of prejudice and hardships after the war. If you like historical fiction with lively, unusual characters, you should give The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club a try. Helen Simonson is also the author of The Summer Before the War and Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand. I really enjoyed reading those two novels as well.
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Robbin Bailey
