The Calamity Club

by Kathryn Stockett

The multi-million copy selling author of The Help returns with a bold, big-hearted novel about a group of unbreakable women, fighting for what’s rightfully theirs—and the power of friendship to change everything.


In 1933 Oxford, Mississippi, Prohibition is on the wane, and the Great Depression is tightening its grip. Poor and rich folks alike have fallen on hard times, even as the old social order remains. For women on the margins, the options are few and the price of dignity and self-determination is unbearably high.


Eleven-year-old Meg, one of the unadoptable “big girls” at the Lafayette County Orphan Asylum, fights each day to keep her spirit unbowed. Birdie, unmarried and outspoken, has come to Oxford on a mission to ask her social-climbing sister to help the struggling family she’s left behind. And Charlie is a woman with a past, running low on luck but driven by fire, fury, and grit. When their fates converge, they come up with an audacious plan to take back control of their lives. Together, they form an unlikely sisterhood—but in a place and time where hypocrisy is rife, women’s freedom is fragile, and making an enemy can have dire consequences, will the price they pay for their outrageous risk-taking be too high?


The Calamity Club will make you laugh, cry, and cheer—an epic testament to resilience, friendship, and the fierce, funny women who know that calamity can be the spark of new beginnings. This is Kathryn Stockett at her most confident, heartfelt, and hilarious—the triumphant return of one of the most beloved storytellers of our time.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Southern, Feminism, Adult Fiction, Literary Fiction

656 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication April 7, 2026

About the author

Kathryn Stockett was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. After graduating from the University of Alabama with a degree in English and creative writing, she moved to New York City, where she worked in magazine publishing for nine years. She currently lives in Atlanta with her husband and daughter. She is working on her second novel.

Reviews

[Maven_Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett is a sweeping historical fiction set in 1933 Oxford, Mississippi, about three very different women whose lives collide during the Great Depression, forming an unexpected sisterhood as they each fight to reclaim agency, dignity, and hope in a time when the social order feels unforgiving and fraught with hypocrisy. The story follows Meg, an eleven-year-old labeled “unadoptable” living in an orphanage, Birdie, a determined woman seeking help from her affluent sister for her struggling family, and Charlie, a woman shaped by loss and grit, as they join forces with other underestimated women to take bold risks that might change their lives forever. This novel marks Stockett’s long-awaited second book after her breakout success The Help, and it highlights resilience, resilience found in friendship and defiance, and the struggles for self-determination against the backdrop of economic hardship.

Reading about these women stirred a deep emotional cadence in me, from Meg’s fierce will to survive despite constant setbacks to Birdie’s blend of hope and frustration as she confronts family divides and societal expectations. What resonated most was how each character carried her own burdens yet found, in each other, sparks of empathy and courage that felt both tender and invigorating.

Stockett balances moments that made me laugh quietly with others that pulled at my chest, particularly in how she portrays the fragile nature of women’s freedom in a world that often underestimates their strength and resourcefulness. I also appreciated the narrative’s blend of heartfelt seriousness and dry wit, reflecting Stockett’s skill in creating characters who are real, flawed, and deeply memorable. I found this to be a bold, warm, and funny story with emotional depth.

My rating: 3 out of 5 stars. I am giving this book 3 stars because it felt profoundly human and richly imagined, offering powerful takes on friendship, resilience, and the courage to confront injustice; I also found myself wanting even more immersion in some of the supporting lives that orbit the central trio. Still, The Calamity Club left me thinking about its characters long after reading, and I would happily recommend it to anyone who loves character-driven historical fiction with heart, humor, and grit.

[Karson]

Pre-release:

I’m SO excited for this book to be released!!!!

[Kristen Welch]

The Calamity Club is Kathryn Stockett's second novel, set in 1933 Oxford, Mississippi, following her debut The Help. It's a historical fiction novel about a group of women—including a well-intentioned, church going Birdie Calhoun, some prominent socialites, a group of desperate prostitutes, and a charming, honest and innocent young orphan, whose lives intersect during the Great Depression as they form an unlikely sisterhood and take a dangerous risk to earn some desperately needed cash, right some wrongs, and for many of them, start a new life..

How many years have we had to wait for Kathryn Stockett to gift us with a new novel? TOO MANY! Let me tell you, THE CALAMITY CLUB has been worth the wait! I just finished reading an advanced reader's copy (thank you, NetGalley!), and I absolutely LOVED it. This story has quite a cast of interesting characters, some lovable and some not. Stockett gives us multiple protagonists and antagonists in this 650+ page novel. One of my favorite things is that the story is told from two different perspectives; Birdie Calhoun, and 11 year old Meg LeFleur, and we get to know so many different characters along the way. I only hope we don't have to wait another 14 years for another novel by Kathryn Stockett, and I especially hope THE CALAMITY CLUB will be made into a movie as was THE HELP!

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so excited to find out the author of The Help had written a new book. I couldn’t wait to delve into this one! The whole time I was reading it, I was imagining this as another blockbuster movie! The characters were so well developed that I could just picture each and every one of them. There were so many hilarious moments and descriptions that I couldn’t avoid sharing. There is a very serious aspect of this book as the author describes the hardships endured during the 1930’s. The camaraderie of the many women and their need for survival moves the story along. I just loved the book and will be highly recommending this to all!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced eGalley of the book. All opinions expressed are truly my own.
#TheCalamityClub #KathrynStockett #NetGalley #Spiegel&Grau

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley and Spiegel & Grau.

You read this book from the eyes of two main characters - 11-year-old Meg, who was abandoned and sent to an orphanage where she is treated more harshly than other orphaned girls and Birdie Calhoun, outspoken, single, daughter and sister who is trying to care for her mother and grandmother. Their stories intertwine when Birdie visits her sister who volunteers at the orphanage.

This is a story of female persistence, strength, and grit in a time when women and girls were told they weren't supposed to possess those traits. It gives readers a glimpse into the time after the Great Depression in 1933. It's sisterhood. It's blood family and found family. It's closed minds and what it takes to fight those in power when some are "different" than others.

Very well done.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

*Thank you to Netgalley for the advance reader copy*

In Depression-era Mississippi, a too-wise for her years young girl trapped in a Dickensian orphanage, and an awkward young woman who is trying to lift her family out of financial ruin cross paths in this intriguing followup to "The Help."

With a large cast of unique characters, lots of historical detail, and a very readable writing style, this will find a ready audience.

My main criticism is the length....at almost 700 pages, the plot did begin to drag. I feel that it would have benefitted from a bit of streamlining.

Still, very grateful for the opportunity to get an advance copy!

[Brenda Freeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book by the author of Help. It’s 1933 during prohibition and it’s hard times for everyone. Birding goes to Oxford MS to check in on her married sister and to ask for help for herself and her mother and grandmother. While fixing the books at the local orphanage, she meets .Meg, who’s having a rough time due to one of the women. Charlie comes looking for Meg, but Meg has been adopted. The story is broken into Birdie and Meg”s journeys during this time period.

[Mary Fabrizio · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sprawling epic that could have been trimmed in spots, but overall was a good yarn. It's populated by sassy women like in The Help - women you want to root for, surrounded by men you mostly wanna hate. That card is played a little heavy handed, truth be told, but the ending is so very satisfying, it's easy to let that slide.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Mayleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like The Help this is another character-driven novel. It is set in Oxford Mississippi during the Great Depression —a time when woman’s rights were challenged. Great cast of characters. Most of them will stay with me. Heartwarming and at times funny.