I was delighted by this novel and set aside all other books to read it.

I loved it for the witty epigrammatic insights of the characters. I loved it for the sensitive portrayal of the post WWI world of Britain. There are the war wounded men, struggling with horrific disfigurement and trauma, unable to obtain employment because no one wanted to be confronted with the human cost of the war, and because they were considered mentally as well as physically handicapped. Spunky women who had kept Britain together were being forced out of jobs after the government classifies the jobs as for men only. I loved it for the wonderfully drawn characters. So often, I was reminded of Jane Austen, that master of the comedy of manners and reversals of fortune in affairs of the heart.

In 1919, Constance Haverhill is a companion to her mother’s dear friend, connected by regard and not by mere economics, summering at a seaside resort. Come fall, she must find employment or become dependent on her brother, who had inherited the family farm. During the war, she had run an estate, her accounting and management skills top notch. But that job was going back to a man.

Constance meets the iconoclastic Poppy and her women friends who hope to continue their independence with a motorcycle transport business. These daredevil ladies include a mechanic and a motorcycle racer. Poppy hopes to expand the business by adding flying lessons for ladies; her brother Harris was a pilot in the war, returning home without a leg. He is morose and surly; his fiance had thrown him over, unable to face a crippled husband.

The war had left two million disabled and over forty thousand amputees, many of the men maimed with no prospects for employment or love, Constance learns when she visits the local convalescent center filled with veterans. Constance and Harris face the same challenges, unable to find employment. “People are unable to see beyond what they deem our limitations,” Harris concedes.

With the introduction of an American Southerner and a man from India with a secret, the story addresses racism on both sides of the pond.

Constance is drawn into Poppy’s exciting circle and her welcoming family, taking risks she would never have imagined. But even they fail her, their wealth sheltering them from their worst actions. Her prospects growing dim, Constance outwardly keeps her place while secretly she is breaking limits, daring to hope for a fuller life.

Thanks to the publisher for a free book.

Taking place after WWI, The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club explores how WWI has affected the lives of young and old in Great Britain. The novel explores how men returning from war with physical or mental disabilities are looked upon as lesser beings. Women who had been employed in traditionally male jobs during the war are now being replaced by returning veterans since the men require those jobs to support their families (even if the women in those jobs are also supporting families in the absence of their men.) The novel explores how Germans living in England were mistreated during the war and thereafter. It also looks at the differences in attitudes between the nobility and the working classes as well as how the upper class doesn’t want to associate with those it perceives as not worthy of their attentions such as blacks and/or citizens of the British Commonwealth. And throughout it all, there are those who are trying to change these insular attitudes. Constance is one of those people and we see how she tries to both accept and change these preconceived mindsets.

Another five-star novel by Helen Simonson! Highly recommended.

The story is set in a seaside town in England just after the first World War. It's a time of social change. Women who worked while men were away fighting are loathe to give up their jobs to returning soldiers. Social mores are being challenged though class prejudices still remain strong.
Constance is a summer companion to an elderly woman recovering from influenza.
At the Meridith Hotel she meets the Wirrall family - mother, maverick daughter Poppy who runs a motorcycle taxi business and son. Harris who lost part of his leg in battle.
Constance finds her former quiet, dutiful life upended when she becomes part of Poppy's motorcycle group.
The story is pleasantly bland and predictable with too many subplots. There's lots of repetition- old ladies playing whist and sipping bouillon, snooty upper class people expressing disdain for the working class. Characters are flat and the ending was obvious early on.
Thanks to Netgalley and Dial Press for the ARC.

Connie and her mother have been living on the estate where her mother worked, but now her mother has died, so there is nothing for her to do except live with her brother on the family farm. Since that is not possible at this time, she takes a position as a companion to an elderly lady who is spending the summer at a resort by the sea. Since she had been running the estate while all the men were at war she had been hoping to find a position as a bookkeeper after the summer is over. In the meantime she makes friends with Poppy, who since she is from the upper class, can get away with an unusual lifestyle. My 21st century sensibilities were offended by being reminded of the constraints on women in the World War I era. The ladies and their motorcycles were a good, fun story, but the book was also important for reminding how well we have it in our own time. It will be a good read for my high school friends. I received this as an arc from NetGalley, and am under no pressure for a positive review.

I loved this book. The writing is just exquisite. The differences between the haughty upper echelon of society, toward the proletariat, are less than subtle. Having financial stability doesn’t automatically mean having class. Constance, being part of the less privileged, exudes the acumen of an extraordinary and sensitive and intelligent woman. Poppy and Tilly and Iris are strong and incredibly efficient. Adored Mrs. Fog and Harris and abhorred Lady Mercer! Life after WWI was not kind to women, in many ways. But the perseverance, of many of the strongest female sect, proved themselves exceptional. The members of the Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Cub will win your hearts! Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own. #TheHazelbourneLadiesMotorcycleandFlyongClub, #NetGalley.

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson

I enjoyed the story very much but it was unsettling in many ways. Constance Haverhill is very lucky to be acting as the companion to the elderly mother of her late mother's best friend. Constance and her mother had lived a life dependent on her mother's wealthy friend but now Constance's mother has died, leaving everything to Constance's brother, and Constance has nothing to her name. Her mother's wealthy friend wants Constance settled somewhere, in service to a good family...that's to be Constance's future, to work in servitude to those with wealth, money, and power, despite Constance's education and the fact that she ran an estate for three years while the men were away at war.

But at least Constance has this summer in Hazelbourne, living a pleasant life as a companion. Her time belongs to others and her future is extremely limited to the menial jobs allowed to poor women. She sees her future when she looks at the hired help at the hotel where they are staying. These people are invisible to the wealthy and powerful, never allowed to mingle, always to use the servants entrance.

Yes, this story is about a women's motorcycle club but even more it's about the classes, where a person is from, which side they fought on in the war, and all the ways people rank each other. As the men come back from war, the women who have kept the country running, doing the jobs the men did before they left, must now relinquish the jobs and be happy to accept that they no longer get to hold those jobs anymore. Constance's new friend, Poppy, has her own business in order to get around the inability of women to find jobs they enjoy and that challenge them. Her business is giving women a way to earn money providing rides for women in their motorcycle side cars. Deliveries can be made this way, also. Poppy has a lot of ideas for her business if she can keep it going. She is also trying to raise the spirits of her brother Harris, home from the war after losing a leg.

The story is very descriptive and all the descriptions give the story a slow start. But once we know the place, the characters and where they stand in relation to each other, we can see not much is what is seems on the surface. There are the faces presented to the public but then there are the messes hidden from public view. Those with money may not be so well off, friends may not be so friendly when it comes to business, and all the women are expected to just settle back into whatever they were doing before the war, no longer needed or even acknowledged for all that they did while the men were gone. The bright spot for Constance is that for this summer, for a short time she can almost forget she has no future.

Thank you to Random House | The Dial Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

This is such a beautiful book, filled with the kind of writing that makes you want to highlight every delicious sentence so you can lick the collection of words every now and then like a favorite ice cream.
It's not just the words that are lovely, though, it's also the story and the subplots set in a time when women were treated as objects that have their place on a dusty shelf rather than unique individuals with a wealth of personality and much to contribute to society. Simonsen has a lot of fun mocking the social order of post-war life, and her main character has the best lines, like a 1940s Persuasion.
The historical research was very well done, with lots of information that was never info-dumped on the reader but parsed superbly throughout the pages.
I hope PBS picks up the book and turns it into a show. A huge well done to the author - a wonderful read.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6448366879

Helen Simonson just does not disappoint. Her historical fiction storytelling is never heavy handed. She manages to create realistic situations and a plot set in post WWI which ring true without hamstringing her characters. In this story of women (and men) trying to re-define, or hold onto their lives as created in wartime and challenged in post war Britain is so well crafted.

I liked this book, but for some reason, not as much as her last books. I’m hoping to read it again, as I may just have been in a bad spot to enjoy it.

For me, a certain sadness permeated this book. Perhaps it was due to the many forms of discrimination that were included as realistically taking place during post WWI England. However, having said that, most of the characters were likable and ultimately determined to overcome the obstacles facing them. This is a thoughtful and thought provoking book. Helen Simonson manages to deliver books that are deep and ultimately hopeful. This is another excellent entry into her historical fiction canon.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Too long and drawn out. It showed promise with the premise of strong women blazing a trail post WWI, but it petered into disparate love stories that undercut that potential. Much hand-wringing over the unfairness of the world for those of the wrong gender or class and I grew tired of it. I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much to the publisher and to Netgalley for this unexpected ARC!

I really enjoyed this lovely novel. A story of England directly after WW1 when women have to give up the employment they had during the war for the returning soldiers. Our main character, Constance, is sweet but not saccharine, stalwart but not perfect. A young adult who has little prospects as a poor but genteel woman but who must have employment (hopefully as a bookkeeper as she was trained to be one) she is granted a seaside holiday at a hotel as a lady's companion before being forced on her own in the world.

Constance becomes friends with Poppy, a wealthier young woman who runs a local motorcycle club and ladies conveyance service. We meet Poppy's injured brother and flamboyant mother, her working class motorcycle friends, and a variety of other hotel guests and regulars who are all struggling in their own ways after the war. The author gently acknowledges the misogynist, classist and racist tones of the times.

I loved the author's writing style and enjoyed the occasional change in character point of view. Though never maudlin, the book does have a certain bittersweetness to it. I didn't want to put it down and was cheering for Constance to find her happy ending.

I did find the ending a little rushed and felt a little betrayed by one of the major characters. Four stars. Definitely recommend for historical fiction lovers.

Such a fun story! It is a little bit historical fiction, a little bit love story, and a bit of family drama. The characters are perfect for this plot as they are basically really nice, good people or nasty, bigoted, and closed minded. I loved the setting of just after WWI when women were beginning to push for more fulfillment in their lives and men were aghast at the scandalous shorter dresses that dared bare the ankle and some ladies even wore pants—gasp! Nothing hard to understand here—just good entertainment reading.

Thanks to NetGalley and The Dial Press for the ARC to read and review.

Quite a read! A perfect picture of the adventures of a retinue of female Tom Swifts with more than a touch of Lizzy and Darcy, all within the manners and mores of a Downton Abbey.

I. Loved. This. Book. The writing is top-notch, with excellent flow that pulls you in and makes you feel like you're right there with the characters. She has some amazing, thought-provoking, pithy lines, and I highlighted way more passages than usual.

Back to the characters. They are richly drawn and real, each of them having their own personality that shines through in the dialogue. Some you love and some you love to hate. But you really root for the good people. Still, there's a lot of nuance, with one particular character that well-illustrates how most people are trying to be good and it's not always so simple. And there are so many sharp one-liners that kept me grinning.

While in some ways it's a typical plot about the new girl in town and young people finding themselves, the vehicle of a women's motorcycle club was fresh and vibrant. I kind of saw the end coming, but I was gripped, wanting to know how it would play out. She definitely took me further than I thought she would! While for some characters the ending seemed happily ever after, there was thought given to how that's not how things work out for everyone. I think for a feel-good book, which this is, the ending needs to end on a high note. But that doesn't preclude sensitivity to things not always working out the way you think they will.

She really brings out the idea of how post-war women had a hard time supporting themselves. It's a lot more than a feminist novel, but a concept not typically discussed; after the war, many women couldn't find men to marry but were also not allowed to work in many industries. And she turns to "feminist" rhetoric on its head; it doesn't always have to be love or self-fulfilment.

I couldn't put it down and was anxious to get to the end, but at the same time, I didn't want it to end and couldn't imagine separating from my new friends. Sometimes toward the end of a book I start to skim to get to the resolution, but I wanted to read every word. Every single word added to the beautiful tapestry of this creative and unusual story. I think I'm going to go back and reread some passages.
I hadn't read this author yet, but now I'm going to find all her other books.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an advanced copy for review.

This is a charming story that takes place in the early 1900s in a small town of England. Just after WWI, the men were coming home – many needing rehabilitation and jobs. Everyone had to adjust with their new roles in life.

Constance was working for the summer at a seaside hotel as a companion to a lovely, elderly woman: Mrs. Fog. Her parents were no longer living and her brother and his wife now owned the family farm. She, however, had skills from correspondent courses in accounting but the jobs were given to the returning soldiers. Constance was stuck in a situation and wanted to find a bookkeeping job in London yet it wasn’t easy.

While walking around the hotel, she met Poppy who was starting a business of transporting people in motorcycle side cars. There was an instant friendship and Poppy invited her to dinner with her mother and brother who lived at the hotel. Her brother, Harris, was a pilot during the war and returned with a serious injury. He was missing his left leg from the knee down and many times feeling a lot of agony and frustration. He was one of my favorite characters with a lot of spark in his dialogue. It was Constance who encouraged him along.

The story is engaging, entertaining and full of surprises. The handful of characters made this a worthwhile read with their ongoing conversations about what it would be like with food shortages and hardships for employment. It touched on the realistic side of women wanting their independence and on the racial and class divisions. It’s well written and unforgettable showing the ups and downs in life.

My thanks to The Dial Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of May 7, 2024.

This story is about the expectations of women post- WWI. Should they just be ladies? Should they have jobs? What kinds of jobs are appropriate. Overall, I enjoyed the story, but it was dreadfully slow. I found myself skimming at times just to get to a part where something actually happens. This would be good for someone who enjoys a long, leisurely read.

3 Charming Flying Stars

This charming historical fiction put a fun spin on the fringe of change following World War 1, with loveable characters and left inspired admiring the bravery of these young woman.

"But at the same time, should these times not teach us to seize life and live it now , while we can?"
"I've decided that a woman should always aim to be competent rather than be decorative"

Read this Story if you like:
* Historical Fiction
* Multiple POV's
* Hotel Seaside Settings
* Brave Woman
* Coming of Age
* Little bite of Romance

It's the summer of 1919 and Constance Haverhill is faced without a job and almost homeless and has only several weeks to get her life in order . Where upon she stumbles and meets a very brave and courageous and stubborn young woman named Poppy Wirrall , who is the owner of The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle Club soon to be Flying Club !

It's through this friendship we see something beautiful and magical happen making headways for woman during a time when the men came back from the war and woman were only to be seen and not heard .

The power these young woman form together is organic and poetic and their perseverance despite all the push back and trials and tribulations along the way.

What didn't work for me was the really long chapters and the repetitiveness throughout the book , often I felt myself nodding as I felt I was reading the same thing over and over again. However I do think there is an important message about a time that I don't know enough about and appreciate all the woman before me that has helped us find our way in this world !

Thank you Netgalley , Random House Publishing Group and Helen Simonson for this Digital ARC.

Respectfully Another Read by Angie

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club, by Helen Simonson

Thank you to Dial Press/Random House and NetGalley for an advance reader’s copy of this book.

This sparkling seaside story takes place just after the end of WWI, around the time of the Treaty of Versailles. In Britain a group of smart, talented young women see their competence become irrelevant once military men return. This is not a new story, but one told with humor and sympathy, varied and engaging characters, and some suspense and romance, for both the young and old.
There also is a dark undertow, focusing on the war injured, class and race prejudice, and the plight of naturalized German citizens, seen as enemies despite their blameless lives in Britain.
There are some rather odious stock characters among the upper class, but the heroine, Constance Haverhill, a farmer’s daughter brought up in the household of her mother’s aristocratic friend, remains a thoughtful, charming ballast, moving between all levels of society with compassion and common sense.
A very engaging and satisfying read!

I loved The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club, by Helen Simonson! Set in post-WWI England, where the status quo of society is being overturned, you will find characters you love, and characters you love to hate. You will cheer for the women who are trying to make their way when they are turned out of jobs in favor of returning veterans. You'll hurt for returning veterans who are injured, scared both physically and mentally, and who are viewed as less than competent. You'll want to spank some of the "Ladies" who are snobs, but there are a few who are more egalitarian and want to help others. In a summer spent by the sea in Hazelbourne, lessons are learned and lives are changed.

In a time when our country seems to be more fragmented than ever, may we learn from the characters in this book that everyone is a human being and to be valued.