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The Chilbury Ladies' Choir: A Novel
(Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read)

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Published:
Random House Publishing Group 2017
Status:
Available from OverDrive
Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • “A delightful debut.”—People 
 
For readers of Lilac Girls and The Nightingale, The Chilbury Ladies' Choir unfolds the struggles, affairs, deceptions, and triumphs of a village choir during World War II.

As England becomes enmeshed in the early days of World War II and the men are away fighting, the women of Chilbury village forge an uncommon bond. They defy the Vicar’s stuffy edict to close the choir and instead “carry on singing,” resurrecting themselves as the Chilbury Ladies’ Choir. We come to know the home-front struggles of five unforgettable choir members: a timid widow devastated when her only son goes to fight; the older daughter of a local scion drawn to a mysterious artist; her younger sister pining over an impossible crush; a Jewish refugee from Czechoslovakia hiding a family secret; and a conniving midwife plotting to outrun her seedy past.
 
An enchanting ensemble story that shuttles from village intrigue to romance to the heartbreaking matters of life and death, Jennifer Ryan’s debut novel thrillingly illuminates the true strength of the women on the home front in a village of indomitable spirit.
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Format:
Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read
Street Date:
02/14/2017
Language:
English
ISBN:
9781101906767
ASIN:
B01FPH2N9I
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Citations
APA Citation (style guide)

Jennifer Ryan. (2017). The Chilbury Ladies' Choir: A Novel. Random House Publishing Group.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)

Jennifer Ryan. 2017. The Chilbury Ladies' Choir: A Novel. Random House Publishing Group.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)

Jennifer Ryan, The Chilbury Ladies' Choir: A Novel. Random House Publishing Group, 2017.

MLA Citation (style guide)

Jennifer Ryan. The Chilbury Ladies' Choir: A Novel. Random House Publishing Group, 2017.

Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
Copy Details
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Shared Digital Collection32
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Grouped Work ID:
2044809f-2ad1-0cb0-5428-1957b83c78f9
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Needs Update?:
No
Date Added:
Jun 12, 2018 19:07:20
Date Updated:
Dec 06, 2020 05:40:03
Last Metadata Check:
Mar 24, 2024 10:43:02
Last Metadata Change:
Dec 17, 2023 12:13:13
Last Availability Check:
Mar 24, 2024 10:43:05
Last Availability Change:
Mar 22, 2024 22:08:04
Last Grouped Work Modification Time:
Mar 28, 2024 07:20:04

OverDrive Product Record

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title
The Chilbury Ladies' Choir
fullDescription
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • “A delightful debut.”—People 
 
For readers of Lilac Girls and The Nightingale, The Chilbury Ladies' Choir unfolds the struggles, affairs, deceptions, and triumphs of a village choir during World War II.

As England becomes enmeshed in the early days of World War II and the men are away fighting, the women of Chilbury village forge an uncommon bond. They defy the Vicar’s stuffy edict to close the choir and instead “carry on singing,” resurrecting themselves as the Chilbury Ladies’ Choir. We come to know the home-front struggles of five unforgettable choir members: a timid widow devastated when her only son goes to fight; the older daughter of a local scion drawn to a mysterious artist; her younger sister pining over an impossible crush; a Jewish refugee from Czechoslovakia hiding a family secret; and a conniving midwife plotting to outrun her seedy past.
 
An enchanting ensemble story that shuttles from village intrigue to romance to the heartbreaking matters of life and death, Jennifer Ryan’s debut novel thrillingly illuminates the true strength of the women on the home front in a village of indomitable spirit.
reviews
      • premium: True
      • source: Publisher's Weekly
      • content:

        December 5, 2016
        In 1940, at a time when women’s roles were still firmly rooted in home and hearth, the ladies of Chilbury, England, find themselves at the bleeding edge of progress as the ramifications of World War II begin to infiltrate their little town. The men of Chilbury head to battlefields, and the village choir becomes the first casualty of the war. When a female professor of music insists the choir can be reassembled as a ladies’ choir, the small community is at first scandalized by such an idea. But this is soon lost to other more salacious events. There is the brigadier who hires an unscrupulous midwife to swap his baby girl for a boy, and his teenage daughter seduces a handsome artist who’s come to town under mysterious circumstances. An upstanding single woman (a widow whose only son has gone to fight) is tapped to take a colonel into her home, and a 10-year-old Czech evacuee finds out what happened to her family. As the war advances on Chilbury, even more lives are changed when a German bomb kills a young mother as well as the choir mistress, young men are sent off to war, and spies and black market profiteers lurk in the quiet lanes. Told in the form of diaries and letters in the voices of the female characters, Ryan’s novel, reminiscent of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, captures the experience of the war from a woman’s perspective. Readers may have come across this kind of story before, but the letter/diary format works well and the plot elements satisfyingly come together.

      • premium: True
      • source: Library Journal
      • content:

        October 1, 2016

        This highly touted debut tells the story of an all-female choir in a Kentish village during World War II whose members resist the vicar's efforts to shut them down when the choir's male participants go off to war. Events are related through the letters and journals of five members, while the story was inspired by Ryan's grandmother. Rights sold to 12 countries and TV rights sold to the production company behind Downton Abbey.

        Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

      • premium: True
      • source: Library Journal
      • content:

        October 15, 2016

        It's 1940, and the European continent is being overrun by Hitler's troops. In Chilbury, Kent, England, the women are doing their best to maintain morale and that includes keeping the choir going despite the lack of male voices. Mrs. Tilling is a nurse whose son is about to leave for France. She is keeping a journal, as does young Kitty Winthrop, just 13, but her entries relay a good deal of what's happening. In fact, the entire novel is composed of journal and diary entries, notices, documents, and correspondence. An unscrupulous midwife enters into a nefarious plot with Brigadier Winthrop. Kitty's older sister, Venetia, is playing a dangerous game by seducing the artist Mr. Slater. Within six months, the village undergoes many changes as war edges closer to home. Unfortunately, debut author Ryan miscalculates the credibility of her novel's structure and her narrators. Would the vile Miss Paltry reveal her illegal dealings in letters to her sister? Would Venetia be injured by an errant bomb and still find the wherewithal to pick up pen and paper? VERDICT The stalwart ladies of the choir deserve better. Not a necessary purchase. [See Prepub Alert, 8/26/16.]--Bette-Lee Fox, Library Journal

        Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

popularity
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shortDescription
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • “A delightful debut.”—People 
 
For readers of Lilac Girls and The Nightingale, The Chilbury Ladies' Choir unfolds the struggles, affairs, deceptions, and triumphs of a village choir during World War II.

As England becomes enmeshed in the early days of World War II and the men are away fighting, the women of Chilbury village forge an uncommon bond. They defy the Vicar’s stuffy edict to close the choir and instead “carry on singing,” resurrecting themselves as the Chilbury Ladies’ Choir. We come to know the home-front struggles of five unforgettable choir members: a timid widow devastated when her only son goes to fight; the older daughter of a local scion drawn to a mysterious artist; her younger sister pining over an impossible crush; a Jewish refugee from Czechoslovakia hiding a family secret; and a conniving midwife plotting to outrun...
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