The Beauty Chorus

By Kate Lord Brown

‘The Beauty Chorus’ is a moving, and ultimately uplifting, story of three young women who did their bit during the Second World War by ferrying fighter planes up and down the country.

Evie, Stella and Megan are three very different young women who are thrown together on their first day working for the ATA. We follow them through the story finding out how they get on with their flying duties, but also sharing the ups and downs of their emotional lives.

Interweaved with the fictional story are flashes of history involving real historical figures including the legendary aviator Amy Johnson and none other than Winston Churchill. I felt that this aspect worked really well and gave the book an added dimension.

The story is rich with period detail, and clearly well researched although it doesn’t feel at any point as though the research is intruding on the story. Although I’ve read quite a bit about WW2 both in fiction and non-fiction, I wasn’t aware of the work of the ATA, so for me this was a further element of the story that held my interest.

I found the story gripping and I finished it in a couple of sessions as I didn’t want to put it down until I’d found out what was going to happen next. The mix of romance, adventure and intrigue was perfectly blended into a satisfying whole.

‘The Beauty Chorus’ is the sort of novel where the characters are so likeable and real that you can imagine the story going on after the book has finished.

For a very enjoyable romance with the added interest of a fascinating historical backdrop, I highly recommend this novel.

Reviewed by Helen M Hunt

Kate Lord Brown talks about ‘The Beauty Chorus’ now over on my writing blog ‘Fiction Is Stranger Than Fact’.