The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club Audiobook By Helen Simonson cover art

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club

A Novel

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The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club

By: Helen Simonson
Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham, Helen Simonson
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About this listen

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • “Historical fiction of the highest order . . . an absolute joy of a book, warm and romantic, and with so much to say about the lives of women in the years following World War I.”—Ann Napolitano, bestselling author of Hello Beautiful

A timeless comedy of manners—refreshing as a summer breeze and bracing as the British seaside—about a generation of young women facing the seismic changes brought on by war and dreaming of the boundless possibilities of their future, from the bestselling author of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

It is the summer of 1919, and Constance Haverhill is without prospects. Now that all the men have returned from the front, she has been asked to give up her cottage and her job at the estate she helped run during the war. While she looks for a position as a bookkeeper or—horror—a governess, she’s sent as a lady’s companion to an old family friend who is convalescing at a seaside hotel. Despite having only weeks to find a permanent home, Constance is swept up in the social whirl of Hazelbourne-on-Sea after she rescues the local baronet’s daughter, Poppy Wirrall, from a social faux pas.

Poppy wears trousers, operates a taxi and delivery service to employ local women, and runs a ladies’ motorcycle club (to which she plans to add flying lessons). She and her friends enthusiastically welcome Constance into their circle. And then there is Harris, Poppy’s recalcitrant but handsome brother—a fighter pilot recently wounded in battle—who warms in Constance’s presence. But things are more complicated than they seem in this sunny pocket of English high society. As the country prepares to celebrate its hard-won peace, Constance and the women of the club are forced to confront the fact that the freedoms they gained during the war are being revoked.

Whip-smart and utterly transportive, The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club is historical fiction of the highest order: an unforgettable coming-of-age story, a tender romance, and a portrait of a nation on the brink of change.

©2024 Helen Simonson (P)2024 Random House Audio
Friendship Historical Fiction Small Town & Rural Women's Fiction Transportation Heartfelt Motorcycle Summer War
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Critic reviews

“Simonson expertly probes cultural tensions hindering her characters’ efforts at post-war reinvention, including the immense human cost of combat, the hypocrisy of letting women work during wartime but not afterward.”Shelf Awareness

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club is an absolute joy of a book. Warm and romantic, it also has so much to say about the lives of women in the years following World War I. This is historical fiction of the highest order—pleasurable and smart.”—Ann Napolitano, bestselling author of Hello Beautiful

“I am so in love with the way Helen Simonson writes, how she tells a story. This book is utterly captivating from the first page. With a perfect blend of historical charm, courage, and camaraderie, it takes readers on a riveting journey through a world where the skies are the limit for those brave enough to soar.”—Jamie Ford, New York Times bestselling author of The Many Daughters of Afong Moy

What listeners say about The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club

Average customer ratings
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The women riding motorcycles and learning to fly

I liked the story. It had plenty of twists and turns and kept me wanting to hear more. I liked the ending but was sorry when the book was finished!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Engaging at every step

Loved this book! Felt a bit like a post WW I Jane Austen novel. Touched on many social issues while keeping you engaged in the story throughout.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Escape to 1919

Keeps you moving from one character to the next while the plot materializes.
Lots of characters all with beauty and quirkiness. At the end I am a little sad since I want to know what each of them did with their lives.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Delightful

Sweet and pure. Delightful protagonist, a fun bunch of endearingly flawed characters trying to get back to life after war but struggling while still clinging to pre-war ideas. Protagonist brings it all together so that even the most devious characters find at least one redeeming quality.

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Wonderful story

The author's use of an abundance of adjectives painted a vivid picture of the story that made me feel as if I was right there. I could see it all through her words. I loved this book!

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Well done

Novel set after WW1. Well written concerning the class struggles after the war where women had worked and still needed jobs after and the upper classes had to struggle with the social changes affecting their previously privileged lifestyle. Think Downton Abbey in novel and you will enjoy it.

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1 person found this helpful

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Escapist reading at it's best

A superb book about residents in a seaside town in England following WWI. The story is dazzling in conveying the social and cultural norms of the times before women's equal standing in the country through the lens of some swashbuckling women operating a motorcycle taxi service. There are many subplots with both conformists and nonconformists adapting to changing times in the early 20th century. The narrator is excellent, able to voice discerning characters uniquely. I didn't want this book to read.

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Perseverance of Women

I loved the independent nature of the women in the story.
The characters were so very interesting and real .
I was very surprised by the ending ,not at all expected but so pleased with its conclusion .

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After the War there is hope & grief

I loved this book, the summer with the ladies of the motorcycle & flying club is a lot of fun, you root for them. Women who worked during the War & helped on the home front. But as with all her writing, there is the inevitable change in society and for individuals, good and bad. Classism, xenophobia, racism, the wounded and disabled by the War, but also budding love & friendship, hope that the hardship was behind them. I will say the Lords & Ladies & their privileged adult children can be maddening so be warned you will have some righteous indignation for our characters

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Resilience, Joy and Flight

Character development matching thoughtful historical context and yet relevant to current times. Beautiful story which gently but firmly addresses class and race.

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