This was a lovely story about so much more than the ladies' Choir in Chilbury, England. It is set in 1940, from spring to fall. The lives of the women of this choir are told through letters and diaries.
It is a village in the southeast of England dealing with war--bombs, rationing, men gone off to war, etc.
There are stories of unrequited love, schoolgirl crushes, unwanted pregnancies and more. The characters are believable--
a scheming midwife willing to arrange abortions
a precocious 12 year old girl with fantasies of true love
a widow still grieving over her husband, dead for several years
a flirtatious teen about to become a woman
the local lord of the manor, a nasty bully
and the new music teacher, choirmaster

All interact so well that I read this book in 3 days, reading the last 200 pages in one day.

Some quotes:
Funeral service "At the front, the Winthrops and their aristocrat friends were sitting all plumed and groomed like a row of black swans."
Kitty, precocious 12 years old girl's diary "I like to see people as colors, a kind of aura or halo surrounding them, shading their outsides with the various flavors of their insides."
On starting a ladies only choir because all the men are gone "What will God think? one of the Sewing ladies piped up. He couldn't have intended women to sing on their own."
I rate it 4.5 out of 5 stars(rounded up to 5).
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending this book.

I really enjoyed this book quite a bit. It gives readers a good idea of what life might have been like for those left at home during World War II in England.

The men have all gone to war and it's up to the women to maintain without them. That means even defying the church vicar, who has decided to disband the choir for lack of men, and filling the church choir with women. This is unheard of - a woman's choir? Never! But the vicar is no match for a village full of women and so the choir takes shape under the direction of Miss Primrose Trent who moved to town from London and immediately established the Chilbury Ladies' Choir. It's not that she had an easy time of it, but the women want and need the companionship, support and music and so they prove to be unstoppable.
There are five women who carry this story. The widow Mrs. Tilling, the village nurse has a son just off to war, sisters, eighteen-year-old Venetia and thirteen-year-old Kitty are daughters of Brigadier Winthrop, head of Chilbury Manor, a tyranical and abusive man, in need of an heir, Edwina Paltry a self styled midwife up to scheming, Silvie, the young Chech refugee sent to England by her family and who sees everything from an unattached point of view. It is through their journals and letters we learn about life during war, resilience during resistance, love's heartbreak and endurance and healing through music.
There are many books written about the home front and how the families of our soldiers maintained a life while living in fear for their men. The Chilbury Ladies' Choir is a wonderful, rich story of people coming together during the worst of times with humor, love, resilience, and community.

In Jennifer Ryan's debut novel, the fictional town of Chilbury in Kent, is adjusting to what life will be like in England during the early years of World War II. With many of the male residents gone to war, the Vicar of the village church cannot imagine a choir with no bass or tenor voices, so he disbands the choir. With the guidance and encouragement of music professor Primrose Trent, the Chilbury Ladies' Choir is formed to brighten the hearts of the participants and those whose lives they touch with their music during these troubling times. The story is told in an epistolary style through posted notices, letters, and diary entries, and through the voices of five main characters including: Kitty, who is only 13 years old, her beautiful older sister Venetia who falls in love with a mysterious artist and works at a nearby military headquarters full of secret gongs on, Mrs. Tilling who is a widow who has carved out a life for herself and her son as a nurse and who is worried about her son at the front, Sylvie who is a young Jewish evacuee from Czechoslovakia separated from her family who has been left behind, and Edwina Paltry who is the town midwife and one of the villains of the story. On Ryan's website, she mentions a grandmother who was a young woman in Kent during World War II who shared her "exciting and often scandalous stories" with her. And the characters in the book come across as real and behave in real and scandalous ways. There are dark characters and ugly situations. But there are also characters who become a shining light to those around them despite the horrors of war and the tough times going on around them--like Mrs. Tilling whose story is my favorite. This is not the most compelling, soul searching World War II novel that I have ever read, but it was quite good and I did not want to stop reading. I loved the musical references in the portions of the book that the choir featured in and always stopped if I had time to search out and listen to the pieces mentioned. It added a whole dimension to the book. I also loved the premise of the story being told through the voices of women, both young and old, who had to survive and keep everything going during wartime when a lot of the men were away.

"The Chilbury Ladies' Choir" is an epistolary novel providing a snapshot of the experiences of a group of mostly women during World War II over the time period from March-September 1940. Able bodied men have joined the war effort and the Vicar has decided to disband the choir saying that only a mixed chorus will do! Enter Primrose Trent, music professor. Prim restructures the choral music for women's voices only, the Vicar concedes defeat, and The Chilbury Ladies' Choir is born. Music is the salve that helps the town cope with loss of friends,spouses and the pain of unrequited love.

Through the use of journal entries, letters, and occasional notices, the lives of several residents are highlighted. Mrs. Tilling, a nurse with a quiet demeanor, finds her true voice while the misdeeds of unethical midwife Edwina Paltry play out. The antics of Venetia, a self absorbed older sister and those of awkward thirteen year old Kitty, a budding singer, are vividly portrayed as they share their thoughts and dreams through the written word. Mrs. B. a control freak and gossip, testy to all, will have to cooperate with the ladies since The Chilbury Ladies' Choir is determined to enter a choral competition. The choir provides a support system for these women. They raise their voices in mournful prayer, when needed, but sing of hope and recovery.

Stylistic use of documents and letters provides excellent character studies of the residents in this town near Dover. We view the growth of Mrs. Tilling and Venetia as well as the demise of Edwina Paltry. We applaud their successes and are tearful for their losses. "The Chilbury Ladies' Choir" by Jennifer Ryan was a most enjoyable read.

Thank you Crown Publishing and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review "The Chilbury Ladies' Choir".

If you enjoyed "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society", you will probably really like this book. The only thing that might keep you from loving it wholeheartedly is a niggling feeling that you've read this book before -- probably because it is so very like "Guernsey Literary" that you'd confuse the two.

To be fair, Ryan is a solid author. The characters' voices become increasingly distinct (important in an epistolary novel where the POV changes frequently), the plot moves quickly, and is perfectly heartwarming. Much like its read-alike, it's like curling up with a cup of tea and a blanket -- delightfully cozy.

I wanted to love it, but I didn't. The characters felt flat and plodding. Good premise. I've never read a book by this author, but feel the author has promise.

Through letters, journals, and diaries, the ladies of Chilbury tell the story of their village in the early days of the British involvement in second World War. When the Vicar disbands the local choir because all the men have left, the ladies band together to form the Chilbury Ladies Choir. They form deep bonds and support each other in good times and bad. Perfect book for fans of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

This book appealed to me in three ways, so I will approach this review from each angle.
1.) The epistolary style
2.) The WWII time period
3.)Ladies Choirs --- or just ladies being awesome.

1.) The epistolary style
I'm a sucker for books framed as diaries or written correspondence, so the fact that Chilbury was billed as such, was the immediate draw for me. I enjoyed it, as the small segments makes for a quicker paced read, but I had a hard time with the believability of the letter and journal writing style Ryan employed. In particular, Venetia's letters to Angela felt a bit too expositional for them to be realistic. I've read, and even *written* some very detailed letters, conveying conversations and all, but they didn't read like polished prose. -- but that was pretty much my only beef with the book. Lets move on.

2.) The WWII time period
Another weakness of mine is this period, and Chilbury didn't fail me here! The setting and characters felt appropriately authentic, and I was practically casting them in my head with BBC actors for a mini-series. (PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE BBC!) It was like sitting down for Masterpiece theater on Sunday night. ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTFUL!

3.) Ladies Choirs --- or just ladies being awesome
The name sake and heart of this book, the moments with the choir was really the shining gem of this book to me. A lifelong choral singer, and general appreciator of music, (and those wonders of Welsh/British hymns. *coughCough* I Vow To Thee, My Country *coughCough*) I resonate deeply with the themes of music for healing, and helping one through hard trials of the soul. There are plenty of quotes I'd love to share on this, but can't due to advanced reading copy restrictions... but I'll try to update the review once the book is published with those quotes :)
I've read plenty of the women of wartime stepping up taking charge and ownership of their lives and community when their men were away fighting, and this book handled that subject matter exceptionally. I particularly loved the Mrs. Tilling storyline, as she had the most character development of the whole cast.

I will definitely be recommending this book to my library for acquisition, and recommending to several patrons that frequent my circ desk.
And to you! Look for this lovely on shelves in February!

I make no effort to hide my love of historical Fiction. I think my favorite genres go: Non-Fiction/Travel, Historical Fiction, then usually YA. This book, in a way, ticked all of my boxes. It has a storyline for young adults, it has Historical Fiction and it kind of has Travel since it is set in England during the start of WWII.

The book follows the lives of several individuals. Mrs.Tilling, a local nurse who sends her son off to war as an RAF pilot. Kitty Winthrop as well as her sister Venetia. Silvie a Czech refugee who is living with the Winthrop’s. A Midwife named Edwina and occasionally Colonel Mallard, who is a billings patron of Mrs. Tilling. The story revolves around these characters. It tells of Mrs. Tilling having a farewell party the day before her son David leaves for the war. Her slowly becoming less of a doormat and more of a strong and more independent women. Edwina is a Licensed Midwife who gets involved into a baby switching plot that blows up in her face. Kitty is an almost 14-year-old girl who has an amazing singing voice. She fancies herself engaged to Henry, who thinks he is destined to marry Venetia, Kitty’s sister. Venetia, is a very promiscuous and flouncy woman. She thinks she is the catch of the city Chilbury. She sets her sights on Alastair Slater and she always gets what she wants. Sometimes no matter the cost. All of these women and their stories weave together when they form the Chilbury Ladies Choir when the Vicar puts an end to the other choir due to all the men going off to war. They learn to support each other. The music soothes their souls and singing brings peace and bolsters morale.

This book is the feel good book that we need in this day and age. While it has sadness, it also has joy, adventure, spies and romance. My only knock on this book, and why it’s only 4 stars instead of the full 5, is the bouncing from journal form to letter form is annoying. While the story does continue its flow from one to another, the abrupt switch is jarring. At the end, the author tells us that this story is a fruition of her grandmother telling her war stories from the town she grew up in. So she decided to make it the basis of the book. I will be watching for more books from the author in future.

Ms. Ryan does an excellent job of creating the different voices of her characters, especially the self absorbed teen Kitty.

I was hoping to feel the same connection with The Chilbury Ladies' Choir that I felt reading The Guernsey Literary and Sweet Potato Peel Society, but I just didn't. The likability, depth (relationships among characters) and emotional toll of the war did not seem to come across as clearly through the letters. Overall the book was very enjoyable but not one that will prompt me to promote it as a must-read.

I am very sparing with my 5* reviews, but this book captivated me. The more I read, the more I became engrossed. England, early WWI, the men are off to war and the women won't be stopped in forming a women's only choir--what?!

Every character [and there were some "characters"] was well drawn. Of course, I LOVED some more than others.I could go on and on about the inhabitants of this village but suffice it to say my favorites were Kitty and Mrs. Tilling.

Letters and journals tell this charming, well-written story. A gentle, poignant book with both humor and pathos. Sometimes I chuckled while reading; other times I felt heartbreak. Although I guessed the trajectory of most of the story lines [often a point detractor for me], since I loved the book so, it didnt matter.

I heartily recommend this book.

I very much enjoyed this book. At first I wasn't so sure, but I soon became involved with the characters and wanted to find out what would happen to them. Problems arose, characters changed and grew--usually for the better.

Perfect for those readers who loved The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society. The story is told through the diary entries of teenager Kitty Winthrop, journal entries of Mrs. Tilling, town nurse, diary entries of Polish/Jewish refugee child, Silvie, letters between Venitia Winthrop (a young lady on the cusp of adulthood) and her friend Angela Quail (working in London in the War Office), and letters between Miss Edwina Paltry (town midwife) and her sister Clara. The story enfolds with WWII underway and nearly all the men of the village off fighting. The vicar wants to discontinue the choir due to the lack of men, but the feisty ladies of Chilbury decide to carry on with the help of music teacher Primrose Trent. They begin practicing, but there's plenty of turmoil between members, and as the story progresses we see the choir pull together to support each other in more ways than one. It's a great illustration of the "pull yourselves up by your boot straps" mentality that existed at that time in history. The story gives a snapshot into the life of a small English village and the author was able to tie in real historical events to create authenticity. I cheered on the characters, shook my head incredulously at some, and shed a few tears for others. This was a lovely, warmhearted tale.

I was drawn to this book because it was described as a book for those who enjoyed The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society and I can see why it was described that way. Set in 1940 in southern England, the small town of Chilbury is being changed by the war against Nazi Germany. At the beginning not much has changed except for the loss of most of the men in the town as they have been drawn away by the military and war related business. The local church's vicar has said that the church choir must be disbanded because there will be no men in it (although it turns out there weren't that many men in it anyway). In the first of many new things the women rebel and decide to have an all women's choir (they are helped by a new resident and wonderful musician Prim who will head the choir).
This book is told in many chapters, each one a separate resident's letter or journal (people have been urged to keep journals to help their moral). This book was conceived by the author from her grandmother's stories of being a young woman in England during WWII and how life was so different ( and exciting) at that time. Although a novel, the truth of the experience shines and it was especially interesting to realize that many British thought they would be invaded by the Nazis. Intellectually I realize that was true but only knowing about this period in hindsight (and how Britain was not invaded) I didn't realize how great a worry it was.
There are many characters in the book but Mrs. Tilling, local nurse and one of the most trusted residents, rises to the top. There's a war on but life does go on and as with most places there are good people and bad -- and often they are the same person. It is easy to get caught up with all of the residents and it only covers part of 1940. It would be wonderful if there was sequel.