The Calamity Club

Kathryn Stockett

Historical Fiction · Literary Fiction · 2026

illustrations: 3
artists: 1
upvotes: 0

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Context & research status ↗

About this book

Character · protagonist

Birdie Calhoun

age

Birdie is twenty-four.The Calamity Club official English opening extract · Extract, self-introduction · Penguin / Fig Tree · License unspecifiedSign in to report this detail

appearance

Birdie has a receding chin and brown hair cut to chin length, flattened by the humid weather.The Calamity Club official English opening extract · Extract, self-introduction and counter mirror · Penguin / Fig Tree · License unspecifiedSign in to report this detail

relationship

Birdie travels to Oxford seeking financial aid from her socially climbing sister Frances.The Calamity Club - Wikipedia · Plot Summary section · Wikimedia Foundation · CC BY-SA 4.0Sign in to report this detail

role

Birdie is an outspoken, unmarried bookkeeper who serves as one of the novel's alternating narrators.The Calamity Club - Wikipedia · Plot Summary section · Wikimedia Foundation · CC BY-SA 4.0Sign in to report this detail

Character · main

Charlie

relationship

Charlie joins forces with Birdie Calhoun and Meg Lefleur in their shared quest for self-determination.The Calamity Club - Wikipedia · Plot Summary section · Wikimedia Foundation · CC BY-SA 4.0Sign in to report this detail

Character · supporting

Frances

role

Frances is Birdie Calhoun's sister who married a wealthy banker and joined Oxford high society.The Calamity Club - Wikipedia · Plot Summary section · Wikimedia Foundation · CC BY-SA 4.0Sign in to report this detail

Character · supporting

Garnett

role

Garnett is the authoritarian chairlady governing the Lafayette County Orphan Asylum.The Calamity Club - Wikipedia · Plot Summary section · Wikimedia Foundation · CC BY-SA 4.0Sign in to report this detail

Character · protagonist

Meg Lefleur

age

Meg is an eleven-year-old girl who has lived at the county orphan asylum for two years.The Calamity Club - Wikipedia · Plot Summary section · Wikimedia Foundation · CC BY-SA 4.0Sign in to report this detail

personality

Meg is resilient and spirited, steadfastly refusing to believe her mother abandoned her deliberately.The Calamity Club - Wikipedia · Plot Summary section · Wikimedia Foundation · CC BY-SA 4.0Sign in to report this detail

role

Meg is an orphan resident at Lafayette County Orphan Asylum and one of the alternating narrators.The Calamity Club - Wikipedia · Plot Summary section · Wikimedia Foundation · CC BY-SA 4.0Sign in to report this detail

Place · primary

Gathright-Reed Drug Co.

layout

Bells hang on the door handle. A counter stands near the entrance, and products fill shelves along the walls.The Calamity Club official English opening extract · Extract, entrance and shelves · Penguin / Fig Tree · License unspecifiedSign in to report this detail

Details

Chapter 1 takes place here.The Calamity Club official English opening extract · Extract, opening drugstore scene · Penguin / Fig Tree · License unspecifiedSign in to report this detail

Place · primary

Lafayette County Orphan Asylum

Place · primary

Oxford, Mississippi

atmosphere

A southern town where societal pretense and wealthy facades contrast sharply with pervasive poverty.The Calamity Club - Wikipedia · Plot Summary section · Wikimedia Foundation · CC BY-SA 4.0Sign in to report this detail

era

The novel is set in 1933 during the Great Depression, touching on Prohibition and societal hardship.The Calamity Club - Wikipedia · Plot Summary section · Wikimedia Foundation · CC BY-SA 4.0Sign in to report this detail

geography

Oxford is a town located in Mississippi, the primary setting of the novel.The Calamity Club - Wikipedia · Plot Summary section · Wikimedia Foundation · CC BY-SA 4.0Sign in to report this detail

Details

Birdie enters a drugstore on a humid September morning and tries to avoid a conversation with Pripp.The Calamity Club official English opening extract · Extract, entrance and Pripp conversation · Penguin / Fig Tree · License unspecifiedSign in to report this detail
The story is set in Oxford, Mississippi in 1933, amidst the economic desperation of the Great Depression.The Calamity Club - Wikipedia · Plot Summary section · Wikimedia Foundation · CC BY-SA 4.0Sign in to report this detail

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