In the fifth installment of Amy Stewart’s clever and original Kopp Sisters series, the sisters learn some military discipline–whether they’re ready or not–as the U.S. prepares to enter World War I. It’s the spring of 1917 and change is in the air. American women have done something remarkable: they’ve banded together to create military-style training camps for women who want to serve. These … want to serve. These so-called National Service Schools prove irresistible to the Kopp sisters, who leave their farm in New Jersey to join up.
When an accident befalls the matron, Constance reluctantly agrees to oversee the camp–much to the alarm of the Kopps’ tent-mate, the real-life Beulah Binford, who is seeking refuge from her own scandalous past under the cover of a false identity. Will she be denied a second chance? And after notoriety, can a woman’s life ever be her own again?
In Kopp Sisters on the March, the women of Camp Chevy Chase face down the skepticism of the War Department, the double standards of a scornful public, and the very real perils of war. Once again, Amy Stewart has brilliantly brought a little-known moment in history to light with her fearless and funny Kopp sisters novels.
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historical-figures, historical-places-events, historical-research, historical-fiction, WW1
If you’ve read any of Ms Stewart’s books, you already know that solid research comes first and the fiction wraps around it so readers will remember. The Kopp sisters, and especially Constance, have been the subjects of four earlier books and this is based on a period in time when their real lives take a backseat. The other notable characters are also very real and are documented at the end of the book. Her style of writing is as engaging as the characters and I devoured it in one afternoon.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt via NetGalley. Thank you so much!
I was disappointed at the end to find out that Norma was not actually into the National Pigeon Service, but if you care to read a novel about the British Pigeon Service I heartily recommend The Long Flight Home by Alan Hlad.
Thanks to author Amy Stewart for sending me an ARC with a fun package as a member of the Kopp Sisters Literary Society. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I loved this brilliant book! It’s #5 in the series and the best one yet! Plus you can read this as a stand-alone, but be warned – if this is your first Kopp Sisters book, after reading this one you’ll want to read all the others, too. (In order).
The clever and well-written story begins in the spring of 1917 just before war is declared. The Kopp sisters (Constance, Norma and Fleurette) join a military-style training camp for women near Richmond, VA and Stewart combines fact with her imagination to create an entertaining novel whose theme is reinvention. I don’t want to say more since part of the pleasure of this book is discovering for yourself the plot twists, the character development, themes of family, strong women, and the humor sprinkled throughout this memorable novel.
The Kopp sisters go off the National Service School in Maryland to learn how to march, dress wounds, and sew uniforms, although Fleurette quickly gets bored in that class. Norma brings her pigeons and is dead set the military will use them, once they see them in action. Constance is still recovering from being fired from her previous job, as a deputy sheriff in Hackensack, New Jersey. At camp, the sisters meet Beulah Binford.
This tale focuses more on Beulah’s story than the Kopp’s. Beulah has a great story to tell. Amy does a fantastic job of weaving in enough history to keep you intrigued. A good portion of the book is told in flashback to help you understand Beulah’s climactic moment. Even the epilogue is focused on Beulah.
This is a wonderful series and, to get the most enjoyment out of the five books in the series, they should be read in order. The previous four books use real life events for the Kopp sisters but now it’s 1917 and Amy Stewart takes them into the America of 1917 and the start of America’s involvement in WWI. Constance is in a funk after having lost her position as a new sheriff is appointed. To get things moving, Norma enrolls them in a National Service School to train citizens on the best way to support the war effort at home. From carrier pigeons and their use in the military to entertainment, the sisters have a new focus. When the woman in charge of the camp breaks her leg, Constance is pulled in to run the place. With 200 women at the camp, what could possibly go wrong? Homicide, of course.
This is a series that made it to my must read list from the very first book and has never let me down. The characters are multi dimensional, the mystery a satisfying puzzle with enough twists, turns and red herrings to keep me guessing. Add to that it’s a historical series – my favorite. Well, I have to pace myself reading one because, if I don’t, I will forget to eat and sleep. After finishing this one I’m eager to see what Amy Stewart has in store for the Kopp sisters – many more books, I hope.
KOPP SISTERS ON THE MARCH by Amy Stewart
The Women’s National Service Camps, were they playing, doing women’s work, or engaged in real training? . . . or perhaps all combined with theater, planting the idea of women serving so it could become reality. “They couldn’t even imagine it before we started these camps.”
Constance is forced to take charge or be branded a “shirker,” and she expands the training, in secret, after dark. Her experience with prisoners helps her keep order, giving discipline to spoiled society girls and understanding to the notorious Beulah Binford, there under an alias. When necessary, she is not above extending threats, “I’ll come after you myself.”
Nora is promoting her pigeons as carriers of messages. Fleurette employs her skills to make their uniforms functional, but her big goal is a morale-boosting show, just like those in the men’s camps. The sisters might squabble, but they back each other up.
Their allies in camp include two young privates and the camp nurse. “Nurses were champion rule-breakers if it meant getting their patients what they needed.” Nurses can help the fragile become “restored . . . or at least glued solidly back together.”
It also helps to know one’s enemy. “That sort of bravado in a man always had cowardice hiding underneath it.”
Advice for life: “You can’t wait for somebody else to decide whether you get another chance. What if nobody ever does?”
“We are all going to need courage.”
I found the Historical Notes at the end fascinating, as were the photos on amystewart .com
I got the book on Friday and finished it early Sunday morning. Not much else got done, and it was worth it!
Stewart was unable to discover stories about the Kopp sisters during 1917 and 1918 so she let her imagination fill in the blanks. She decided to intertwine the National Service Schools into their story. She also brought in Beulah Binford, a notorious figure who had crossed paths with vaudeville manager Freeman Bernstein, who appears in Miss Kopp’s Midnight Confessions.
Stewart realized the storylines were all about reinvention. Constance has lost her position as deputy and jail matron. Norma desperately wants to insert pigeons into WWI war communications. The women who join the National Service Schools hoped to find a life with purpose and meaning. And Beulah wanted to put her sordid past behind her.
This book in the series felt different than the previous ones because Constance’s story is not really the one that grabs readers attention, but Beulah’s. Constance is continuing to learn her strengths and at the end of the book has determined to present herself for a war-time position. But it is Beulah’s slowly revealed back story that impels readers.
Once again, Stewart uses historical fiction to present women’s ongoing concerns: double standards, child sexual abuse, substance abuse, poverty, abandonment, motherhood, the vilification of female sexuality.
These women prove they have the strength, will, intelligence, and self-belief to achieve their dreams.
I can’t wait for book six, which will take place during WWI!
I received a free ARC in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
While the first four books in the series are based on actual events in the real lives of Constance, Norma, and Fleurette Kopp, this book veres further into the world of fiction. We don’t know what happened to the sisters in 1917, so the author choose to use events from the time to weave a convincing story about the sisters. I was lucky enough to receive an ARC copy of this book, but I’ve been looking forward to this installment for a year. In this book, we learn about military-style training camps for women preparing for World War I and the real-life, notorious (and misunderstood) Beulah Binford.
I really loved this book! It would certainly be suitable for older teens through adults. There’s a great deal of women’s history in this book, but it’s told in an entertaining way. If you’d like to read this book as a stand-alone novel, I’d recommend going to Amy Stewart’s website to gain a bit of insight, although this book probably makes more sense as part of a series.
I can’t wait to read the next book! I feel like the Kopp sisters are growing as people and this book was no exception. With the threat of war looming, I really enjoyed seeing Constance, Norma, and Fleurette stepping up as women, ready to face whatever challenges might come into their lives.
A terrific new addition to the Kopp Sister’s saga, as told by Amy Stewart. I’ve read them all.
This latest finds the sisters in a National Service School encampment for women near Chevy Chase, just prior to the break out of WW1 in 1917. As one might expect if you’re read any of the previous books, Constance finds herself stepping into a leadership role at the camp and whipping everyone into shape. Of course, nothing ever goes totally to plan, but it’s our indomitable Lady Deputy into the breach. Dour sister Norma brings her homing pigeons to demonstrate their potential usefulness to the war effort and the youngest, Fleurette demonstrates her prowess with a variety show, sewing needle and mischief.
Introduced in this story is the real life Beulah Binford, a supposed notorious female figure accused of immoral behavior few years previously, well documented, if inaccurately, in the sensational news stories of the time. Malicious gossip is nothing new. Her story unfolds at the camp, where she’d hoped to find some anonymity by attending under a fictitious name, only to fear she’s been found out, with potentially disastrous consequences.
Stewart has done her research and based many of the sites, characters and happenings on true events and people, filling in what’s missing with entirely plausible fictions.