The Chilbury Ladies' Choir

The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir (2017) is a historical novel by British American author Jennifer Ryan. A national bestseller, the novel was inspired by the wartime stories of Ryan’s grandmother, who lived in Kent during World War II. The epistolary story is set in a small English village in 1940 and unfolds through the letters and diary entries of several female characters. After the village men depart for war, the women defy tradition by forming an all-female choir, navigating personal secrets, romantic entanglements, and the daily realities of the home front. Through its multiple perspectives, the narrative explores themes of The Power of Finding One’s Voice, Female Solidarity Across Social Divides, and War as a Crucible for Morality.

The novel’s structure is influenced by the Mass Observation Archive, a real-life project that encouraged British citizens to document their lives during the war. Ryan, a former nonfiction editor, has written several other novels set during the same period, including The Kitchen Front.

This guide refers to the 2017 Ballantine Books paperback edition.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide contain depictions of death, graphic violence, gender discrimination, physical and emotional abuse, child abuse, child sexual abuse, pregnancy loss and termination, antigay bias, and sexual content.

Plot Summary

In March 1940, in the English village of Chilbury, the vicar announces the disbandment of the local choir, as all the men have gone to war. The choir’s final performance is at the funeral of Commander Edmund Winthrop, the only son of the powerful Brigadier Winthrop. Attending are the grieving Winthrop family, including the pregnant Mrs. Winthrop and her daughters, Venetia and Kitty. Also present are the widowed nurse Mrs. Tilling, whose son David is about to leave for France; the formidable Mrs. Brampton-Boyd, known as Mrs. B.; and the village midwife, Miss Edwina Paltry. Mrs. Tilling starts a journal to cope with her anxieties, while Miss Paltry reveals in a letter to her sister, Clara, that the brigadier has offered her a substantial sum to ensure his wife delivers a male heir, even if doing so requires switching her child with another.

Thirteen-year-old Kitty Winthrop also begins documenting village life in her diary, dreaming of becoming a singer and detailing her infatuation with Mrs. B.’s son, Henry Brampton-Boyd. Her older sister, 18-year-old Venetia, writes to her friend, Angela Quail, about her romantic pursuit of Mr. Alastair Slater, a mysterious artist who has recently moved to the village. Meanwhile, Miss Paltry finalizes her deal with the brigadier. Her plan involves manipulating another expectant mother, the schoolteacher Hattie Lovell. Amid these personal dramas, a new music tutor, Miss Primrose (Prim) Trent, arrives and proposes reviving the choir as the Chilbury Ladies’ Choir.

Despite initial resistance from the traditionalist Mrs. B., the women of Chilbury vote to form the ladies-only choir. During the debate, the usually reserved Mrs. Tilling speaks out in support. The first rehearsal is a success, uniting the women through song. Kitty begins singing lessons with Prim, who becomes a mentor and encourages her talent. Miss Paltry continues her machinations, persuading the Winthrops’ maid, Elsie, to assist in the baby swap and arranging for Mrs. Tilling to be away at a Women’s Voluntary Service meeting on the day Miss Paltry plans to induce the births.

Romantic tensions come to the fore at a going-away party for David Tilling; Kitty is dismayed by Henry’s attention toward Venetia, who flirts with him. Soon after, Mrs. Tilling endures a painful farewell as David leaves for the front. Venetia receives a marriage proposal from Henry but remains noncommittal, her focus still on Alastair; soon after, Kitty witnesses a sexual encounter between Venetia and Alastair. Meanwhile, the choir’s confidence grows when Prim enters them into a competition at Litchfield Cathedral, with Kitty and Mrs. Tilling as soloists.

In early May, Miss Paltry executes her plan. She induces labor in both Mrs. Winthrop and Hattie Lovell on the same day. When Mrs. Winthrop gives birth to a girl and Hattie to a boy, Paltry swaps the infants, telling each mother that her baby has a breathing problem and must be rushed to her house for treatment with a non-existent ventilator. The maid, Elsie, who is present at the birth, realizes the deception and threatens to intervene but is bribed into silence. Mrs. Tilling returns from her meeting just as Paltry is completing the swap and becomes suspicious, particularly when she learned that two babies supposedly had the same medical emergency on the same day.

As Germany invades Holland and Belgium, the war intensifies, culminating in the evacuation of Dunkirk. David Tilling returns home safely, though the village mourns other losses. The choir’s growing unity is cemented when they travel to Litchfield for a competition. During a blackout, they deliver a candlelit performance of “Ave Maria” without organ accompaniment and win first place, a major turning point for the group. One of the competition judges, Colonel Mallard, has recently been billeted with Mrs. Tilling, as he is the head of the nearby Litchfield Park War Center; their relationship begins with mutual friction.

Venetia’s affair with Alastair deepens, and she poses nude for a portrait, which a jealous David Tilling later steals. Kitty, meanwhile, grows suspicious of Alastair and the Winthrops’ butler, Proggett, believing that they are involved in underground market activities, and she reports her concerns to Colonel Mallard. Venetia’s own investigation leads her to follow Alastair into the woods, where she witnesses him meeting with a German-speaking man, confirming her fears that he is a spy.

Desperate for the remainder of her payment, Miss Paltry attempts to blackmail the brigadier by revealing that Venetia, who approached her about an abortion, is pregnant with Alastair’s child, but he refuses to pay.

Instead, he threatens both Paltry and Alastair. Later that night, Venetia hears gunshots from the woods and, fearing her father has shot Alastair, runs toward the village to warn him. Just as she does, a lone Nazi bomber, likely lost, drops its payload on Chilbury. Prim and Hattie are killed in the blast, but Venetia heroically rescues Hattie’s infant daughter, Rose, from her burning home, though she herself is severely injured in the process. In the chaos, both Alastair and Proggett disappear. Miss Paltry’s house is also destroyed, and she is hospitalized with a fractured hip.

In the aftermath, the village grieves. The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir, with Mrs. Tilling now leading, carries Hattie’s coffin at her funeral. To conceal her pregnancy, Venetia accepts Henry’s renewed proposal. However, a heartbroken Kitty reveals the truth to Henry, who reacts with violent rage. He confronts Venetia and physically assaults her, causing a fall that, combined with her existing injuries, leads her to lose the pregnancy. When the brigadier beats Kitty for her role in the broken engagement, Mrs. Tilling intervenes, using her knowledge of the baby swap to blackmail him into stopping his abuse. Mrs. Tilling also confronts Miss Paltry, revealing that she knows the truth but will keep the secret to protect the children. Rose, who is secretly the Winthrops’ biological daughter, is taken in by the family to be raised at Chilbury Manor until her father returns from the war. Lawrence, Hattie’s biological son, is raised as the Winthrop heir. Silvie, whose parents have been sent to a concentration camp, is formally welcomed into the Winthrop family as well.

In the aftermath of a devastating bombing of Litchfield, the choir organizes a benefit concert for those who are now unhoused. During the performance, Alastair returns and reunites with Venetia. He reveals that his real name is John MacIntyre and that he is a British intelligence agent who was undercover to expose a spy ring, which included Proggett. His relationship with Venetia resumes, though their future remains uncertain as he prepares for his next mission. Mrs. Tilling and Colonel Mallard, who have fallen in love, marry and move to London. The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir, now conducted by Mrs. B. and organized by Kitty, continues its mission, bringing song and solidarity to other war-torn communities and capturing the attention of a journalist documenting the resilience of women on the home front.