The Calamity Club

'Smart, funny, and driven by unforgettable characters . . . a must-read' Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry 'With exquisite storytelling and unforgettable characters, The Calamity Club is a joyful, heartbreaking, heartwarming read. I loved it so much' Jennie Godfrey, author of The List of Suspicious Things 'As witty, bold, and transportive as it is heartbreaking and compassionate, The Calamity Club is storytelling at its finest. Stockett's masterfully drawn characters are simply unforgettable' Shelley Read, author of the international bestseller Go as a River "You give a girl a taste of fresh air and then you take it away-she'll grow fierce and wild to get it back." Oxford, Mississippi, 1933. Eleven-year-old Meg Lefleur has learned the hard way to rely on no one. Ever since her beloved mother failed to come home last Christmas Eve, she's been one of the 'unadoptable' girls at the town's orphanage, where she fights each day to keep her wits sharp and her spirit unbowed. When she meets Birdie , a young woman who has come to Oxford determined to remind her socialite sister of the impoverished family she left behind, for the first time in a long while it seems someone else might care about Meg's future. But as the Depression tightens its grip, Birdie begins to suspect her sister's charmed life may be founded on a tapestry of lies. Then, Birdie encounters Charlie, a woman haunted by loss who has been pushed to the brink with nothing left to lose. Drawn together by circumstance, they find unexpected kinship among a disreputable, determined band of women. But in a town steeped in hypocrisy, even the smallest act of defiance can have dangerous consequences . . . Bold, heartwarming, and riotously funny, The Calamity Club is an unforgettable story of resilience and friendship, and a sisterhood of underestimated women who risk everything to take back control of their fates. _ PRAISE FOR THE HELP 'Daring, vitally important and very courageous, I loved and admired The Help. Fantastic' MARIAN KEYES 'Outstanding, immensely funny, very compelling, brilliant' Daily Telegraph ' A laugh-out-loud, vociferously angry must-read' Marie Claire 'Touching, disgraceful, funny. Highly recommended' Daily Mail