Calamity Club – Stockettová Kathryn (2026)

This historical novel is set in Oxford, Mississippi, in 1933. Eleven-year-old Meg Lefleur has learned to rely on no one. Since her beloved mother failed to come home the previous Christmas Eve, Meg has been one of the “unadoptable” older girls at the town’s orphanage, where she fights each day to keep her wits sharp and her spirit unbowed. When she meets Birdie, a young woman determined to confront the socialite sister who believes she has left her impoverished family behind, Meg begins to feel that someone else might care about her future. As the Depression tightens its grip, Birdie discovers that her sister’s charmed life rests precariously on a tapestry of lies. Then Birdie encounters Charlie, a woman haunted by loss who has been pushed to the brink with nothing left to lose. Drawn together by circumstance, the three women find unexpected kinship among a disreputable, determined band of women. In a town steeped in hypocrisy, even the smallest act of defiance can have dangerous consequences. Bold, heartwarming and riotously funny, The Calamity Club is a story of resilience and friendship, and of a sisterhood of underestimated women who risk everything to take back control of their fates. The book is praised as smart, funny, joyful, heartbreaking and heartwarming, with exquisite storytelling and unforgettable characters. It also includes praise for The Help, described as daring, important, courageous, outstanding, immensely funny, compelling, touching and highly recommended.