The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle And Flying Club

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle And Flying Club is an historical fiction novel written by Helen Simonson. I have read one other book by her called The Summer Before the War. This book takes place in the fictional town of Hazelbourne which is on the coast. The book starts at Armistice Day (ending of World War One) and for a year after that. Constance is a main character. She grew up on a farm. Her father died when she was young. Her mother recently passed away from the flu. Now she works as a farm manager. Her brother was the sole inheritor of the farm. Constance needs to make money. She has a degree in accounting but employers are expected to save those jobs for men. With the help of her mother's friend, she gets a job helping an older lady recover from the flu. Together they travel to a hotel in Hazelbourne to take in the sea air and recuperate. Another guest at the hotel asks Constance for help. This guest, Poppy, grew up wealthy and she is something of a maverick. She likes to wear pants and to drive motorcycles. As the year progresses Poppy and Candace become close friends. What struck me about this book is the cultural restrictions placed on certain segments of society at that time. Some filling stations would not sell gas to young women on motorcycles. A German waiter at the hotel is discriminated against because of his heritage. He was put in a concentration camp on the Isle of Mann during the war. Even a year after the war has ended certain people in town treat him very badly. I enjoyed this story much more than I thought I would. There was an abundance of drama and intrigue.