I’d really enjoyed both of Helen Simonson’s earlier books, Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand and The Summer Before the War, so was looking forward to her new book. And it’s a treat. Peppered with a cast of interesting characters, the story follows Constance Haverhill, who has recently lost her mother to the Spanish Flu. She has been taken pity on – and by that we mean made use of – by her mother’s old school friend, Lady Mercer. Constance is to accompany Lady Mercer’s mother to the seaside for an extended stay as a lady’s companion.
As you can guess, it’s just after World War I and Britain is both reeling from the devastation of losing so many soldiers, as well as celebrating peace. Women who have had to step up and take jobs formerly held by men are returning to traditionally female work, struggling to make ends meet on widows pensions, or depending on relatives.
Constance had made herself useful in the Mercer household managing the farm accounts – she’s a farmer’s daughter, after all – and has also trained as a bookkeeper. But with nowhere to go except her brother’s farm, her unpaid accounting work for the Mercers no longer required, Constance sees her short visit to Hazelbourne as a chance to evaluate her options. Fortunately, the elderly lady, Mrs Fog, is kindly and appreciative, allowing Constance plenty of time off to see the sights.
At the Meredith Hotel Constance is unable to have a table on her own as an unaccompanied young woman, as is Poppy Wirrall, who has just blown in on her motorcycle and is unsuitably attired. The two girls bond over a loaned skirt and before you know it, Constance is swept up into Poppy’s world. Poppy is a fan of motorcycles – she was a courier at the front – and has collaborated with some other women friends to set up a motorcycle and sidecar taxi service. One of the crew, Iris, is a keen motorcycle racer, but it’s hard breaking into a field dominated by men.
“I say, is there any chance you would help me?” said the girl, jumping up and extending a slightly oil-stained hand. “I’m Poppy Wirrall. I’ve been out all day on the motorcycle and damn it all if I didn’t leave my bag behind at home. My mother is still out visiting and the powers that be here have decided that after four years of war and pestilence they should still have the vapours over a woman having tea in trousers.”
Pippa’s family have decamped to the hotel while Mrs Wirrall is spending the family fortunes lavishly renovating their stately home. Brother Harris is an amputee, bitter at being treated like an invalid and desperate to fly bi-planes again. Several characters face difficulties in being seen for who they are, not just what they are. So Harris is expected to be an invalid, and his sister to marry, rather than run around on motorcycles. There’s also hotel waiter Klaus, a naturalised Englishman, but no one can see past his German origins. Class rears its ugly head as Constance knows only too well.
There is an element of Pride and Prejudice in the way Constance and Harris interact in the early parts of the book. Harris is haughty to protect himself from ridicule, and is bitter at seeing so many of his fellow pilots killed in the war. Constance, ever the poor cousin, bridles at his rudeness. But Harris at least is not a snob like the Mercers, and knows the value of people who have a good heart.
Everything comes together in a plot that simmers with exciting events – motorcycle races and aerobatic displays, dances and weddings, romances and disasters. Not everyone gets a happy ever after, but there’s hope and fresh starts aplenty as characters face challenges and rise to the occasion. The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club is a charming story, nicely recreating the post WWI period in an English seaside setting – a light, fun read with moments that make you want to cry or cheer. A four-star read from me.
Judith McKinnon 