Historical Fiction · Free kit
The Calamity Club
Oxford, Mississippi, 1933. Eleven-year-old Meg Lefleur scrapes by at the county orphan asylum under a cruel chairlady’s thumb. Unmarried bookkeeper Birdie Calhoun arrives seeking help from her socialite sister — and finds a town of secrets, hypocrisy, and women with almost no good options. When their fates converge with Charlie, Meg’s fierce mother, an audacious plan is born: reclaim what’s theirs, even if calamity is the only way forward.
“If you give a girl a taste of fresh air and then take it away, she will grow fierce and wild to get that fresh air back again.”
Complete free book club kit
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Plan your meeting
The Calamity Club Hosting Guide
A free, printable-minded plan for hosting The Calamity Club.
Invite hook
“What if the person who understood you best was only in your life for two years?”
The question you’re arguing about: Can someone who was part of your life briefly leave a deeper mark than the people who stayed forever?
Shopping list
- □Pimento cheese + bread for mini sandwiches
- □Ingredients for Mississippi mud pie (or a bakery shortcut)
- □Black tea + mint + simple syrup (sweet tea or mint juleps)
- □Blue hydrangeas (fresh or faux)
- □Lace doilies or vintage-style table runner
- □Mismatched teacups or plates (thrifted works!)
- □Pens for bingo + optional wine for the “discussion gets intense” square
Day-of timeline
- 0–15 minWelcome, care note, icebreakers (peacemaker vs truth-teller)
- 15–30 minTrivia warm-up (easy → medium)
- 30–75 minMain discussion — orphanage ethics, the club, Garnett, necessity vs law
- 75–100 minGame: Bingo or Would You Rather (moral set)
- 100–120 minRate the book (1–5 + one word), next-book vote, group photo
Surprise touch
Seal each guest’s invitation (or thank-you note) with a blue hydrangea sticker — a nod to quiet beauty, friendship, and resilience in the story.
Wrap-up
- □Group photo with blue flowers or teacups as props
- □Quick rating round (1–5 stars, one word each)
- □Vote on next month’s book