Follow Your North Star

The Club For Rebellious Ladies by Siobhan Curham is a powerful dual timeline novel that I absolutely adored.

The action is set-in present-day France, and also towards the end of World War I in 1918 in France. The two time periods are linked by location and family.

We witness family secrets. The silence of those who knew make them complicit in the abuse of a husband to teenage girls living in the school next door in 1918. In present day, descendants are appalled, distancing themselves from their long-dead relatives.

A secret diary is found that uncovers the truth. We learn the tale, along with the present-day characters.

We witness the devastating effects of World War I. Some died, others left their minds on the battlefields of France. “The things I saw in the war, it’s like I can’t escape the memories.”

At the start of the twentieth century, young girls were seen as ornaments and the property of males – first fathers, and then husbands. “Being trained in the art of becoming an ornament rather than a living, dreaming human being.” Girls’ ambitions were squashed. We see a group of girls determined to break free of the mould of society. They wanted to live their lives.