The Beauty Chorus

First sentence: I have four and a half hours to live. I am leaning against the wing of the yellow-bellied Airspeed Oxford, smoking contentedly while the ground crew chaps run their final checks. The freezing rain hisses as it hits the glowing coal of my cigarette, drums softly on the tin roof of the hangar. Call me Johnnie, by the way. Everyone does.

Premise/plot: The Beauty Chorus tells the story of Evie Chase, Stella Grainger, and Megan Jones three (fictional) pilots who ferried planes for the ATA. (Air Transport Auxiliary) The three join up at the same time and live together in a small cottage.

The book focuses more on their personal lives and off hours--recreational hours--than their time in the skies. Though much of their dialogue is talking about how much they love, love, love flying and how happy they are to serve Britain. For those that love historical ROMANCE with highlights of war drama, this is a satisfying read cover to cover. For those that are looking for WAR DRAMA with little tolerance for romance, may find it disappointing.

My thoughts: I really LOVED this one. I love books with a World War II setting. I enjoy books set in Britain. I enjoy romance novels. There were so many reasons that this would be a perfect perfect fit for me. And it was. It isn't a squeaky clean read. But the characterization so strong and the actual graphic bits so small a percentage--that I didn't mind it at all. I could feel giddy without guilt. I am speaking of my own personal preferences. I know that every single reader is different and has different likes, dislikes, expectations, and standards. My tastes are my tastes.


"She raised her cup of tea. ‘Well, here’s to the ATA and here’s to us.’ ‘The Always Terrified Airwomen?’ Evie said drolly. ‘I think I prefer “the beauty chorus”.’ ‘Rather that than “Ancient and Tattered”.’ Stella held Evie’s gaze as Megan enthusiastically tucked into her roast beef. ‘Do you think we’ll cope?’ "

" Shackleton talked of his fourth man. TS Eliot wrote of the other who walks beside you. We who have gone before are with you when you need us most. We are there holding our dying sons on the battlefields and beaches as they drown in their own blood. These women are my daughters, my sisters, and I shall be ‘the other’ flying with them, until this is over and we have won our peace. "

This book follows three young ATA girls as they sign up and join war effort. The girls are from very different backgrounds and the book delves into each in turn. The girls settle into a cottage together and start their new lives with many bumps along the way as they find and loose love. The book has a good historical aspect for anyone who enjoys historical fiction along with all the gripping drama to keep you hooked. I loved this book and had a few tears along the way.

The Beauty Chorus by Kate Lord Brown

Debs farmers daughters ex pats ordinary woman to help the war effort by flying for the ATA. Three woman sign up on the same day. Evie a debutante, Megan farmers daughter and Stella an expat from Singapore to do their first love flying. For the war effort the bravery , injustice, sadness they faced every day in silence just doing their dangerous job.

How people who normally would never meet make wonderful and in some case short friendship. The suffered great hardship. Short-lived love affairs ,loves made lasting a lifetime and never recognised because they were just woman.

This absolutely fabulous out a cross section of women from all walks of life with one main interest in life Flying !

I love books of this period and subject. Well written, well referenced. To explain the story would spoil it. Read it, love it as much as I did couldn’t put it down once you’ve read the first page following their journeys. I hope you write more of this genre thoroughly enjoyed.

The Women Pilots of WWII Britain
This is an awesome historical fiction about the British women pilots of WWII. It is a good accounting of their contribution to the war effort and well a bit of romance, espionage, and misogyny. I felt that the ending was too fast and a bit anti-climactic. It could have used another 25 pages of detail to fill it out. As it stands, this is a very intriguing story about tough people living in tough times. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

This is a fascinating and poignant read about the women who flew during WW2. Volunteering to fly planes of all types- including bombers- to be repaired, delivered scrapped, these women were truly brave. Flying without instruments or protection, frequently targeted by German fighters, these women delivered planes all over the country. This book follows three fictional women who volunteer for the ATA (Air Transport Auxilary) and the difficulties they face both in the air and from their fellow male colleagues. Beautifully written, this is a sometimes heartbreaking story of their experiences. A brilliant and poignant story.

A great novel about three women who delivered or ferried planes to different bases throughout the United States.
They were called the Beauty Chorus by men who thought
and made derogatory remarks about them.However,many of them were beautiful.
The three in this story became great friends and were always there for each other.,even though being there would cause great heartache for them.
The story deals heavily with jealousy as the women were paid more than some of the men who were the ones who kept the planes in running order.
There is also accusations of conspiracy as one of the pilots is related to the famous German pilot who shot down many of our men and their allies.
A very good read, written by "Kate Lord Brown " and a big thank you to her and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review this works.

Before I read The Beauty Chorus by Kate Lord Brown, I knew nothing about the ATA and its contributions toward winning the war. This book revolves around three of these ATA lady pilots who ferried military aircraft between factories and maintenance units during world war two. The women have interesting and different backstories, which helps the reader to know each one. They come from different backgrounds, but they form a unique bond of love, friendship, caring and encouragement. They look out for each other both on the ground and in the air. They are confronted with many emotional difficulties both in their personal lives as well as in the air. The men in their lives are both villains and heroes. Toss in an air battle, jealous men and woman, and the added circumstances of mother/daughter and father/son relationships and you have a beach read which holds your interest and is both enjoyable and interesting.

This isn't the kind of book I read that often, but every now and then one grabs my attention on Netgalley and I have to give it a go. I was very glad I did give this one a chance, as the story was so likeable. It reminded me of Code Name Verity in a way. The strong female characters, all very different, amid the excitement and fear of the war. It had the feel of a good dose of history combined with just the right amount of fiction. I'd be interested to read more from the author.

i really enjoyed reading this book, the plot was great and I could really see that it could be a movie. I enjoyed getting to know the characters.

Really enjoyed this story of three women from vastly different backgrounds serving in WWII in London. Excellent plot, realistic characters, and heartfelt emotions pour from this book as you turn the pages. A must read for any lover of WWII fiction.