#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
The multimillion-copy-selling author of The Help returns with a bold, big-hearted novel about a group of unbreakable women, fighting for what’s rightfully theirs—and the power of friendship to change everything.
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NEW YORK TIMES EDITOR’S CHOICE NAMED ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2026 BY THE NEW YORK TIMES OPRAH DAILY GOODREADS GARDEN & GUN SOUTHERN LIVING WOMAN’S WORLD TOWN & COUNTRY AARP MINNESOTA STAR-TRIBUNE COUNTRY LIVING * NEW YORK POST
“So immersive, exciting, and downright fabulous, you never want it to end.”—Oprah Daily
“A heart-wrenching, often hilarious story of economic hardship, moral posturing, and the particular yearnings of childless women and motherless girls.”—The New York Times
“Come for the sisterhood, stay for allusions to William Faulkner and Donna Tartt.”—Time, “The Best New Books to Read This Summer”
“Terrific.”—Adriana Trigiani, Good Housekeeping
“Action is carried relentlessly forward on the surf of Stockett’s full-hearted, down-to-earth prose, her dialogue and inner monologues so well crafted that each sentence gives the impression of being not crafted at all, but inevitable.”—The New York Times Book Review
“One of my favorite reads of the year has been The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett. I’ve been on a historical kick lately, and this novel set in the southern US during the Great Depression is historical fiction at its best. The audiobook is masterfully narrated and by the last chapter, I had tears in my eyes.”—Freida McFadden, The Guardian
“A labyrinthine story of savvy and gall with an irresistible pull.”—Christian Science Monitor
“All three protagonists are compelling, but Meg is the star of The Calamity Club. She owes a debt to other smart, lonely girls of Southern literature—especially Frankie, from Carson McCullers’ “The Member of the Wedding”—but her voice is singular and laugh-out-loud funny. . . . Stockett deftly unites her three main characters for an ending that’s as cozy and satisfying as the chicken pot pies her characters keep making and eating.”—Minnesota Star Tribune
“Filled with lots of humor and hope.”—Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“A rip-roaring adventure of found family, complex sisterhood, tested moral compasses and capable women making the best (hey, even a fast buck) out of truly awful circumstances . . . Meg, I trust, will become multiple readers’ favourite down-but-not-out child narrator since Demon Copperhead. . . . Stockett is a born storyteller.”—The Sunday Times (UK)
“The power of The Calamity Club lies in the beauty of the narration, the touching story, the display of the historic mistreatment of women, and the fact that these women hold the power—even if it’s just for a while. It should make you angry at what was done to women who didn’t conform and perhaps what is being done to women now.”—Book Reporter
“An engrossing, page-turning read that flies by. I predict that you will not want to put it down once you enter the world of The Calamity Club.”—Jackson Clarion Ledger
“As witty, bold, and transportive as it is heartbreaking and compassionate,The Calamity Clubis 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, internationally bestselling author of Go as a River
“A big-hearted tale packed with plenty of details about life in the South during the lead-up to the Great Depression.”—Country Living
“A triumph of a novel, a quick-witted story about hard times and suffering. . . . It is tightly, cleverly plotted, and Stockett’s characters are effortlessly sketched.”—The Oxford Eagle
“Smart, funny, and driven by unforgettable characters whose opinions and actions leap off the page, this is a must-read.”—Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry
“Compulsively readable . . . A satisfyingly twisty tale . . . Fans of Stockett’s bestselling debut will love this engaging follow-up.”—Kirkus
“Stockett balances humor and heartbreak with an ease that makes the pages fly. One moment you're laughing at a perfectly observed social disaster, the next you re sitting with a character in a moment of raw vulnerability. If you're looking for a character-driven novel with southern charm, biting social observation, and a cast of women you'll fall in love with, The Calamity Club absolutely delivers.”—Tim Ehrenberg, “Tim Talks Books”
“Stockett’s vibrant follow-up to her bestselling 2009 novel, The Help, traces the intersecting lives of an exasperated older sister, a precocious orphan, and an enterprising woman in 1933 Mississippi. . . . By turns hilarious and heartbreaking, this offers a memorable view into the impossible choices faced by women in the Great Depression.”—Publishers Weekly
“The enormous success of The Help as a novel and as the source for the Academy Award–winning film has left readers longing for Stockett’s second novel. . . . As she did in The Help, Stockett again satirizes the hypocrisy underpinning much of the early-twentieth-century South in a saga populated with memorable characters who rely on stock-in-trade pluck and sass to right all wrongs.”—Booklist
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Oxford, Mississippi, 1933.
Abandoned by her mother one Christmas Eve, eleven-year-old Meg Lefleur has learned the hard way to rely on no one. Now one of the unadoptable "big girls" at the Lafayette County Orphan Asylum, she fights each day to keep her spirit unbowed.
Birdie Calhoun, unmarried and outspoken, has come to Oxford to ask her socialite sister to help the struggling family she’s left behind. But as the Depression tightens its grip, Birdie discovers her sister’s seemingly charmed life is a tapestry of lies.
Then, Birdie encounters Charlie, a woman running low on luck with little left to lose. When their fates—and Meg’s—converge, Charlie comes up with an audacious plan for them to take control of their lives. But in a place and time where hypocrisy is rife and women’s freedom is fragile, 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.
Kathryn Stockett was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. After graduating from the University of Alabama, she moved to New York City, where she worked in magazine publishing and marketing for nine years. Her first novel, The Help, has sold over 15 million copies worldwide. She lives in Mississippi and New York City.