The Calamity Club

by Kathryn Stockett

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, Audiobook, Historical, Book Club, Literary Fiction, Adult Fiction

Paperback

First published May 5, 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 Mississippi and New York City.

Reviews

[♥︎ Heather ⚔ (Semi-Hiatus-attempting return) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Digital ARC provided via NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.

Enjoyable, but dragged at times for me.

I picked up The Calamity Club because the premise sounded really appealing: set in 1933 Oxford, Mississippi during the Great Depression, it follows a group of very different women, including a tough young orphan girl named Meg, who form an unlikely sisterhood and team up to take back some control over their lives.

The story has a lot going for it. The friendships that develop feel warm and genuine, with plenty of humor mixed in with the harder moments of poverty, abandonment, and limited options for women at that time. Stockett brings the era to life with vivid details about the orphanage, small-town

Southern life, and the daily struggles everyone faced. I especially liked Meg’s fierce spirit and how the “Calamity Club” idea brings these characters together in unexpected ways. There were parts that made me laugh out loud and others that tugged at the heartstrings.

That said, at around 600 pages, the pacing dragged in the middle for me. A few sections felt repetitive, and some of the plot resolutions wrapped up a little too conveniently. I also wanted a bit more emotional depth from one or two of the supporting characters.

Overall, it’s a solid, entertaining read about resilience and female friendship, but it didn’t quite keep me fully hooked the whole way through.

If you enjoy big-hearted historical novels about strong women banding together during tough times, this one is worth a read- just be prepared for a slower middle section.

✴︎a˚｡⋆ Connect with me on Instagram ˗ˏˋ★‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹

[Angela M · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars
1933, Oxford Mississippi. Bearing the steamy heat and the burdens of the post depression, burdens that fall on them because life happens, we meet a cast of fully realized characters, the faces of strength and resilience in spite of it all. The story unfolds with alternating narratives of two of the main characters who took me into their hearts and souls from the minute I met them. Bright, precocious and funny, eleven year old Meg is an orphan at The Lafayette County Orphan Asylum. Her story of abandonment at nine, the physical and emotional abuse she suffers at the hands of the vile director of the orphanage was chilling. A ray of hope when her path crosses Birdie a smart, defiant, kind and also funny young woman trying to save her mamma and meemaw from dire circumstances and then her sister and her sister’s mother in law.

A winding plot with a lot of other characters covering multiple themes - the injustice and violation of sterilization against women deemed to be immoral and feeble minded, the horrible treatment of orphans, adultery, the stigma of homosexuality, alcoholism, the ties than bind families . I wanted to give this 5 stars since Kathryn Stockett does such an extraordinary job with characterization and I felt I knew all of these characters. However, I have to admit that this 650 + page book could have used some editing . One of the story threads at about the halfway point and beyond was just too drawn out. Having said that, there was not a time that I didn’t want to pick it up to know what happens to Meg and Birdie and others. Fifteen years after her first novel The Help, I found it worth the wait in spite of the drawn out middle .

I received a copy of this book from Spiegal and Grau through Edelweiss.

[ଘRory (Hiatus )]

It is not unlikely that I do not like unlikely sisterhood.

[Teres · Rating 4 out of 5]

At 600+ pages, The Calamity Club is a commitment. But, boy, was I sad when it came to an end.

In this long-awaited follow-up to The Help, Kathryn Stockett plunges us into the sweltering Mississippi Delta of 1933.

The novel follows a plucky 11-year-old orphan and a resourceful spinster doing whatever it takes to survive the Great Depression.

Both yearn for family and find it in unexpected places: one devises an ingenious plan to open a dance club (read: underground brothel), while the other proves resilient even under the most trying circumstances.

Funnier than you'd expect from a book that touches on forced sterilization, baby trafficking, and the casual cruelty of "good Christian women," you can bet The Calamity Club will get optioned for the screen.

And like The Help, the novel will no doubt grace many a book club reading list for years to come.

[Krickette · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has almost been two decades since I first read The Help written by Kathryn Stockett and fell in love with her ability to capture my heart with her magical storytelling skills. It was a book I absolutely adored! So… when I received an ARC-kindle version of her second novel, The Calamity Club (thank you so much NetGalley) I was completely over the moon!🌙

Like her debut novel, The Calamity Club shows off Kathryn Stockett’s conversational writing style which allows her words to be the threads that weave a story of survival, loyalty, heartbreak, friendship, resilience and love.

The Calamity Club is a historical fiction novel set in the heart of Mississippi in the early 1930’s and follows several very strong and “against all odds” female characters. These characters are complicated, oozing with depth, courage and determination.

Knee deep in the mucky-ness of the Great Depression we are introduced to these female stand outs:

🌸Birdie (an upfront, tell it like it is, resourceful and deeply real 24 year old unwed woman) FAV!
🌺Meg (an ever-so-clever, sassy as they come, smart and wise beyond her years 11 year old orphan) FAV!
🌸Francis (Birdie’s social ladder climbing, self centered and conceited sister who is married to a man who sleeps in his own room)
And last but not least ….
🌺Mrs. Tartt (a wise, witty, and quite sophisticated-but tender hearted- older widowed woman (also mother-in-law to Francis)).
….Later, in the second half of this sorted story, additional female characters come into play and help keep the rhythm of the story moving (Charlie and Flossy are at the top, with several others to follow).

Told from two POVS and alternating storylines, this story and the collision of circumstances will surprise you (the twists.. and character development are shocking).

While this story was deeply layered, and filled with remarkable characters, hardship, social judgements, and an unlikely sisterhood, it did prove to be quite wordy at times with long enough chapters 😬and details that could have been fine tuned. Although long-I did continue on🤪(an overall story that was well over 650 pages) and when I finally read the last page, I was happy that I read this perfectly imperfect novel.

This book was filled with all the things, yes verbose, but well worth the read. A part of history I feel gets a bit overlooked and an era that required much resilience, candor and commitment in order to land on your feet! Great second book for Kathryn Stockett! 4⭐️s.

I want to thank NetGalley and publishers for this eARC in exchange for my honest thoughts and review.

[Di · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so sorry that I have finished this book. It is over 600 pages long and I wish it would never end. It is set in the Deep South, Oxford, Mississippi, in 1933. Times are very hard during the Great Depression.

The story has three main characters. Birdie is the older and plainer of the two sisters. She travels to visit her younger ( prettier, important fact) sister to ask for money to help the family. Meg is an 11 year old girl wasting away and being mistreated in an orphanage. Charlie is Meg’s mother who was forced to abandon Meg because of the harsh and brutal laws of the era.

There are two storylines which are separate but connected.

The 1930s were a terrible decade. The depression created desperate situations for many people. Prohibition had not been repealed, there were no jobs, people were willing to resort to anything to make enough to support themselves and their families. And, life was very much different for women.

Besides the three main characters, there are many interesting and well developed personalities present. The ingenuity, the strength, the resilience that people demonstrated was amazing. Conversely, there were also mean characters (bordering on evil) to balance out the cast.

I don’t have the words or ability to describe how much I enjoyed this book. It is funny, it is sad, it is interesting, it is intense. It’s one of the longest books I’ve read in many years but it held my attention the whole time. It has been 17 years since the author released her first book, The Help. Well worth the wait. I hope we don’t have to wait as long for the next masterpiece.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

Whew!!!
Finally finished this very long but entertaining novel.
Historical fiction… Oxford, Mississippi 1933
This was a very entertaining read with fantastic women characters.
If they make a movie with this one, as they did The Help..it will be very good!
It’s witty, bold, compassionate and at times heartbreaking.
The power of smart and hardworking women and what they can accomplish together is shown here, and I could picture these characters vividly!

[Ellery Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well worth the wait. This was a long book, but it never felt long. I loved the characters and felt very anxious for all of them. Would make such a powerful book club read because there are so many timeless topics included such as female empowerment, racism, conversion therapy, prohibition, sex workers, adoption, and poverty. I was fully immersed by the woman trying to navigate such a omcplex and divided southern landscape.

[JanB · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

It’s 1933 in Oxford Mississippi. Narrated by two characters, Birdie and Meg, the main cast of characters include:

- Meg, an 11 year old girl who lives in an orphanage and considered one of the unadoptable big girls. She’s treated badly but works hard to maintain her bright spirit. I loved her and her story.
- Birdie, considered an “old maid” at 24, arrives in Oxford to ask her sister, Frannie, who married into a wealthy family, for money so she and her mother can pay their taxes and keep their family home. Birdie’s observations about life and her humor were a delight.
- Frannie is a difficult character to like, but as Birdie discovers, her life is far from as it appears on the surface, and things are about to implode
- Mrs Tart, Frannie’s widowed MIL, who has lived a genteel life but will soon need to confront the truth and find a way to survive tough times
- Charlie, a woman down on her luck but whose one mission to find her daughter is her driving force

It’s the Depression, times are tough for everyone, but especially tough for women who are alone in the world. There was no safety net for them, no where to turn. Instead they must rely on their grit and determination to do what it takes, or lose everything.

I loved the theme of strong resilient women even if I couldn’t get on board with HOW they survived tough times.

The author excels at writing well-developed characters, ones you care about deeply. She doesn’t shy away from difficult subjects in our history’s past: the abysmal treatment of orphans, homosexuality, forced sterilization, women’s rights, alcoholism, sex workers, and more.

In fact, I think less is more, and in my view the author perhaps tried to do too much for one book.

And the length of this book! At 656 pages, 250 pages could be cut and the book made better by it. Especially in the beginning, the pages and pages and pages of unnecessary detailed dialogue made it a slog and I considered dnf’ing.

When the plot took a surprising turn around 60%, new characters were introduced and way too much time was spent describing it all in sordid detail.

There’s a great book somewhere among all those pages. Few books are worthy of this length and this isn’t one of them. It was in desperate need of an editor.

For that reason alone I’m giving it 3.5 stars, which, by the way, means I liked it, but there were issues that prevented me from granting it a full 4 stars.

I had this book on my kindle and the audio, and found I much preferred the audio. When I tried to read it I had to fight the urge to skim because I was bored. January LaVoy is one of my very favorite narrators and she excelled, as usual. Her narration brought Birdie to life, and it helped that I could do other things as I listened. Plus I listened at x1.5 - 1.75, depending on which character was narrating, which helped me get through this 29 hour audio.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Teetering between 4.5 and 5 stars. Probably 30
pages too long, but still an incredible and immersive novel. Literally felt like I was in Oxford, MS in 1933. World building, progressive, and a deep read.

[Marialyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine story but the length!!!

It's 1933 in Mississippi, and life has definitely down turned for the rich as well as the poor. Trying to scrape together money falls onto the shoulders of all, but especially Birdie who is trying to save not only her family home but that of her sister and lovely mother in law Mrs. Tartt. There is Birdie's entitled sister Franny, who will drive one insane with her careless ways and total escapist mind set. Hard to believe she and Birdie were sisters! She's in for a big problem when her husband Rory up and disappears with the family's portable wealth. Poor Rory also carries a secret.

Then there is Charlie, a down on her luck lady, but a woman who has true grit and wants nothing more than getting her daughter back. Teaming up with Birdie they come up with an audacious plan to save themselves.

Meg is the child in the middle. She is an older girl in an orphanage, who longs to be adopted and always dreams her mother will come back to claim her.

The characters are well developed by the author that one feels you could reach out and touch them. We have the good ones, the bad ones, and the groups that many thought were bad but really are not.

This was a time with depression looming, that women needed to use their own self reliance in order to survive. It was a time of struggle, where good times were a thing of the past, where one worried where the next meal was coming from.

I really enjoyed the story although the length was a bit drawn out for Kathryn Stockett needed to explain every character and event is full detail. I alternated between my kindle and audible to read this story.

Our modern views certainly can look at that time period with a respect for all who labored and succeeded to survive in a harsh environment that required them to be creative, be understanding, and most of all be human in their treatment of one another.

"Once in khaki suits, ah, gee, we looked swell
Full of that Yankee Doodly Dum
Half a million boots went slogging through Hell
And I was the kid with the drum

Oh, say, don't you remember? They called me 'Al'
It was 'Al' all the time
Say, don't you remember? I'm your pal
Buddy, can you spare a dime?"

[Tini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remarkable women well worth the wait.

4.5 stars rounded up.

After fifteen years away from publishing fiction, Kathryn Stockett returns with The Calamity Club - and somehow manages the near-impossible task of following up a phenomenon like The Help with something equally ambitious, sprawling, and emotionally satisfying.

Set in Oxford, Mississippi during the Great Depression, the novel follows two unforgettable protagonists: twenty-four-year-old Birdina "Birdie" Calhoun, outspoken and perpetually underestimated, and eleven-year-old Meg Lefleur, one of the "big girls" at the Lafayette County Orphan Asylum after being abandoned by her mother. Their lives collide in ways both expected and surprising, and from there the story unfolds into a sweeping portrait of women surviving, scheming, sacrificing, and refusing to be broken by the circumstances around them.

What makes this novel work so well are the women at its center. It's not just Birdie and Meg - though both are absolute standouts - but the sheer richness of the ensemble cast surrounding them. The women here emerge fully realized in all their complexity: formidable, messy, resilient, selfish, brave, hypocritical, compassionate. Some are easy to root for, others decidedly less so (I'm looking at you, Francis), but together they carry the novel entirely. Most of the men, meanwhile, remain in the background, which feels very intentional in a story so deeply concerned with women's lives, limitations, and survival.

At over 640 pages, the novel probably could have been tightened in places, and yet, I rarely minded lingering longer than necessary. And there is a lot packed into these pages: Stockett tackles heavy topics such as poverty, addiction, sex work, bodily autonomy, class, shame, and the quiet determination of women trapped by circumstance. In less capable hands, this easily could have tipped into melodrama or soap opera territory. Instead, Birdie's sharpness and Meg's fierce resilience keep the story grounded and emotionally honest throughout.

Is the plot entirely unpredictable? Not really; many of the twists feel less shocking than inevitable. But the real pleasure here is spending time with these characters and this vividly realized world.

Immersive, absorbing, often funny, heartbreaking, and deeply human, this is exactly the kind of big, character-driven storytelling I love getting lost in. While The Calamity Club may not be perfect, its unforgettable characters, enormous heart, and deeply felt emotional core make it an immensely rewarding read. A triumphant return for Kathryn Stockett - and well worth the wait.

Many thanks to Spiegel & Grau for providing me with an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

"The Calamity Club" was published on May 5, 2026, and is available now.

[Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have no idea how this book has like all 5s across the board LOL

First off, it's way too long. It has three strong plot lines (on top of all the random side quests) that barely interact that it really should have just been like three independent books. (Family dealing with financial stresses in the great depression, the brothel, the orphanage.)

Second off, you can majorly tell it was written by the same lady who wrote The Help. And I don't mean that in a flattering way. Kathryn is back at it with the phonetic dialogue that seems to be making a charicature of the time and our main character gives major white savior vibes. She spends the whole book saving the day with a plucky can do attitude on the backs of others while still maintaining her naiveté from the back of her high horse.

Third off, basically every adult character sucks. I know they were a product of the era, but the "spoiled rich women" trope with no idea of money got tiresome.

I feel like the premise of the book had a ton of potential, but really got lost in the 650 pages of sauce.

All of that being said, Meg is an absolute gem and I feel like I might have liked this story a lot more if i felt like it had put more focus on Meg, the orphanage, or her mom's backstory.

Also, ****spoiler*****


our main character "hero" opening a brothel as basically a madam while calling prostitution a "deranged business that she hates" and using the other women to make money to save herself and her family while  she herself maintains her virtue and her church-goer attitude does not give female empowerment energy to me 😂

P s. Author's note highlights additional content about a harrowing time for women in American history that could have been included in the story to give it more depth.

[SusanTalksBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

*** 4/8/26 *** THANK YOU NetGalley for a pre-release ARC of The Calamity Club, Kathryn Stockett's first novel since The Help. A lot of reviews summarize the book, so I will skip that, and jump to thoughts on this 640-page (Kindle version) novel.

I absolutely fell in love with Birdie, the 24-year old "old maid" from the Mississippi Delta who opens the novel, and Meg, the 11-year-old girl currently in an orphanage. Both of these women are smart (or should I say "exceptional learners"), resourceful, independently minded, and funny, and their characters and storylines during the first 50% of the book made me reclaim my lifelong love of reading that has fallen away some in recent years. Thank you, Kathryn Stockett, for creating them!

The first 50% of the book sets up a scenario that could easily have been a "whole book," but the second half of the book introduces a greatly expanded plot with several new storylines and additional characters. I, like some other reviewers, felt this half of the book could have been edited down some. There are redundant messages in the storylines, and it began to feel a little too much writing for too little plot development. I also didn't love the characters in the second half quite as much as Birdie and Meg in the first half (they are also in the second half). Yet I, like probably most readers, ALSO raced through it just to see how Stockett would resolve the storylines, and boy, did she resolve them! Readers definitely get that much-craved bow to wrap things up.

Overall, I felt this was a highly readable and enjoyable novel with important messages about historical practices of treating women who happen to be single or rub some right wing self-righteous twats the wrong way, beliefs about gay people, black people, children's rights and care standards, gender pay standards, women supporting each other, and women going for their goals no matter the risks. I highly anticipate this becoming a bestseller and a movie. I just wish there had been a little slimming down of a few storylines. 4.5 stars.

*** 4/4/26 *** Just got approved by NetGalley to review this depression-era, female-centric historical fiction by the author of The Help! Kathryn Stockett's sophomore effort is a long one, which is not my forte, but I'm hoping the story, characters, and writing quality will make this a joy to read! Pub date May 5, 2026, so coming soon, and we can only hope to hear news of a movie option this year if it is as good as I expect it will be. Review coming soon!

[Chrisann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have been waiting for this author’s second book ever since I closed The Help about two decades ago. That book is one of my all-time favorites, and Skeeter is my most favorite book character of all time. So I was excited to get an early copy of this. Sadly, I do not recommend this book. I wish I could get all the hours I spent reading this back. I was really interested from the beginning and it wasn’t slow…until about the last 1/3. The book took a COMPLETELY unnecessary turn that was really unfortunate. At that point, in a nearly 700-page book, I wanted to see what happened. I knew there was next to no chance of redemption, but I finished it anyways. Ugh. I understand that these things likely happened because people were desperate, but…

***mild spoiler***

I am not typically a spoiler type of person, but I wish I would’ve known these ladies were going to open a brothel to save themselves. It was really disgusting and made for an unpleasant read. I just cannot recommend this. I’m sad I spent time reading this. It was way too long as well.

[Renée | apuzzledbooklover · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s easy to say that this was probably my most anticipated book of the year. And did it live up to my high expectations? For the most part.

I loved the first 60% or so. I was fully invested. I especially enjoyed the character development. Birdie’s humor and compassion really made me love her. Meg, I can’t even fully describe how I felt about her and rooted for her. This is a character-driven book that worked for me in so many ways.

The author also creates characters you kind of love to hate. Some I despised. The time period and circumstances of the era also play a huge role in the story. It’s set in the early 1930s, Mississippi. Tough financial times for so many.

There’s a point in the book where a certain plot-line develops and this is where the story lagged for me. I thought that it meandered unnecessarily. And I kept wishing it would return to another part, and I wanted to know more about that section than the one I was in. At a whopping 640 pages, I think there were some missed opportunities here. And a few loose ends. It could’ve been tightened up considerably, in my opinion, and been stronger for it.

But does that mean that I didn’t enjoy this book? It does not. It has so many elements that I really enjoyed! And I really loved so much of the ending, although it did feel a bit rushed. I would still definitely recommend this one.

[Rating - 4.25 ⭐️]

[Thanks to the publisher, Spiegel and Grau and NetGalley for the advance electronic copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.]

CA | Some cursing and sexually related content. Fade to black.

[Kristina Pauls (ARC Reviewer) · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett (5 stars)

Kathryn has done it again, I don't know how to put into words how well this book is written.

Set in Mississippi during the Great Depression, this story follows women like Meg, Birdie, and Charlie as they try to survive and take control of their lives in a time when women had very few options.

I connected with Meg and Birdie right away, especially once their paths crossed, and I grew to love characters like Mrs. Tartt as the story went on. This book is very character-driven, and I felt emotionally invested pretty early on.

What I didn't expect was how much of the story would center around the realities women faced trying to survive. A large part of the book focuses on women turning to prostitution because they had no other options, while that's difficult to read, it never felt like it was being glorified. Birdie really acts as the moral center of the story. She doesn't agree with it, but she understands why it's happening, and that keeps everything grounded.

The book does a really good job showing the lack of freedom women had during that time. It covers so many different situations: single women, childless women, women who wanted careers, women being treated as property, and even laws that limited their ability to work at the same time their husbands had a job. There are also clear double standards in how women are treated and judged compared to men, with an overall theme of women's lack of freedoms.

The story itself comes to a satisfying ending, but the authors note at the end really stuck with me. Knowing that much of this was based on real historical accounts added a heaviness that made everything feel even more real.

It also really puts into perspective the freedoms women have today, while at the same time making you think about some of those differences in how men and women are treated still exist. We've come a long way, but it's clear we're not all the way there yet.

Absolutely astounding book. Highly recommend.

PUBLISH DATE: May 5, 2026
BOOK TITLE: The Calamity Club
AUTHOR: Kathryn Stockett
PUBLISHER: Spiegel & Grau
FORMAT: ebook
PAGES: 640
I received a complimentary digital ARC [Advanced Readers Copy] of this book via NetGalley. Thank you to the Publisher and the Author for the opportunity to read and review this title prior to publication. As always, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Goodreads profile: Kristina Pauls (ARC Reviewer)

[Kate (k8tsreads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

YES Kathryn Stockett!! This was so worth waiting like 15 years for.

So cozy yet meaningful at the same time. I can’t describe the vibes of Stockett’s stories, but I love the pacing and the historical detail. Her books are ones I love to live in, and I know that I will re-read this one someday. The entire cast was such a delight.

Perhaps just a ~tad~ too long, but otherwise a total home run. And Meg, for one, may be one of my favorite narrators of all time. She was such a hoot.

[Lily Steeper · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Calamity Club is a female driven historical fiction novel set in 1933 Oxford Mississippi. Times are tough, with the Great Depression reaching both poor and rich, bringing together our unlikely cast of characters. It all starts in the Lafayette County Orphan Asylum for Girls, where eleven year old Meg Lefleur has been for two years since her mother disappeared, having to fight each day under the maltreatment of the chairlady, Garnett Pittman. Enter Birdie Calhoun, the 24-year-old spinster who has come to Oxford on a mission to ask her social-climbing sister to help her struggling family living in the Delta. Though Meg and Birdie's path only overlap for a week and a half, it sets in motion an audacious plan of unexpected women to take back control of their lives. The narrative alternates between Meg and Birdie's first person as their paths oscillate.
When Birdie first gets to Oxford to ask Frances, her younger sister who had recently married wealthy, for financial help, she is instead finds a mansion built on a crumbling marriage, a sister who cares more about social climbing than family, and absolutely no money to borrow. She meets Rory, her brother-in-law, and his mother Mrs.Tartt. Birdie meets Meg when she goes with Frances to help volunteer at the orphanage, covering the finances. She is shocked by the poor conditions for the older girls, and eventually wins over Meg's trust by helping paint the office she is kept in. Though come view day, Meg is adopted by a well dressed woman and her husband: the Heidelbergs. When Birdie later goes to the orphanage to finish painting, a woman named Charlie in ratty clothing comes looking for Meg, claiming she is Meg's mother. Charlie breaks down when Birdie says Meg was just adopted, then explains that she never abandoned Meg; she was sent to an asylum for consorting with a negro and was sterilized due to the acts of Garnett Pittman, who declared her feebleminded.
Meanwhile, things blow up for Frances and Mrs. Tartt when they realize Rory had been fired from his bank job and been lying to them about the state of the family finances. When they return home, they find that the house has been ransacked- Rory took all the silver, paintings, and jewelry before disappearing. Bills pile up, and Birdie finds herself responsible for Frances and Mrs. Tartt, who have no idea how to handle being poor. Even after selling the furniture, they are unable to pay the house mortgage. Knowing this, Charlie proposes a plan to help them all make money: turning the house into a “dime‑a‑dance” club to earn the rest of the mortgage money. Though hesitant, Frances and Mrs. Tartt agree to leave while the house takes on the dancing boarders, and instead they go to look for Rory. Birdie stays in Oxford to help, but is shocked when she realizes Charlie lied about the nature of the business-the dance club is a front for a brothel. Birdie also finds herself pulled in by Jack Walsh, a banker going through a divorce, and goes on a few dates with him.
Meanwhile, Meg arrives at the Heidelbergs’ Victorian home, and starts to get to know her new parents, Lucille and Tom. She starts to like Tom, but becomes hesitant of Lucille, who tells her she must lie to Tom's parents about how she was adopted. When she meets Tom's parents, she lies and tells them she was adopted at the Tennessee Children’s Home Society. Mrs. Heidelberg is shocked that they did not adopt a baby like she wanted, but Tom pleads to give Meg a chance. Meg comes to realize that Lucille is an alcoholic, traveling to get booze illegally due to prohibition with the money they saved by adopting Meg instead of a baby. Turns out, Tom and Lucille were receiving money from Tom's parents, who made him return from New York City, where he and Lucille had married and behaved wildly. Charlie and Birdie continue with their plan, and start to interview to get prostitutes. They get their staff finalized: Flossy, Esmeralda, Ruby, a pair of young twins, and pre-med student Victoria to do health tests. But opening night is a flop, and no one attends. They start to advertise on the Ole Miss campus, hoping for the male students to come. It starts to work, but Birdie refrains from letting Jack know
Meg continues to learn about Tom, realizing he is trying to publish a novel. He had been an alcoholic before moving back from the city, but had since been straight. However, after an argument with his parents then Lucille, he starts to binge drink. One morning, they find he drowned himself in the backyard lake. Meg is left with Lucille until Tom's mother visits, orders Lucille to leave, and informs them that Meg will be returned to Oxford. Back in Oxford, Birdie and Charlie are surprised when Mrs. Tartt and Frances come back earlier than expected, having found that Rory was arrested and needing bail for hitting a policeman. Though they try to keep up the front of a dancing club, Frances and Mrs. Tartt find about the truth of the brother, agreeing only since it has proved fruitful. The prostitutes have all grown close, sharing their plans once the brothel closes. Jack and Birdie share more passionate moments, planning to start a life of their own. Though financially able to now pay the mortgage, Mrs. Tartt and Frances must deal with Rory. He is released from jail, but sent to a hospital to treat his "disease" called homosexuality.
When Charlie is visited by Dr. Welty Pittman, Meg's father, he tells her that Meg is being returned to the oxford orphanage. We see why Garnett Pittman had treated Meg so poorly at the orphanage; her husband, Welty, had had an affair with Charlie and Meg was the result. However, Welty kept it hidden from the public and never told Meg, instead staying with Garnett. Our story leaves off with Birdie and Charlie driving to pick up Meg from the Heidelbergs to keep her out of the hands of Garnett. Meg and her mother are reunited after two years, and they drive away toward a new life in Memphis and eventually California.
As with all historical fiction, I value references to true context and evidence that the author did proper research. Our plot and characters were fictional, but the setting amidst the Great Depression and prohibition match the era. We also learn about the eugenics movement. Charlie was labeled "feebleminded", qualifying for forced sterilization. The story highlights how hard it was for women of the time to make and handle money. Some of it did seem overly simplified, such as men versus women. All the men were comically incompetent, making the focus solely on the women. Even Garnett's character was written too harshly, forcing the concept of good versus evil. I found some of her actions hard to believe; she simply was there as the villainous driving force.
In terms of entertainment, this was long but filled with opportunities to appreciate every character of the large cast. I came to really connect with Birdie's chapters. I found her to be strong and intelligent, everything I appreciate from a female novel. I even found myself liking the prostitutes introduced in her chapters, learning a bit about each of their stories. However, I did not have the same valuation of Meg's narration. Writing from a child's perspective is always hit or miss, and this did not impress me much. She is written sometimes too mature for her age, other times the opposite. Her chapters seemed less cohesive, harder to keep track of her plot or its relevance. For some reason, I was simply less invested in her and Charlie's storyline.
The novel did stretch long, something I think could have been prevented by a better organization. We really dragged in the middle, stalling with unnecessary tangents that had no bearing, then somehow felt rushed at the end. After reading so long, I felt we deserved a more complete resolution for the sisters' relationship or even the prostitutes. Though overall, I enjoyed the read. It balanced history, character, some humor, and a unique plot. A book I would recommend.

[Debbie H · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 ⭐️ This one of the easiest 5 stars I’ve given recently ! I loved this book! From the setting in 1933 Mississippi to the varied and well fleshed out characters, I was drawn in and could not turn pages fast enough. The Deep South of the era came to life with the sights and sounds, the heat and humidity and hardships of the time.

Topics such as the Great Depression, family secrets, racism, misogyny, found family, friendship and love bring this touching story to life. It really puts you right there in the lives of the two main characters, Birdie a young, bright, unmarried woman and Meg, an 11 year old abandoned girl in the local orphanage. Through two POV’s of Birdie and Meg, 1933 Mississippi comes to life with grit, hope, resilience, and heartache.

Birdie is on a quest to raise money to save her family home from reposession in Footley for back taxes. Meg is being emotionally abused and isolated at a local orphanage where Birdie’s sister Frances volunteers. There’s an evil orphanage head Miss Garnett, Frances’ secretive husband Rory,that flees with the family money and goods, Frances’ mother-in-law elderly Mrs Tarte, Meg’s determined mother Charlie , and the ladies of the night Flossy, Ruby, twins Dixie and Trixie, and the mysterious Esmeralda , and Birdie’s love interest Tom, that all add depth to this engrossing story!

After Rory fails at his job he steals the family fortune and disappears. Mrs Tarte is in danger of losing her plantation home when Charlie arrives with a plan. Sending Frances and the elderly matriarch away in search of Rory, Birdie and Charlie gather the girls to open a “dance club” to save their home and rescue Meg. Without spoilers I’ll just say this had me laughing, crying and hoping for all these women! Beautiful uplifting ending! Can’t wait for the screen adaptation I’m sure will follow.

Thanks to NetGalley, and Spiegel & Grau publishers for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion and especially to Kathryn Stockett for this wonderful book!!!

[Alannajoanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book! The first half is excellent - rich writing, engaging story, and endearing, quirky characters. I was particularly drawn in by Meg’s character. But about halfway the book takes a turn. A new set of characters and situations are introduced; they feel over-the-top and unrealistic to the characters and story that was already built. The end solution to the two big problems is unbelievable and stretched. I was so disappointed and frustrated. The second half feels like a waste of such a good beginning.

[Leisa Back Porch Pages · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

✨I’ve taken over a week letting my thoughts on this book settle before sharing them. At the end of the day, I both loved it and found parts of it deeply frustrating.

✨I've been waiting 17 years for Kathryn Stockett to write another book. While her first book THE HELP is a book with real and widely discussed issues, it was still a story I deeply enjoyed at the time. I was curious not only to see what she would write next, but also to see how her perspective might have evolved since then.

✨Let’s talk first about what I loved: The character-driven storytelling, the unstoppable women – and girl, the social commentary, the humor and that satisfying southern good vs evil tension. The character of Meg was an absolute standout, and I loved her story so much.

✨The biggest letdown for me? Phonetic dialogue. Again. There are so many other ways to build a character’s voice without altering spelling. It especially bothers me when white authors write Black characters’ dialogue phonetically because it can easily feel caricatured as it does for me in these pages. I was truly disappointed to see this, and it distracted heavily from my enjoyment of the book.

✨My other struggles with the book were its length which could have been trimmed by at least 200 pages and still told the same story. I was also thrown by the complete 180 halfway through the book with its unexpected, sordid and utterly unbelievable turn I wasn't expecting and didn't particularly enjoy.

✨In the end, I cheered. And cried. I closed the book feeling like the characters got the endings they deserved. I feel like this is a book worth reading especially if you love southern settings and stories of unbreakable women.

[Kristen W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 won't have to wait so long for another novel by Kathryn Stockett, and I especially hope THE CALAMITY CLUB will be made into a movie as was THE HELP!

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE CALAMITY CLUB
By Kathryn Stockett
Narrated by Jenna Lamia and January LaVoy

An atmospheric and character-driven story about the impossible choices faced by women during the Great Depression in the unforgiving state of Mississippi.

Set in Oxford, Mississippi in 1933, the novel unfolds through a gently meandering narrative that prioritizes character and atmosphere over plot. Life is growing increasingly bleak for both the poor and the wealthy alike, and the story follows several women whose lives eventually collide in unexpected ways.

We first meet eleven-year-old Meg, smart, sassy, and determined to believe her mother would never abandon her to an orphanage. Unfortunately, the cruel Chairlady Garnett seems to have a particular hatred for Meg, making life there even harsher.

Meanwhile, twenty-four-year-old Birdie arrives in Oxford seeking help from her younger sister Frances, whose husband is from a well-to-do family—only to discover that things are far from what they appear. Birdie soon crosses paths with Meg, as well as Charlie, a furious and down-on-her-luck young woman trying to survive her own desperate circumstances.

Eventually, Birdie and a colorful group of women form an unlikely sisterhood. As their fates converge, these strong-willed women—each at the end of her rope—devise an outlandish plan to take back control of their lives.

Meg and Birdie narrate the story, which at times almost feels like two separate books woven together. The writing style feels intimate, eccentric, slightly surreal, and melancholy, yet threaded throughout with dry humor. Meg and Birdie especially get some of the best lines, and several moments genuinely made me laugh out loud.

I enjoyed Kathryn Stockett’s The Help, and I also thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook of The Calamity Club, expertly performed by Jenna Lamia and January LaVoy.

Be sure to read the authors note for some interesting facts that you may or may not know.

[Jill · Rating 1 out of 5]

I enjoyed The Help, so was pleasantly surprised when I opened my Libby app a couple weeks ago to see that the newly released Calamity Club had just been added to my local library with no wait! Score! At first I thought I misread the audiobook time ("approx 29 hours"?!)... but no. Twenty. Nine. Hours.

To clarify, I have no problem with big books. I like big books, and I cannot lie. You other brothers can't deny.

The Calamity Club absolutely, positively did not need to be 29 hours/600+ pages. The word "bloated" seems to fit best. As many other reviewers have already mentioned, there are pages and pages of unnecessary dialogue and descriptions.

For example, a conversation between two characters might go something like:

"Sister, you cannot spend any money."
"But I want to buy a new dress."
"We do not have money for you to buy a new dress."
"Okay, I'll get my hair done."
"You cannot get your hair done, we have no money."
"I'll go to the store to buy things."
"We have no money. Please do not go to the store."
"But the store has things, and I like things. I will go to the store."
"The store requires money, and we have no money."
"I guess I can go to the store later."
"No, the store will still require money later. Do not go to the store."
"How about when I go to the store, I take you with me. That will be fun!"
"We cannot go to the store, we do not have money."
"There must be a way for me to spend money, because I like spending money."
"But we cannot spend money, because we do not have money."


The story started strong (even if some of the characters were a little too "on-the-nose"), but completely lost its way. Whereas The Help kept the primary focus on slavery, CC decided to put allllllll the issues into this book: slavery, abortion, gay conversion therapy, alcoholism, forced sterilization, child abuse, religious abuse, prostitution, and suicide, to name a few. It just dissolved into a hot, unbelievable, unreadable mess - like a 29-hour "I Love Lucy" episode.

I didn't care about any of the characters, except Meg (and that was due primarily to the actress who read her part). The "twists and turns" were not surprising or interesting, and by the end (which was abrupt and unbelievable, even for a fictional story), I was listening at 2x speed, just to get it over with.

[Gloria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished The Calamity Club on audio and I loved every minute of it. The narration brought so much life to the characters and made the story feel even more emotional and immersive. I found myself looking for excuses to keep listening.

Set in Oxford, Mississippi during the Great Depression and Prohibition, the story captures the uncertainty and hardship of the time without losing its heart. Every character felt fully formed and memorable. Birdie, Frances, Mrs. Tartt, Charlie, and especially Meg completely pulled me in. Watching their lives intertwine over the course of the novel kept me invested from start to finish.

What I loved most was how human the story felt. The relationships were complicated, the emotions felt honest, and there were several moments that hit me hard. Some scenes made me smile, others hurt a little, and a few stayed with me long after I finished listening.

Kathryn Stockett made Oxford feel vivid and alive. I could picture every home, every street, and every moment so clearly while listening.

And that ending, perfect, emotional, hopeful, and deeply satisfying.

Easy 5 stars from me.

[Auburn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley for this digital ARC.

Seventeen years after The Help, Kathryn Stockett returns with The Calamity Club—a dark, atmospheric Southern epic set during the sweltering Mississippi summer of 1933.

The story follows Birdie Calhoun, a fiercely independent woman trying to save her family farm, and Meg Lefleur, a resilient 11-year-old orphan in the hands of an evil socialite, who is trying to destroy Meg for secret reasons of her own.

Facing financial ruin, hypocritical town moralists, and terrifying era eugenics laws, Birdie forms an unlikely alliance with an entrepreneurial woman named Charlie, who is also Meg’s estranged Mom.

To reclaim autonomy over their lives, Birdie and Charlie engineer a risky and illicit way to make the quick money they need with the help of some old acquaintances of Charlie’s, a group of female societal outcasts with goals of their own.

This Depression-era saga is 656 pages of a definite slow-burn compared to Stockett's debut, the Help. However, her signature wit, and brilliant, vibrant writing style, shine through the grinding economic despair. Her beautiful themes of social justice and bringing families together definitely deliver. It is a triumphant, hell raising return!

[Kasa Cotugno · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has been a long stretch between Sockett's first book and this, her sophomore effort. And the care with which she wrote it is evident throughout. She has managed to tell the story of female resilience in tough times using two distinct voices. Also, she has taken care with her research as evidenced in her author's notes. The only problem I had was with the length. At almost 700 pages, it was daunting, even as it was immersive. And the fact that it was presented as an electronic galley presented its own difficulty, that even at 600+ pages, the original font must have been on the small size adding to its bulk. However, I found it difficult to determine where cuts could be made since the elements were necessary to the story. Sockett has a tremendous knowledge of her home state, as well as a great love for it and all its challenges. She has fashioned a trip to the 1930's with its humidity soaked weather, pre air-conditioning, at a time when financial troubles were at their worst and created characters that make the reader want to know what happens when they reach the final page.

[Of Paper & Planes · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I know my life would be easier if I just sat there and took it. But here is what else I have come to know: If you give a girl a taste of fresh air and then take it away, she will grow fierce and wild to get that fresh air back again.”

“The Calamity Club,” Kathryn Stockett’s long-awaited second novel after her smash-hit “The Help,” is a triumphant, big-hearted, fearless work of historical fiction: a story about a group of wildly unlikely women who find each other in the depths of the Depression and rebuild their lives into something extraordinary. Told in dual-POV, the story alternates between the experiences of Birdie Calhoun, unmarried and outspoken, arriving in Oxford with nothing but determination, and young Meg Lefleur, abandoned and resilient, fighting to keep her spirit intact as she navigates life as an older-girl in the orphanage. Hilarious, devastating, hopeful, and empowering in equal measure, “The Calamity Club” is a powerfully empathetic examination of underrepresented people and places in a dark chapter of American history.

Set in Oxford, Mississippi in 1933, this book renders the Depression-era South with a vividness and specificity that feels alive. Stockett clearly knows this landscape in her bones, and it shows on every page. The Mississippi landscape is rendered so vividly that the story reads like watching a mental film. And, though the depth of historical research is clear, Stockett makes even the most complex historical context feel immediate and approachable. Overall, the novel gives Mississippi a voice while illuminating a specific and underexplored chapter of state history whose implications remain very visible in the region today.

At the center of the novel is the Calamity Club itself: an audacious, improbable, and deeply moving act of collective female survival that brings together society women, Black maids, prostitutes, an ex-convict, and a medical student under one roof and dares to suggest that solidarity is possible even across the most entrenched social divides. In a state where society is even now often barely integrated, this radical social mixing is a particularly meaningful achievement: these women should not be in the same room, and yet here they are, indispensable to each other, supporting each other without judgment or pretensions.

Stockett populates “The Calamity Club” with a wildly memorable ensemble: every character, from Birdie’s fussy socialite sister Frances to the indomitable ex-convict Charlie to young Meg herself, is rendered with specificity, clarity, and empathy. The dual POV structure drives home this richness of character by countering Birdie’s pragmatic realism with Meg’s precocious idealism in perfect contrast, even as the two become fast friends. Overall, this is a collection of fierce, brave, independent women who refuse to be defined by their circumstances in a show of found family and female solidarity that is empowering and exciting to behold.

What sets “The Calamity Club” apart from lesser historical fiction is the way Stockett moves between dark comedy, genuine devastation, and hard-won hope with a fluency that makes even the novel’s most difficult passages feel purposeful. This novel unflinchingly engages with racism, sexism, mental illness, sexual assault, homophobia, forced sterilization, unethically moralized government, and the catastrophic failures of women’s healthcare in 1930s Mississippi. Yet, the thematic darkness is paired with dry humor that results in laugh-out-loud moments without diminishing the gravity of the overarching narrative. The tonal balance is a remarkable feat; Stockett invites readers to contend with darkness and hope in equal measure, and somehow have fun while doing it.

At over 600 pages, “The Calamity Club” is an ambitious undertaking, yet it never actually feels like one. Stockett’s prose is conversational, witty, and wholly accessible, sustaining investment and momentum across every one of its pages. While the page count may appear dense, the prose is approachable and fast-paced. The pacing is as propulsive as a novel half its length, and I personally would have gladly read another 600 pages about these characters.

“The Calamity Club” is a passionate reminder that the most radical thing a group of underestimated women can do is decide, together, that they will not be undone. Stockett excavates a specific and underexamined chapter of American history and makes its stakes feel immediate, its injustices personal, and its triumphs hard-won. The narrative insists that solidarity across difference is not only possible but necessary; and that calamity, met with courage and community, need not be the end of anything. Instead, our trials can be the triumphant beginning to powerful change.

A heartfelt thank you for the eARC received via NetGalley and the physical copy generously provided by Spiegel & Grau in exchange for honest feedback.

[Lee-Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

After her debut, The Help, Kathryn Stockett took 17 years to put this one out and it was worth the wait!

We’re back in Mississippi again, but this time it’s the 1930’s. America is reeling from the stock market crash of 1929 and the resulting Great Depression. Ms. Stockett did an amazing job with the historical content in this book. I loved the small details that were woven throughout - descriptions of the day’s fashions, the food that was commonly prepared at that time, what things cost, medical and health interventions of the time (some quite horrifying – Lysol douche, sweet mother of pearl), etc. I learned a thing or two.

At its core, this is a story about strong women who get going when the going gets tough, at a time in history when women were seen as anything other than strong and tough. Its told through the POV of Birdie, a sassy mid-20s woman who is ahead of her time regarding her thoughts about women, race, and society as a whole, as well as Meg, an intelligent and intuitive 11-year-old orphan. Their stories collide and their calamities mount. The character building in this story is extraordinary. They are all so real, they practically jump off the page, both the ones you love and the ones you love to hate.

The book is long, no doubt. It could have been shorter, also true. But I loved these women so much that I was never bored or skimming pages just to get through it. The ending was a bit abrupt and I would have loved an Epilogue set in the future. I hope we don’t have to wait another 17 years for the author’s next work!

A little aside and my humble opinion regarding the backlash I have seen related to the phonetic dialog and Southern vernacular of not just Meg, but also the black characters featured in this story; I am positive that the author did that to create authenticity, just as she did in The Help. It was the reality of life then. It was not done to be derogatory or racist. You can’t sugar coat the past to appeal to your modern day sensitivities. The black characters in this book were loved and appreciated, which shines through in the writing. The book would not have been believable if written with modern day dialogue. It was 1930s Mississippi y’all, come on now.