The Chilbury Ladies' Choir was a delightful read! I enjoyed each
and every character, and they were characters indeed. The novel is set
in England in a charming village called Chilbury during WW2. Since all
the men are off at war, the Vicar announces that there will no longer
be a choir. Until, that is, a new music teacher moves to town and forms
a new choir, one scandalously composed up of ladies only. The ladies
find a new sense of purpose in the choir, as well as comfort in mourning
and friendship in loneliness.
The character-filled characters
each have their own voice in the story. They are Mrs. Tilling, a nurse
whose only son enlists in the army and leaves her home alone and afraid.
Next is Edwina Paltry, a midwife, who concocts a shocking scheme to
earn a retirement fund for herself and her sister, Clara. After that are
Kitty and Venetia Winthrop, teenage sisters and daughters to Lord and
Brigadier Winthrop of Chilbury Manor. We also hear occasionally from
Silvie, a ten-year old refugee from Czechoslovakia who lives with the
Winthrop family, and from Flt. Lt. Henry Brampton-Boyd, a young pilot
who is in love with Venetia. Each of these Chilbury residents writes
letters or journal entries that give us windows into their adventures and mishaps, heartbreaks and joys.
The
novel is both humorous and heart warming. It was well written and
entertaining, a story about the resilience of the human spirit and the
gift that is hope. I enjoyed it immensely! I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.
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