Writing: 4/5 Characters: 5/5 Plot: 4/5

Constance Haverhill is a girl with few prospects. 1919 finds her spending a summer as companion to an elderly lady at a posh hotel at the seaside with an unpleasant future looming before her. The Pre-War Practices Act of 1919 gave returning soldiers their pre-war jobs back and forbade women from holding jobs in Covered Occupations. While Constance is pondering her (limited) options, she meets and is befriended by Poppy Wirrall, a local baronet’s daughter and proprietor of the fledgling women’s motorcycle-based taxi service which she hopes to expand to flying lessons for women. Poppy’s primary goal is to keep women employed and progressing while the government and local councils work equally hard to send the women back to homes and domestic service.

The book is beautifully written with a cast of compelling characters set in a very realistic post-war environment. Each person represents a kind of cohort of the day — women facing the loss of their livelihood and an (extremely) limited supply of potential husbands, wounded soldiers returning to a population that doesn’t want to be reminded of the war, those of the wealthy class still scheming for good matches at the expense of ethics and friendship, foreign born naturalized citizens who had been detained during the war and relegated to low status jobs, and even a mysterious Indian national whose character brings to light the treatment of Indians in Britain and the under-appreciated contribution of Indian men in the war. Simonson writes with intricate detail about the inner thoughts and struggles of several characters as well as painting a comprehensive picture of life in that era. It’s an Austen-style novel of manners combined with a feminist look at post-war lives in Britain with a little romance tossed in.

My only complaint might be that certain “types” of people were not given interior lives but were presented as pure negative stereotypes — mostly people of the monied class and one horribly stereotyped American. I’m sure there were plenty of Americans at the time who really were that unpleasant, but being an American myself I would have enjoyed having at least one “decent” American included :-)

This novel was a delightful read. It takes place in the summer of 1919, and follows several young people who are adjusting to life after the war. Many of the women worked during the war, and have now found themselves without those jobs. Some are trying to survive on the small war widows pensions by augmenting it by other work. They aren't the only ones seemingly locked out of the work they had been doing. Men who were injured also find themselves treated as incapable.
The central character here is Constance Haverhill. Constance's mother grew up with another woman who married into a titled family, while Constance's mother married a farmer. They continued to call each other best friends, but it seems like Lady Mercer treated her friend as an unpaid worker, often calling on her to help with childcare and other household endeavours. During the war, Constance worked as estate manager for the Mercers, but found herself quickly ousted when the war ended. With her mother dead from the influenza epidemic, she found herself called on to nurse Lady Mercer's mother, Mrs. Fog when she was ill. Her 'reward' is to act as companion to Mrs. Fog while she convalesces at a seaside hotel.
But it is in this town that both Constance and Mrs. Fog encounter second chances. Constance meets another young woman her age, Poppy Wirrall. Poppy is also the daughter in a titled family, and she spent the war, along with other young women, working as motorcycle messengers. Poppy has started a small company offering motorcycle taxi (using sidecars) and delivery services, with a variety of young women employed part-time doing this work. Some have other jobs or widows pensions that they augment by working for her.
Poppy's brother was a pilot during the war, and lost part of one leg in action. He is back at home, but depressed by the loss of many men he considered friends, and the inability of others to consider him employable.
Constance is a calming force to Poppy's impulsiveness and exuberance, and as she begins to take chances, and open herself up to other possibilities in her life, I found myself hoping for a more promising future for her than she expected at the book's beginning.
I also enjoyed Mrs. Fog, watching her go from recovering invalid to putting her own wishes first, despite the pressure of those she'd given into previously.
I also found the story of the German waiter Klaus Zeiger touching. He is the quintessential waiter, always observant, mindful of propriety, and empathetic to the needs of those he serves. He is also highly aware of his ethnic baggage and how it has affected his life both during the war and now. I really appreciated that Constance saw him as a person, beyond his role.
This is a novel of a time of great changes and adjustments and not all of them are fair or pleasant. This novel has moments of outrage, sadness, and joy. Well worth reading.

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand is one of my favorite books so I was thrilled to get the ARC for Helen Simonson's latest book. I loved this one almost as much! The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club beautifully captures the post WWI era in England. Simonson's writing firmly places you in the period and showcases the societal challenges women faced as the war ends and the men return home and to the jobs they'd left behind. Loved, loved, loved this!

Thank you Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

This adult novel captured the post WWI feel so well, and I enjoyed the story. The style was very similar to Margery Sharp (Cluny Brown, The Foolish Gentlewoman), and the period details were fantastic.

I have not read any previous books by Helen Simonson and I enjoyed the breezy storytelling of The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club.
The book tells the tale of Constance and how she meets the enigmatic Poppy and her colleagues and motorcycle enthusiast friends Iris and Tilly and of course the moody but handsome Harris who was injured in the war.
The period is well written about and the characters are likeable and interesting which makes for an entertaining read.

I heartily endorse The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson.

It’s a rich story, a fully immersive historic narrative and just a great read. The characters are sharply observed, fully dimensional and they’ve stayed with me well after I finished reading the book.

I would recommend Simonson’s new book to anyone who loves historic novels, World War I stories, vintage aviation, Anglophiles and anyone who enjoys a well-told story.

Although it took a while to hook me, hook me it did! Although there were some truly unlikeable characters (but who were true to the era), there were many more that I admired was excited to follow through the various foibles of post-WWII life in English society. Thank you for an excellent read!

Well done historical novel set after WWI, following the Spanish Flu epidemic, that breathes life into an era. During the war women provided services normally performed by the men who had been sent off, giving them their first experience of freedom and accomplishment in the workforce. Upon the men's return, they were expected to return happily to supportive roles. Here we have some renegades who refuse to fall under that category, and while the plot was a bit slow in getting started, I felt it was necessary to establish character. Some reviewers have found this imponderable, but I think a bit of patience was required to give the book its due.

This book was sent to me without me requesting it. Which was awesome, however I gave up 26% through the book. It has a great premise - a women's motorcycle club in a time period that women couldn't even where trousers. BUT where was the excitement, activity and thrill of the Motorcycle movement?!?

I think in the quarter of book I read motorcycles were mentioned 3, maybe 4 times. And Poppy's motorcycle club once!! . I wanted more about a rebel girl's movement and to see Constance change and grow in her friendship with Poppy and the motorcycle club. I'm sure it eventually gets there, but I feel 28% should have got the main plot moving. Without that aspect, I found the book boring and nothing original for books set in the same period.

Helen Simonson's The Summer Before the War is one of my very favorite books, so I was very excited to see she has written a new novel. The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club is set just after the Great War, and is another wonderful slice of life in England during that time period. The cast of characters includes every day people, wealthy and titled Ladies of the British uppercrust, and everything in between. Girls with great responsibilities during the war are reluctantly having to give up their freedoms and jobs and positions to men returning from the war. Military men, wounded and others, are returning to civilian life. Everything is changing. While this is mainly the story of Constance, our heroine, and a group of girls trying to keep their Motorcycle club going after the war amidst these changes, it is also a record of the times. A solid 4+ stars, for a wonderfully captured era. many thanks to NetGalley and Random House / Dial Press for the e-arc. A truly lovely book.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC: Simonson is a master of historical fiction. This book is set just after WWI as the solders are returning--with all of their wounds--and displacing the young women who have been in the workforce during the war. The central character is a young woman of no means, who is nursing an older woman back from the flu while she plans to find work. As they spend time at a seaside resort she is befriended by a woman of means who is running a motorcycle club, and later flying club. While telling an enjoyable tale, Simonson touches on class, race, misogyny, social issues and adds romance as well. The characters are well developed and within the enjoyable story is history and depth. Recommended.

Many thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy of this wonderful novel.

It's 1919 just after WWI. Constance Haverhill is a shy young woman of little means and she's working as companion to the elderly Mrs. Fog who's getting over the flu. They are spending the summer at a resort hotel on the coast. She meets the extroverted Poppy, a woman who is developing a business using motorcycles, all ridden by women. When she convinces Poppy to take a ride in the sidecar of her motorcycle, Constance becomes an instant convert. It feels like freedom from the strict rules that women lived under. They become fast friends. Poppy's brother Harris was a fighter pilot in the war and after he lost the lower section of one leg, he becomes morose and bitter. Constance's positive presence helps him get over his depression.

There are plenty of activities taking place, all leading up to Peace Day. This was a wonderful read which I enjoyed so much, as I have the previous two books by this writer, and I look forward to more.

Every reader has books that they can't wait to read, books that seem perfect in their descriptions -- only to find that The Perfect Book falls sadly flat. For me, that was THE HAZELBOURNE LADIES MOTORCYLE AND FLYING CLUB. I thoroughly enjoyed Simonson's earlier novel MAJOR PETTIGREW'S LAST STAND; one of my favorite time periods to read about is the First World War (including the interwar years); I love strong, independent female characters.

But I had to push myself to finish this novel. Many of the supporting characters were quite unlikable, and the central characters seemed not only flat, but inconsistent in their attitudes and actions. The character I most enjoyed met a nasty end at the hands of nasty people, and the conclusion of the book seemed forced and contrived.

I loved Helen Simonson's 2010 novel "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand" and I came to this book with high expectations. "The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club" delivers with a well-researched story and a seaside town full of interesting characters. This work of historical fiction is set in England immediately after World War I as our heroine tries to find her place in peacetime. In the great tradition of Austen and others, Constance is an intelligent but poor woman with few romantic prospects. Will she find a suitable job? Will she end up at the mercy of her cruel family friends? Will some dashing, preferably rich man sweep her off her feet? In the meantime, she meets some women determined to continue riding motorcycles, trades barbs with a few racists and gets a ride in an airplane. It's all good fun and well written; my only quibble is that the ending seems just a tiny bit too neat.

It is 1919 and Constance is without prospects. The men are returning from the was and she has been asked to give up her cottage and her job running the estate on which she lives. while looking for a job, she is sent as a companion to an old family friend who is convalescing at a seaside hotel. There she meets Poppy and her circle of friends. The women are forced to confront the fact that the freedoms they gained during war are about to be lost. You will be rooting for these women and he choices they make.

This novel takes place in post WWI and after the Spanish flu pandemic. Constance Haverhill, having recently lost her mother is asked by her mother's wealthy benefactor to care for her aging mother in a seaside resort town. Constance needs this job as she was left with very little, the family farm having being inherited by her brother and his grieving wife.

She is befriended by Poppy Wirrall who sees something of herself in the more timid Constance. The drama unfolds as more of Poppy's titled friends join this little drama along with other forward-thinking females who are part of the Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club. Constances finds a camaraderie and a sense of belonging and purpose with these intrepid ladies. But the question of her future and how it may survive this delicate bubble of the posh set leaves her worried.

Excellent character development and descriptive settings made this a story both interesting and fun to read.

Charming characters in post World War I in the English countryside. The young ladies who worked during the war liked that and many don’t want to give it up. Constance, a companion to an older woman, meets up with a group of young, wealthy young women and gets involved with them. She gets a glimpse of an exciting and adventurous lifestyle. She even falls for an injured soldier, yet she knows she is not really one of them. A mostly likable group of characters who are all trying to find their places in the world much changed by war.

Helen Simonson captures the post-war era beautifully in The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club. She has a captivating writing style that places you firmly in the period and describes the societal challenges women faced with real authenticity whilst weaving a story of friendship and romance. I would highly recommend.

Fun, funny, smart story about women after WW I, dealing with repressive social mores, lost jobs, and suffocating family expectations. Poppy is part of the aristocracy, definitely not your typical young woman, who runs a motorcycle taxi service (for women and by women), as well as a women's motorcycle club, and has big plans for more. Constance is a very competent young woman from the country who has left her brother's farm to be a temporary companion for an elderly family friend recovering from pneumonia. Both Poppy and Constance are impacted by the return of men from the war, losing their jobs so the men can have them, even though it means they also lose their housing and are no longer able to support themselves. Constance had been working as the estate manager for a family friend but loses her job as well. The wounded returning men are also facing challenges of their own, as does Poppy's brother. And discrimination and snobbery run rampant. All of this is portrayed through the characters in ways that are funny, sad, exasperating...I absolutely loved this book, and will be looking to read more of Helen Simonsen as soon as I can find another of her books!

In 1920 England is still recovering from the war and the influenza outbreak, returning servicemen are struggling to reacclimate to peacetime society, and women must make way and give up the jobs they held during the war. Constance Haverhill ran the estate office for her late mother's wealthy friend Lady Mercer during the war, but now that the men are back she must find a new place as a governess or companion, but first she's given a special treat of a summer at the seaside as companion to Lady Mercer's mother.

She meets Poppy Wirrall, well born and eccentric, and is soon swept up in the social whirl of the seaside town. Poppy runs a women's motorcycle club and offers employment to some of the recently displaced women by offering a motorcycle taxi and delivery service, and Constance is introduced to this group along with Poppy's brother, a pilot who lost his leg in the war. Constance struggles to find her place, torn between enjoyment of her new friends and the need to support herself and make her way in the world.

The struggles faced by women, disabled servicemen, and minorities are sometimes portrayed with a heavy hand that takes away from the enjoyment of the novel. Well drawn characters make the story interesting but the social message is overbearing at times.