The Calamity Club
On behalf of: Spiegel & Grau
The highly-anticipated novel from the globally bestselling author of The Help.
“Smart, funny, and driven by unforgettable characters whose opinions and actions leap off the page, this is a must-read.” —Bonnie Garmus, author of #1 international bestseller Lessons in Chemistry
Eleven-year-old Meg Lefleur has learned the hard way to rely on no one. Ever since her beloved mother failed to come home last Christmas Eve, she’s been one of the ‘unadoptable’ 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 who has come to Oxford determined to remind her socialite sister of the impoverished family she left behind, for the first time in a long while it seems someone else might care about Meg’s future.
But as the Depression tightens its grip, Birdie begins to suspect her sister’s charmed life may be founded 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, they find unexpected kinship among a disreputable, determined band of women. But in a town steeped in hypocrisy, even the smallest act of defiance can have dangerous consequences…
The Calamity Club will make you laugh, cry, and cheer—an epic testament to underestimated 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.
Reviews
“The Help author’s sophomore novel, 17 years in the making, returns readers to Jim Crow-era Mississippi, where three women band together with a plan to improve their lives. But as the Great Depression bears down upon poor and rich alike, their audacious ploy earns them more enemies than friends.” —The New York Times, New Novels Everyone Will be Talking About in 2026
“As witty, bold, and transportive as it is heartbreaking and compassionate, The Calamity Club is storytelling at its finest. Stockett’s masterfully drawn characters are simply unforgettable. Bravo to Meg, Birdie, and Charlie for reminding us to never underestimate the bottomless resilience of smart, spirited women in revolt against circumstance and injustice.”—Shelley Read, author of the international bestseller Go as a River
“With exquisite storytelling and unforgettable characters, The Calamity Club is a joyful, heartbreaking, heartwarming read. I loved it so much.” — Jennie Godfrey, author of The List of Suspicious Things, Sunday Times Bestseller