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Author: Simonson, Helen

Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)

Published on 18 July 2024 by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC in the United Kingdom.

Hardback | 432 pages
163 x 241 x 39 | 654g

Whip-smart and utterly transportive, this 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’A charming and uplifting tale – I LOVED every minute!’ FAITH HOGAN’A ripping tale of friendship, survival and true love’ CELIA IMRIE’Witty, amusing and touchingly emotive ‘ ROSIE GOODWIN’A page-turning original story’ KATIE FFORDE—————————————————————————–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 to 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 and its colorful inhabitants, most notably, Poppy Wirrall.

Poppy, the daughter of a land-owning baronet, 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.

Readers LOVE The Hazelbourne Ladies‘An absolute must for lovers of historical fiction’ *****‘What a delight! … captured the essence of the era’ *****‘This book was brilliant! Totally recommend it’ *****‘I loved the characters … and found out more than I expected *****