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    The Chilbury Ladies' Choir: A Novel
    The Chilbury Ladies' Choir: A Novel
    The Chilbury Ladies' Choir: A Novel
    Audiobook11 hours

    The Chilbury Ladies' Choir: A Novel

    Written by Jennifer Ryan

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    "Just because the men have gone to war, why do we have to close the choir? And precisely when we need it most!"
      
    As England enters World War II's dark early days, spirited music professor Primrose Trent, recently arrived to the village of Chilbury, emboldens the women of the town to defy the Vicar's stuffy edict to shutter the church's choir in the absence of men and instead "carry on singing." Resurrecting themselves as "The Chilbury Ladies' Choir," the women of this small village soon use their joint song to lift up themselves, and the community, as the war tears through their lives.

    Told through letters and journals, THE CHILBURY LADIES' CHOIR moves seamlessly from budding romances to village intrigues to heartbreaking matters of life and death. As we come to know the struggles of the charismatic members of this unforgettable outfit-- a timid widow worried over her son at the front; the town beauty drawn to a rakish artist; her younger sister nursing an impossible crush and dabbling in politics she doesn't understand; a young Jewish refugee hiding secrets about her family, and a conniving midwife plotting to outrun her seedy past-- we come to see how the strength each finds in the choir's collective voice reverberates in her individual life. In turns funny, charming and heart-wrenching, this lovingly executed ensemble novel will charm and inspire, illuminating the true spirit of the women on the homefront, in a village of indomitable spirit, at the dawn of a most terrible conflict.


    This audiobook includes popular versions of classical music sung by women’s choirs, including the songs Abide with Me and All Creatures, Ave Maria, and The Lord's My Shepherd 

    Cast of Narrators:
    Gabrielle Glaister
    Laura Kirman
    Imogen Wilde
    Adjoa Andoh
    Tom Clegg
    Mike Grady
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
    Release dateFeb 21, 2017
    ISBN9781524721350
    Author

    Jennifer Ryan

    New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Ryan writes suspenseful contemporary romances about everyday people who do extraordinary things. Her deeply emotional love stories are filled with high stakes and higher drama, love, family, friendship, and the happily-ever-after we all hope to find. Jennifer lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and three children. When she finally leaves those fictional worlds, you’ll find her in the garden, playing in the dirt and daydreaming about people who live only in her head, until she puts them on paper. For information about her upcoming releases, sign up for her newsletter: www.jennifer-ryan.com/newsletter

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    Reviews for The Chilbury Ladies' Choir

    4/5

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    • 5/5
      Epistolary novel focused on four main characters. Great plotting, character development, and dialog. I was hooked from the beginning. Highly recommended to all of my friends.
    • 5/5
      Small town near the southern coast of England during the early days of WWII. The ladies start a choir, since all the men have gone to fight. The story is told through letters and diary entries. Spies, theft, misdeeds, seduction, a Jewish refugee -- all play a part.

      I love love love this book. So many good people doing good things. Of course, there were a few bad folks. There has to be, since there is a war going on.

      Sad things happen, but I don't want to give spoilers.

      I could have read many more chapters in this book. I wish it had gone on for many more pages. This might be my favorite book of 2023, and it's only June!
    • 4/5
      A pleasant offering on a perennially popular topic- the home front in WWII England. Stilted and awkward at times but it’s nonetheless a good intro to the Homefront topic, might be good for a newer book group.
    • 4/5
      Historical fiction set in Chilbury, Kent, England in 1940, where the threat of bombing raids is an ever-present danger. Most of the young men have gone to fight in WWII and the vicar wants to shut down the chorus, but the women make the controversial decision to carry on as a female-only choir. One man and five women tell the story in first person through letters and journals, all of different ages, temperaments, and social standing.

      The five female characters are wonderfully quirky and experience personal growth. We have a widow with a nursing background and a son fighting in France, a midwife with a nefarious plan to make money, a thirteen-year-old with an extravagant imagination, her flirtatious older sister who allows an enigmatic artist to paint her portrait, and a young Jewish girl evacuated from Czechoslovakia. The male narrator is a colonel is billeted with the widow. The plot suffers from a few implausible elements, and the thirteen-year-old girl was too worldly for the period.

      I listened to the audio book, read by a cast, and they did an admirable job with the narrative. Several choral hymns added verisimilitude to the audio. It was an enjoyable listening experience and a positive message of working together in the face of hardship.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed The Chilbury Ladies Choir by Jennifer Ryan. Composed entirely of letters and diary entries, we are pulled into the day to day affairs of Chilbury, a village in Kent. The time is the summer of 1940, the Battle of Britain is underway and Chilbury is on the flight path of the Nazis coming to bomb London. The village consists of mainly women as the men are off fighting, and we particularly follow the women who have gotten together and formed a ladies only choir.

      The choir binds both the women and the story together, but between practices and performances we also read of bombings, a baby-swapping scheme, love affairs, spies and black market operators. I found the characters, from the village nurse to a plucky thirteen year old both varied and interesting. The war has affected everyone in the village with shortages, rationing, blackouts, air-raid drills, worry over their men and the ever present fear of England being invaded.

      The Chilbury Ladies Choir is well written and moves along at a good pace. Absorbing the story through letters and diaries made the emotions seems very real to me and this will be a book that I remember for some time.
    • 4/5
      This book starts with the About the Author and includes this bit:

      Many of the characters' stories in the book are based on real life, discovered through [the author's] extensive research and her grandmother's experiences.

      and I have to say, it made the read somehow more enjoyable.  As a book of pure fiction, I think I would still have enjoyed it, but might have felt less satisfied with the characters' stories; as a work of fiction based on read people and events, the loose ends and un-satisfactory resolutions for some of them felt authentic and more tolerable.

      In structure, this is an epistolary novel told from multiple POVs that come from letters and diary entries written in 1940 England, just as the war really begins to hit the home front.  I'd argue it's not a truly epistolary structure though; while I'm sure some people wrote very detailed letters and diary entires, I can't imagine very many would go so far as to write long narratives that include setting a scene and transcribing exact dialog.  It works, but those who don't care for epistolary structures might find this more tolerable.

      Told from 6 POVs, which sounds like a lot, but works really well, this is the story of a small village near Dover whose vicar disbands their choir because there are no men left.  The women and children in the choir find strength, comfort and an outlet for their anxiety in their choir performances - a good thing because lots of terrible things happen in the course of 1940, both war related and not.

      There's an obvious love story, a sneaky love story and many non-romantic mini-plots.  The ending of a few are satisfying, the ending of a few others are realistic and left open, and a few - at least 1 - left me thinking there wasn't enough information given for me to believe in their finality.  Overall though, it was a book that started slow, but efficiently pulled me in until I didn't care to put it down again.  An enjoyable read.
    • 3/5
      The style of switching so many characters through letters was a little hard to sort out in the beginnings, but it soon straightened out. An interesting look at life during the war in a small village in England. Not as well developed characters as some, but still a good read.
    • 4/5
      This book started out very slowly for me, but then it picked up and I really enjoyed the remainder of the book.
      In Chilbury, a small town in England, it is 1940, and the men have gone off to war. The choir is in danger of being disbanded, because they are no men to sing in it. However, Prim, a choir director, convinces the vicar to allow the choir to continue as a ladies' choir.
      This is but a small part of the story, which is told in a series of letters and journals. The story is a sweet story of people doing their best in time of war. It also tells of love, deceit, friendships, and women taking control when necessary.
      A delightful book overall.
    • 5/5
      THE CHILBURY LADIES CHOIR by Jennifer Ryan
      This was much better than I expected! I was expecting a syrupy sweet little tale and got a sprawling story of people: interesting people, who lived and changed and grew larger with each page. It is also a story of war – how fear and loss change people and places. Of course, there are also secrets, spies, skullduggery, lies, love, friendship, betrayal, kindness, faith, redemption, and the joy of music. Music and its ability to heal wounds, cross barriers and sooth hurting souls is the component that binds all the elements of the book into a pleasing and wondrous whole.
      Book groups will love this book. It offers a myriad of topics for discussion as well as enough plot elements to make every reader happy.
      5 of 5 stars
    • 4/5
      It took my library quite a while to get this book in so I was happy to finally have a chance to read it. Maybe everyone is tired of books set during World War II but I find them fascinating. And this book, which focuses on a number of women and girls in a small village in Kent, did not disappoint.

      Chilbury is a small village in Kent quite close to the English Channel and thus is even nearer to the war raging on the European continent than London is. Almost all the men have enlisted so the vicar thinks that the choir will have to be discontinued. Apparently you can't have a choir that only has female singers. Then a music teacher comes to the village and suddenly the choir will be The Chilbury Ladies' Choir. Prim is passionate about music, particularly singing, and she imparts her emotion to the other women. Two of the daughters of the local bigwig, Kitty and Venetia Winthrop, both sopranos, are in the choir. Their mother, although very pregnant, also joins. Mrs. Tilling, a nurse and widow and mother of a soldier, has a lovely alto voice. Miss Edwina Paltry, the local midwife, doesn't sing very well but wants to be in on local doings for her own reasons. Mrs. Brampton-Boyd is sure the choir is going to make the village the laughing-stock of England but doesn't want to miss out. The local school teacher, Hattie, is also pregnant but takes herself along to rehearsals as she waits to hear from her husband on board a ship in the mid-Atlantic.

      There is actually a lot going on in this small village as we find out from the diary entries and letters of some of those listed above. The most shocking is the scheme Miss Paltry hopes to carry out in order to get a great deal of money from Brigadier Winthrop. The eldest Winthrop was a son so the succession was assured but then the submarine he was on was torpedoed and he was killed. The Brigadier wants to ensure that his wife has another son so he gets Miss Paltry to agree to switch babies if Mrs. Winthrop has another baby girl. Miss Paltry is sure she can carry this out as long as Mrs. Tilling is not around. On a day when Mrs. Tilling is away from the village for the entire day, she gets both women to take a potion that induces labour and carries out the switch. Of course, Mrs. Tilling is suspicious which causes the Brigadier to hold back paying the money.

      The author says she was inspired to write this story because of her own grandmother regaling her with stories about life in Kent during World War II. Sounds like she, who Jennifer called Party Grandma, had quite a few adventures including being in a choir. This is Ryan's first novel but she has another one called The Kitchen Front in print and I'm hoping I'll get to read it soon. I see my library has a few copies of it.
    • 3/5
      Cozy Engish community copes with the absence of men in England during 1940.
      A WWII version of [The Summer Before the War]
      The audiobook has the nice addition of a womens' choir singing a few of the selections in the book.
    • 5/5
      I really loved this novel. I became very fond of so many of the characters who made up the Chilbury Ladies Choir. Their story is told through journal entries or letters. The choir comes together as first all woman choir since men are all at war. This is a big scandal. According to Mrs. B they just cannot do it. But thanks to a forward thinking choir director, Parm they do. We meet young Kirry Winthrop just 14 years old and the best voice. She develops a huge crush on Henry who is interested in her older sister Venetia who is a huge flirt whos has set her sights on "Mr. Slater. Mrs. Tilling is a widow who sees her son off to war and must learn to cope and the choir
      does that for her. There are some great villians like the midwife Edwina switching babies and the Brigadier who is a woman hater bent on aquiring a male heir through whatever means.
      In fact the choir allows the women to discover that there is more inside them they they ever knew. We learn how WWll gave everyday women a voice.
      Just a delight to read.
    • 4/5
      Put me in mind of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. British folks making the best of WWII and imminent Nazi invasion. As an audio book, this was a pleasure -- several different voices and even some snippets of choir music here and there. It is 1940, and the fictional village of Chilbury is facing 2 tragedies: the loss of Edmund Winthrop (doesn't sound like much of a loss) but he was the only (male) heir to Chilbury Manor. His two sisters, Venetia (19) and Kitty (13) don't count, shades of the Downton Abbey dilemma, but apparently a true issue for British gentry at the time. Luckily, Mrs. Winthrop is pregnant and her domineering husband, the Brigadier is determined it shall be a boy. This spins off one plot line involving Mrs. Paltrey, an ambitious and unscrupulous midwife. Her job is to pull a switcheroo. The other tragedy is the disbanding of the Chilbury choir due to the absence of male voices. Enter newcomer Prim, a single, modern woman of a certain age, who proposes the choir continue as ladies only under her direction. As such, the choir brings joy and respite to not only its members but to the village's environs and after they compete in a local competition, they gain some renown. This plays out another plot line of the various choir members, especially Mrs. Tilling, Mrs. B, Kitty and Venetia who all have their own agendas and various escapades due to the war. Mrs. Tilling (widow) is the calm, upright voice of reason. She is a nurse and is devoted to the war effort and to the well-being of everyone in town. Her own son David is fighting in France, like the other young men from the village. Her observation that "We have prayers enough to light of the whole universe like a thousand stars breathing life into our deepest fears." is an example of the book's occasional eloquence. Mrs. B is a take-charger in the best of times, so she is on a power trip in the absence of men. Venetia is a beautiful but spoiled and manipulative young woman. She has made a bet with her slutty friend Angela (the vicar's daughter) that she can "catch" Alistair Slater, a handsome painter recently moved to town, though why he is not fighting is a source of intrigue, and meanwhile she breaks the hearts of all the other young men. Kitty just wants to be an adult and pals around with Sylvie the young Czech refugee staying with her family. Both plot lines criss-cross multiple times -- this is a small town after all and for all the folksy humor there is some of the war's horror and harsh reality too. Told in multiple genres of letters, journal, public announcements and other ways to incorporate many viewpoints, the book is sweet and fun and worthwhile. Like a Shakespeare comedy, there are weddings at the end, though tragedy is not far off. The message though a tad unrealistic is to focus on the happy things.
    • 4/5
      I simultaneously read a Kindle e-book edition and an Overdrive audiobook edition, both borrowed from my public library. Pandemic style reading.

      The audio was wonderful. There is often singing and music when singing and music were happening in the story. Lovely. I wish it was done for all the songs/music.

      The characters are wonderful and varied. Some are a real hoot. They’re all interesting and thoroughly entertaining! There were a few that really touched my heart. The story, stories really, have more depth than it first seems they will. I enjoyed all the letters and journal entries that tell the story.

      I enjoyed the plentiful humor and the sadder and suspenseful parts also. It’s charming and fun.

      The title of the book is really only a relatively small part of the plot though an important one.

      There was a map of the village (it would have been easier to refer to had I been reading a paper edition) and there were many pages of interesting extras at the end.

      I really liked it. I found it a bit of slog (I had to rush to finish it before the editions were taken off my devices) but I attribute that to my mood & circumstances and not the book.
    • 5/5
      A charming story of the women in an English village left to cope while most of the men are fighting in World War II. Through their letters (and distinct voices on the audiobook), the different personalities shine through: a widow who has sent her only son to war, a 13-year-old girl in love with a boy and with singing, a crafty older woman scheming for a nice payout that will enable her to leave town, and others. Music plays a role, too, serving as a balm for wounded spirits and a call to action. The ladies of the Chilbury Women’s Choir find strength in their voices and power in their hearts.
    • 4/5
      This is a delightful, charming novel set during WWII in a small English village where most of the men have gone off to war, leaving mainly women in the village to tend the homefires.

      The story is filled with intrigue, heartbreak and triumphs of small town living all set against a backdrop of war.

      I listened to this on audio, read by an ensemble cast of actors, and thought it added to the experience. In fact, I think I wouldn't have liked it quite as much if I had just read it myself. Since the novel is written in letters and journal entries each character comes to life with their own unique voice, especially the character of Mrs. Edwina Paltry, the town's conniving midwife. The reader is perfect for the part!

      The ending is all wrapped up in a neat little bow, and while I usually find that a little off putting and contrived, I thought it was rather perfect for this book (similar to the ending of the Help). Highly recommend to anyone looking for a fast, enjoyable read.
    • 4/5
      I had a hard time putting down this book. I thought it was going to be a fluffy drama with lots of silly romances, but it was a fun and interesting story. The author did a great job of highlighting a lot of serious issues (sexism, homophobia, bullies, etc.) without getting overly serious. And, while there were some sad parts of the story, it's mostly uplifting.

      I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the format (written as letters and diary entries from each of the characters). I think that it was an interesting way of getting several sides of each story.

      It was a quick and relatively light read.
    • 4/5
      When the men and boys go off to war, who will sing in church? The vicar suggests an end to music, but the women are soon led to form their own choir, even entering choir contests and singing just as ladies—a new, intriguing, and possibly forbidden thought!

      Their story is told through letters and diary entries, and the various protagonists are a very mixed bunch, from silly teenager to conniving wheeler-dealer. The reader’s soon wondering who will be found out, who will find themselves, and who will find redemption from the pits they dig for themselves. But the first-person approach is oddly evocative, even when the character’s not particularly likeable. Reading how war and relationships change people; seeing the same characters through the eyes of others; and waiting for bad news to tear it all apart—its all becomes very immediate.

      Eventually the storylines have to be resolved; the results might not be completely convincing, but they’re satisfying, and they work. This isn’t a story of sweetly stoic simplicity, but rather a mildly gritty tale blending dark and light sides of humanity. War may have brought out the best in some, but in Chilbury it brings out best and worst and in between. And it makes for a good read.

      Disclosure: I got it on a deal and I enjoyed it.
    • 4/5
      I am a sucker for books like this documenting how life went on in small English villages during World War II. Told from a variety of village women’s perspectives, the story shows how the “weaker” sex managed quite well on their own. Lots of drama and strong women characters.
    • 4/5
      This story is set at the beginning of WWII on the coast of England in the small fictional town of Chilbury. Most of the men have left for the war effort and the ladies of Chilbury are saddened that the Vicar has disbanded the choir. He feels there are not enough male singers. Prim, a music professor newly moved to Chilbury thinks that the women should continue to sing in the choir and convinces the vicar. Once the women realize that there is nothing wrong with an all female choir, they begin to meet and bond. It doesn't take long before they realize that it's time for them to support each other and keep spirits up. They're not always in agreement, of course, and personalities occasionally clash, as always happens with a mixed group of people. This is how the relationships grow in this book, but it is so much more than just the choir. The story is told through a series of letters and journal entries written by Venitia and her sister Kitty, Sylvie (a Jewish evacuee), Mrs. Tilling (a nurse) and Edwina Paltry (a midwife).

      It was very interesting to see how the women in these small towns and villages in England stepped up to keep the homefires burning. There were also a number of issues that the author touched on: politics, war, child abuse, abortion, single mothers, pre-marital sex, black markets, spies, parental control over daughters, and women's rights. The relationships that developed between the women left behind as well as their strength of character was the backbone of this book. When I started reading it, I was not sure about the story and almost stopped reading it, but once I got into it I was glad I had persevered. This is not about the war or the holocaust, it is about surviving at home, during the war, in an area that was constantly at risk. A very good read. If you enjoy historical fiction, pick this one up and give it a whirl. I received a copy of this book from the First to Read Program prior to publication.
    • 4/5
      Digital audiobook performed by Gabrielle Glaster, Laura Kirman, Imogen Wilde, Adjoa Andoh, Tom Clegg, and Mike Grady.
      3.5*** (rounded up)

      Among the many novels about World War II, this one stands out for its focus on the women left behind. Set in an English village, where most of the men are off to the fight, and the women have stepped up to the task of keeping things going, Ryan gives us a rich cast of characters, some of whom are not what they seem.

      It begins when the vicar decides to suspend the choir; after all you can’t have a choir with no male voices. Not so fast! The women decide that they WILL sing and even enter the choir competition, bringing joy and recognition to their village.

      But taking charge of the choir is only a small way in which the women of Chilbury rise to the occasion. The novel is told by a series of diary entries and letters. Ryan changes narrators with each chapter, giving the reader different perspectives on what is happening in and around Chilbury. The residents experience intrigue, subterfuge, family drama, young love, criminal activity, death and fierce loyalty. I was engaged and interested from beginning to end, and thoroughly enjoyed spending time with these ladies!

      The audiobook is narrated by a cast of talented voice artists. I’m not certain who voiced which character, but they were all marvelous, really bringing the residents of Chilbury to life. A bonus for this listener is the choral music; oh, how I loved hearing snippets of the choir’s performances. On the strength of the audio performance I’m rounding up to 4 stars.
    • 4/5
      One of those books that for me, suffers a little from it's title, it's a bit cute, a bit cliched and it put me off. I had it on my To Read list but kept passing it over in favour of something else until a good friend recommend it to me. I thank you Miss D. The Chilbury Ladies' Choir isn't the bit of fluff I was expecting, although it did take until the second half for the characters to fill out for me. Set during the years of WWII with a lovely mixed bag, of mostly female characters, it's about the advantages of village life, of the comfort you gain from community and the hidden strengths in us all.
    • 3/5
      Not my genre but read for book club. I am not sure this book was supposed to be funny, but it gave me some chuckles. Of course has love story involved.
    • 4/5
      With so many men fighting in the war the Chilbury Ladies Choir reforms. The women end up helping many but not without their own dramas in their lives. This takes place in England in 1940. The lives all have happy endings but I found it dragged at the beginning. Each chapter is one of the main characters point of view.
    • 4/5
      Before she decided to write a novel, debut author Jennifer Ryan was a nonfiction book editor. Her novel, The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir, shows remarkable talent for a beginner. I believe she is going to be a writer with many national bestsellers if her first outing is any indication. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not perfect, but I believe that this work shows incredible talent.

      The story takes place in England beginning in March 24 and ends on September 6, 1940, as England is inching closer and closer to joining the world at war. The local vicar of Chilbury has decided that since no men are available to add their voices, that the choir should be suspended.
      The village women completely disagree with the vicar.

      It’s not easy, what with the shortages and all. But they form their own little Band of Sisters and vow to keep going. This is their story: the struggles, the heartaches, deceptions, romances, sacrifices.

      The story is narrated in an epistolary manner, through journal/diary entries and letters. AN ensemble, five different women, narrate the events of the five-and-a-half month time period. And boy is there a lot going on! At first it was difficult to tell the speakers apart, but after about 50 pages, it was very easy to discern each individual voice.

      According to her bio, Ryan based her novel “on the stories of my grandmother who was twenty when the Second World War began, mostly hilarious tales about bumping into people in the blackout, singing in the air raid shelters, and the freedoms women had during the war years--the excitement and romance. She also belonged to a choir, and her choir stories dramatized the camaraderie and support they all took away; the knowledge that they weren't in this alone. The The Chilbury Ladies' Choir uses my dear grandmother's stories as its backdrop.”

      I enjoyed the highs and lows the ladies endured. Their last performance at the book’s ending satisfying, but the story seemed to wrap up a bit too quickly after that. For this reason and the earlier difficulty, The Chilbury Ladies' Choir receives 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world. I would lie to add that I would like to see these characters again, perhaps in future novel. I want to know how, and if, Mrs. Tillings; Venetia Winthrop and her younger sister, Kitty; Sylvie, the Jewish refugee, and the local midwife, Edwina Paltry, they make it through WWII.

      I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for this review.
    • 4/5
      The Chilbury Ladies Choir takes place in a village in England as WWII is beginning. Discontent arises when the church choir is disbanded by the vicar because the men have gone to war. At first the women in the choir just grumble but soon decide they are in fact going to continue as an all ladies choir. This might not have happened had a new professor of music at the local college not moved to town. When she heard of this nonsense, she immediately scheduled a choir practice and took over leading the choir. The choir that within months won a village choir vs village choir competition.

      From this start the plot follows the choir members, the youngest being 13, and some of their family through letters or through diary entries. Beginning in March 1940 and concluding 6 months later, a lot happens in that time of change including romance, birth, death, and a considerable amount of drama.

      Similar to The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Peel Society this is a bit more serious and imo better written. If you liked Guernsey, you would probably like this as well.
    • 5/5
      I received this book for free through Bookstr’s (formerly The Reading Room) giveaways.

      I really liked this book. It is told entirely in letters and journal entries which I absolutely love. Plus it even has a map of the town which was super helpful to have.

      I loved how the book showcased the women and how their lives were impacted by the war. It told such a range of stories, from the good times to the really bad times, without ever losing its optimism.

      Overall, it was a book with a lot of heart.
    • 3/5
      This is an epistolary novel set in an English village during WWII about a ladies’ choir. It sounded exactly like my cup of tea, but it isn’t - it’s less charming, and much more sad and scandalous and unsympathetic, than I was expecting.

      The title suggests the story revolves around the Chilbury Ladies’ Choir, but it is really about the Winthrops at Chilbury Manor. The only son has just been killed, and the overbearing Brigadier enlists an unscrupulous midwife in his plan to ensure he acquires another heir. Meanwhile his 18 year old daughter, Venetia, is trying to seduce the mysterious artist, Mr Slater, and 13 year old Kitty is under the painful delusion that their friend Henry loves her...

      There is, of course, more going on in both girls’ lives than this; they’re prominent members of the choir; they have positive relationships with the ten year old refugee girl staying with them, if not each other. I warmed to them both eventually.

      My favourite character is Mrs Tilling, another member of the choir, a nurse whom both girls turn to when they need help. If this whole book had been her diary, I think I would have enjoyed it more wholeheartedly.

      So, not quite my cup of tea, but probably someone else’s? I don’t regret reading it.
    • 5/5
      Such a wonderful book!

      Capturing the desperate times, the loss and grief that touched every corner of ' this sceptres isle.' This novel really goes to the heart of things for women on the Homefront in WW2 England.
      There's the microcosm view of society through village life (as Miss Marple always says)
      The angry gentry in form of the Brigadier, the women of his household bullied and fascinating whose lives and secrets are pivotal to the novel. Then there's the village nurse and the midwife, the black marketeers, the requisite domineering lady of the village and a host of others.
      There's the wonderful Miss Prim who takes the village women from a subservient role of women knowing where their place is to one of active courage.
      There's spies and romance.
      The story is written in letter form, which adds to the drama and the feel of the era.
      I was glued to every word and to every plot twist that fell off the page into my rather active imagination.

      A NetGalley ARC
    • 4/5
      Compelling tale of a small English town during WWII; how the 'home front' of mainly women, children and older men manage their daily lives, relationships and fears. Ryan fills the town with a variety of engaging characters, Prim, Hattie, Kitty, and Mrs. Tilling, while others, the Brigadier, Ralph Gibbs, Edwina Paltry and Mrs. B are the typical, stale, conventional 'bullies' found in many, many novels.

      The Chilbury Ladies' Choir is central to the town working together to help each other, especially those who have lost husbands and sons.The demands and stress of the war change the women who become stronger, more independent. learning how to stand up for themselves, and view the importance of life, love and kindness more clearly. And the response the Choir receives after performing invigorates each woman to recognize her value separately and as part of a strong team.

      Positive enjoyable read.