Summary of The Calamity Club

The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett was published in May 2026, 14 years after her last bestselling novel, The Help. I made a summary of The Calamity Club to remind you of the plot, characters, and important moments in the book.

Calamity Club is a deeply moving story about an 11-year-old girl separated from her mother, the lengths her mother will go to get her back, and the woman willing to risk everything to help them reunite. It’s also about life in the South in the 1930s, the hardships of the Great Depression and its impact across classes.

This Calamity Club summary is detailed and will contain spoilers. If you are looking to read Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett for your book club, I also have a list of Calamity Club book club questions.

Before you read the summary, please be aware that in addition to spoilers, there may be some content that is triggering. These include, but are not limited to: child abuse and neglect, homophobia, alcoholism, suicide, and forced sterilization.

Quick Summary of The Calamity Club

This is the story of Meg Lafleur, an 11-year-old living in an orphanage in Oxford, Mississippi, and Birdie Calhoun, a recently impoverished woman who is in town to get a helping hand from her sister, Frances Tartt, only to end up giving help herself.

After volunteering at the local orphanage, she befriends Meg and witnesses the terrible treatment she receives at the hands of Garnett Pittman. After Meg is adopted by the Heidelbergs, she also meets Charlie, Meg’s mother, who was recently released from prison and is desperately looking to get her daughter back.

At the same time, Birdie realises the financial troubles Frances and her MIL are going through after Frances’s husband, Rory, leaves them broke. Trying to help Frances, her own family, and Charlie, Birdie agrees to help Charlie turn the Tartt family home into a dance hall and brothel to raise money for them all.

In the end, both Birdie’s mom’s and the Tartts’ homes are saved, Charlie is reunited with Meg, and Birdie finds love with Jack, the local banker.

The Calamity Club Summary

Prologue

In the prologue, it’s September 1933, and Birdie is at the drug store when she purchases some condoms – something scandalous for the time and newly unregulated. She buys 99 for her friend, signs a different name in the blue book, and leaves.

Part 1

Meg

Then the story opens in July 1933 with 11-year-old Meg at the Lafayette County Orphan Asylum, Orphan for short, dreaming about seeing her mama again. She then goes on to explain the way the orphanage works and who lives where. She’s teased and called Nutmeg by her fellow orphans.

Miss Garnett has it out for her, but she loves the classroom with Miss Spencer. When she drew an offensive picture, she was taken out of the classroom and sent to the office, where she now has to go every day. When the girls turn 12, they are sent to a cannery, which is where Meg’s best friend Ava is.

Before the orphanage, Meg and her Mama lived in Memphis, where he mama was a dancer, and then 20 miles outside Oxford, where Mama looked after a wealthy family’s children. Mama told her never to tell people that her father left, but rather that he died in the war because the threat of her being taken away was always close. Meg slipped up and told the truth to her teacher at the blue schoolhouse, Missy Pettybone, and Mama decided to teach Meg how to lie.

Back at the orphanage, Miss Garnett says Meg was born from adultery.

Birdie

24-year-old Birdie Calhoun is at the Footley train station with her Mama and Meemaw, being sent off to find Frances and tell her to come home. Meemaw was raised in West Texas, but her husband brought her to Mississippi, where his cotton family raised her daughter to be gentler than her. Birdie’s dad was a water engineer, and other people’s cotton fields surrounded their house. 

Frances left finishing school in Memphis and ended up getting married to Roderick Tartt. She didn’t invite her family to the wedding and basically stopped communicating with the family. Frances lives in Idlewild, a fancy house paid for by Roderick’s job as a bank VP. Frances recently stopped writing back to the family, and after telegrams went unanswered, Birdie was sent to see her.

There were other worries for the Calhoun family. Her father had recently died; they were behind on property taxes, and their truck repairs and Meemaw’s hip breaking had all conspired to make them poor. Birdie helped the family by working at the local store, but it didn’t bring in much. Like everyone in America, they were living by a thread. 

Birdie has also been sent to Frances to ask for money to help pay their back taxes. Frances and Birdie used to be close, but then Frances befriended Mathilda Tate when they all went to school together. The Tates owned a plantation, not a farm, and Frances was attracted to their lifestyle.

Shortly after meeting the Tates, the sisters came down with mumps, and while Frances got better, Birdie developed encephalitis and lost the ability to bear children. It was then that her father started teaching her some of the “manly” tasks around the house – because she might never be married.

Shortly after graduating, Frances convinced her family to send her to finishing school. Right before she was to leave, their dad died of a heart attack. Despite this, Frances left for school, got married, and never came back. 

Meg

Meg has established a routine to pass the time in her little solitary office, often snooping through the mail to practice her reading. She also works on correspondence for Miss Garnett and eventually manages to get her hands on a Life magazine. In the magazine, she sees California and uses the images to find strength during the whipping when she’s caught reading it. Meg remembers all the times her mama talked about moving to California.

When her mom was off being a governess for the Coopers, Meg went to stay with Ophelia Lee, a black woman who was a dog breeder. Meg noticed how her mother treats Ophelia differently than other white people do.

Mrs. Cooper got a letter about Caroline, and soon she was fired, but Meg isn’t sure why. She searches for jobs and can’t find anything. Then, she goes to offer rides in the car, leaving Meg with Ophelia. The next day, she says she only got one ride, but it paid very well.

Birdie

Birdie arrives at Frances’s house. Frances is shocked to see Birdie and, embarrassed by her disheveled appearance, she sends her to the back door so Frances’s friends from the Orphanage won’t see Birdie. There, Birdie meets Polly and Picador, Frances’s servants.

Frances explains why Birdie can’t stay because she doesn’t want people thinking she’s from a poor area of the South, despite her family’s circumstances. She says Rory doesn’t mind; he likes a woman without fancy ideas, but the rest of the women she’s trying to impress. She also confesses that she didn’t invite her family to the wedding because of a “tax issue” that meant they had to get married in a hurry.

Frances takes Birdie to get a bath, and then they catch up. Frances confesses that she’s a junior committee member at the orphanage, but wants to be promoted. She also explains that Garnett lost a baby before it was born and was unable to have children after. They continue the tour, and Birdie sees just how far Frances has gone to cover up her past.

Eventually Frances takes Birdie to meet her mother-in-law.  Frances explains that her sister is here to celebrate her birthday and is planning to stay, and her MIL approves but also calls it “my house,” showing that she feels she has ownership over the home still. 

They sit down for dinner, and Birdie and Mrs. Tartt get on well. She explains that Rory let the yard man go, and after comments about the cost of the telephone, it’s starting to look like Frances and the family aren’t as well off as they appear. Rory comes home but rushes right to work.

After a bad night’s sleep, Birdie is up early making coffee. Birdie tells Polly and Picador that Frances didn’t have help growing up. At breakfast, Rory refuses to take Frances away for her birthday, citing that it would look bad in these unpredictable times. Frances asks to have lunch with Rory, but he says he’s too busy. Then he leaves for work, and Frances leaves to volunteer, dropping Birdie in town on the way.

Frances observes the town of Oxford and its differences from back home. She also observes that people don’t seem to like Rory, and then she sees the man in question driving around at lunchtime. That night, Frances and Birdie get in a fight about being content, and Birdie hears Frances’s struggle to fit the mold of society. Then Birdie asks for help with their family bills.

Frances agrees to figure out how to ask Rory for the money and invites Birdie to stay until her birthday in 3 weeks. Birdie agrees to volunteer to do the orphanage’s bookkeeping for a bit too.

Upon arrival at the orphanage, Birdie notices the discrepancy between the sign that says all welcome and the paragraph underneath explaining who actually isn’t. Birdie meets Garnett and notices how Frances kisses up to her. She gets a tour of the orphanage, impressed with the baby and toddler rooms, only to discover the moldy, gross conditions the older girls live in.

Then Birdie sees Meg in the saddest room. Garnett tells Birdie that Meg was expelled. Birdie decides to work in the room with Meg. Birdie finds out that Meg’s mom went for curling cream and never came back. Frances tells Birdie about the kinds of parents the kids are taken from, but all she’s doing is repeating what Garnett has told her.

Meg

The next day, Meg records her observations of Birdie, noting her differences from Frances. Birdie has brought Meg two biscuits. Garnett comes in with the mail and explains that kids can’t have personal correspondence, which Birdie immediately questions.  Birdie soon gets overheated and fixes the window so they get fresh air. Birdie brings Meg biscuits every morning and even the funny pages of the newspaper. They become tentative friends, and Birdie begins to notice how mean Garnett is to Meg.

Birdie begins to investigate the poor conditions of the orphanage. She wanders around and even talks to the cook. She learns things became different when Garnett took over. Birdie tries to get Garnett to bring in a contractor to at least tell them how much the repairs around the facility would be for the broken windows, mold, and holes.  Birdie takes matters into her own hands, washing away the mold with bleach, painting the office, etc. Garnett is furious. And then Birdie starts asking questions about the work program, and that’s when she learns that the girls who can the food at 12 don’t get paid for four years. Garnett then dismisses Birdie.

Meg gets the real anger, though. Garnett takes away her ability to eat with the other girls, forcing her to stay alone in the office all day. When Meg talks back, she slaps her. Meg spends the night reminiscing about the last Christmas with her Mama.

They had gone to town to see the tree lights. Meg saw gloves she loved, and that night, Mama dropped her at Ophelia’s to go into town. Meg assumed it was for her gift. Ophelia was sick, and Meg looked after her while waiting for her Mama. But her Mama didn’t come to get her, so Meg ran home alone and spent a day without her Mama again.

Worried, Meg went back to Ophelia’s and found a white man complaining that Ophelia had let his dog freeze because she had died. Meg ran home and stayed home alone for more days, running out of food and with no heat. Eventually, a white man comes and finds her in the house. He gives her an apple and says he would have come sooner if her mom had reached out sooner. Meg flies off the handle, asking where her Mama was! He keeps saying he needs to get her safe and feed her.

In the present, it’s adoption day at the orphanage, and Meg goes all out trying to get away from there. Multiple families show interest in her, but Garnett thwarts each one. Finally, a wealthy couple comes in, and despite all of Garnett’s trying, they get approved to take Meg. It’s then that Meg hears that Dr. Welty Pittman is the man who brought her to the Orphanage. It’s only after she’s leaving that Meg wonders how her Mama will ever find her.

Birdie

With Garnett away, Birdie comes back to the orphanage to paint the big girl’s room. When a stranger comes to talk to Meg, she finds out that Meg had been adopted; she panics, asking where her daughter is. Birdie asks why she abandoned Meg, and Charlie is horrified to find out that Dr. Pittman never told Meg what happened.

Charlie looks disheveled; she explains that she got arrested for consorting with a black person and hitting an officer after he hit her first. She was sentenced to two years in prison, but got out early. She came right away to get Meg, but waited until Garnett was gone because she knew that was the only way to get to her daughter. She asked for Birdie’s help, and they agreed to meet again.

Birdie went home to bake Frances a cake. Birdie and Mrs. Tartt play bridge together, and Birdie drinks for the first time. She learns that Garnett only took over the orphanage after Meg arrived. Birdie gets drunk and asks about the relationship between Rory and Mrs. Tartt. Mrs. Tartt explains that her husband, Henry, wanted Rory to go to New Orleans to handle something before he went to college. Rory didn’t want to go, but Mrs. Tartt took her husband’s side, and things have been strained between them since. 

Frances comes home from her birthday dinner, and Birdie is too drunk to see her open her presents. But Frances doesn’t care; she’s upset that her husband can’t seem to have sex with her and all she wants is a baby. She’s convinced that her husband is seeing someone else.

At church, Birdie bumps into Dr. Pittman and mentions she knows Meg, and she told Birdie about him. He looks shocked before his wife pulls him away. Birdie asks Frances how Dr. Pittman found her in the first place, and it’s here that we find the lie that he was off doing free vaccinations and stumbled upon her. Birdie challenged Frances to see Garnett in a new light, but Frances defends her.

Rory tells Frances he will loan her family the money they need. Then it’s discovered that Picador and Polly haven’t been paid in weeks, Frances doesn’t have her allowance, and Mrs. Tartt hasn’t had her dividends either. Rory gets them all to calm down by promising a day of shopping in town and to bring the funds home later in the week.

In town while Frances is shopping, Mrs. Tartt and Birdie go to the bank where they find out Rory was fired three weeks ago. They also learn that Rory had lost all of their money. They head home to confront Rory, only to find they have been robbed by him. Mrs. Tartt believes that Rory did all of this to get back at her. 

Frances gets drunk, and Mrs. Tartt confides that the business down in New Orleans was for Rory to stay at the hospital to be treated for homosexuality. Rory wrote to his mama saying how awful the treatment was. His dad made him stay for 5 months. He’s never forgiven his mother. 

Mrs. Tartt lets Polly and Picador go, and Birdie begins taking care of everyone, trying to figure out how she’s going to be able to leave them. Then, Charlie shows up. Birdie tries to dissuade her from going to find Meg. Charlie reveals it’s Garnett who got her declared feeble-minded and sent her away to get sterilized. She says you can be deemed feeble-minded for having a child out of wedlock or for talking to a black man as a white woman. 

Charlie asked if she could stay at the house with the women; she offered to help clean and cook. Meanwhile, Birdie meets up with banker Jack Walsh to get advice on what to do about the foreclosure of the Tartts’ home. He also asks her on a date.

The money situation gets dire for the women. The electricity gets shut off, and so does the gas. Finally, Birdie tells them all how dire the situation is. They have three weeks to come up with 2,000 dollars or the house will be taken. They decide to sell all the furniture to try to raise some of the money. They are still $200 short. 

Part 2

Meg

Meg arrives at a big house in Oxford. She eats a big dinner and throws up a little from overeating, but she was too hungry to slow down. Tom and Lucille say it’s ok. She wakes up in luxurious bedding. She’s also told not to tell the maid where she came from. 

That day, Tom shows Meg the library, and they lounge out back and read. Meg peppers him with questions and discovers he is an aspiring writer. He also tells her he met his wife when they were both living in NYC, but moved back to Mississippi because of his family.

He hates the house and the history of slavery that comes along with it. Meg is trying to find her place at the house and begins to bond with Tom. She learns she will go to grammar school in the fall with her new cousins, and she’ll use his last name now.

She overhears her new parents arguing that night. Tom insists they give the rest of the money back, and Lucille says they’ll never know she didn’t cost that much – implying Tom’s parents gave them money to adopt Meg.

Meg falls back asleep only to discover new clothes left for her. She tries them on and runs down the hall to thank Tom and Lucille; the latter was sleeping and didn’t appreciate the wake-up. One dress is too small, but that’s the dress that Lucille wants her to wear to meet Tom’s parents. She also wants Meg to lie about which orphanage she came from, claiming she came from Memphis, not Oxford.

They head to Cottonwood plantation to meet Tom’s parents. Tom’s mom is furious that Meg isn’t a baby, because she wanted Lucille to grow up and start taking care of something small. Soon, Meg is across the hall playing with the cousins before going home.

Birdie

Birdie asks Frances to help her get ready for a date with Jack. She also settles 90% of the mortgage debt, but they only have one month to pay the last 10%. Frances gives her dating advice, but Birdie ends up being herself, and she and Jack go to her first talkie movie. She gets upset when she sees Jack ignore a patron whom he rejected a loan for. She confronts him, and he explains that the patron would’ve been more embarrassed to have been said hello to while he was at a movie show at 2 PM in the middle of the workday instead of at work. 

Birdie realizes that Jack is a good guy. He explains that he started working at the bank washing floors, and then turned in a $5 bill to the manager one day, which caught his eye for being honest. Birdie remarks on the coincidence, and Jack says he saved up every penny to put that $5 there.

After the date, it’s back to worrying. News about the Tartts gets out, and soon everyone is coming to collect their things and money owed. Then Frances comes home with news that Jack is married and has a child at home, but she also has Meg’s new address, which Birdie immediately gives to Charlie.

Birdie suggests she write a wellness check letter first to check on her before heading up to get her, but Charlie is worried because Garnett will never let her be happy. If Garnett hadn’t gotten Charlie committed, it would have only been 3 days in jail. Instead, she was sterilized in an institution. It’s then that Charlie explains that Dr. Welty Pittman is Meg’s father, and Garnett knows.

At 17, Charlie seduced Welty, hoping he would leave his wife when she got pregnant. Garnett wouldn’t sleep with him anymore after she lost her baby. It had been years, and they were both lonely, Charlie having lost her mother just three months prior. Instead, when she told him she was pregnant, he gave her $30 in the name of a Doctor who would “take care of it.” Charlie had Meg anyway, hoping he would change his mind after she was born. Later, Garnett got her fired from her job as a governess. 

She couldn’t find work, so she started offering car rides to people looking to get out of town in exchange for money. A Black man was trying to get home to his sick mother, so she offered to give him a ride when she was picked up for solicitation. While she was in jail, a policeman raped her with his billy club. 

Birdie goes into town to mail the letter and sees Jack. He explains that he is getting divorced and also that he has a list of the long-distance calls that Rory made before he left. Jimmy Watts answers; he owns the store, and he’s the only employee, and despite Rory calling there 6 times before leaving, he claims that he doesn’t know him, but then asks if there’s a message she wants to leave in case he sees him. 

She heads home and explains what she knows about Rory. Worried about the mortgage, and with Mrs. Tartt and Frances wanting to find Rory, Charlie and Mrs. Tartt suggest turning the home into a boarding house to make extra money. Mrs. Tartt can go with her sister to make inquiries about Rory, and Frances can go visit her mother. 

In addition to boarding, Charlie and Mrs. Tartt want to have a dime-dancing business in the backyard for the college boys, offering a dime a dance with the girls living there, dance lessons, and even whiskey. 

Frances asked why Charlie wanted to help, and that’s when Charlie told the rest of them that she wanted her daughter back. Mrs. Tartt agrees to help, and she and Frances leave. Charlie calls a friend for help in setting up their new endeavor.

Flossy arrives to help get the boarding house speakeasy off the ground. She’s upset because she quit her job for something that hasn’t even started yet, but she’s persuaded when Charlie says it’ll be like a family with better pay.

It’s clear that something else is going on, but Birdie heads to town to see Jack. Jack tells her why he’s getting divorced: about his son and that he had a drinking problem. He also mentioned he’ll have to leave soon. Then they go dancing and kiss. She hears mention of Sweetwater, where Flossy just came from, and it’s then that she realizes it’s a brothel.

She comes home to confront Charlie; she learns that Priscilla, who runs Sweetwater, is a terrible person who cheats her employees. She also explains that she used to be a prostitute and that this is the only way they’re gonna be able to get enough money to save all of them.

Birdie still says no, and as she goes into town to telegram Mrs. Tartt, she bumps into Garnett, who says she’s planning to take Meg back from her new family. 

Meg

Meg observes Lucille and Tom’s relationship. Sometimes Lucille is lovey-dovey; other times she’s yelling at him, especially when Tom is asking her to cut back on her drinking. Lucille decides she’s going to Memphis to stay in a hotel to go shopping for a few days.

While she’s gone, Tom teaches Meg to swim at the lake, where she also meets up with Marybeth and Gloria, her new cousins. She also bonds with Tom and his mother. When Lucille comes back, she brings with her three cases of illegal booze. She is on Tom to get more money from his parents. Then the letter from Birdie arrives, almost blowing their cover to Mrs. Heidelberg.

Birdie

Flossy and Charlie are about to leave when Birdie says she’s changed her mind. She doesn’t like the plan, but she wants to save Meg, the Tartts, and her own family home. Flossy, Charlie, and Birdie begin laying out the plans to open the business. The phone line comes back, and they put an ad in the paper in a code only prostitutes will understand. Then Birdie calls to check in on Meg and talks to Willy-May, revealing she’s calling from the Oxford, not Memphis, as the Heidelberg parents had been told. She leaves a message and asks for a callback. 

While fixing up the house, Birdie asks Flossy why she got into the business. Her uncle was raising her and her sister and gave her the option: one of you can stay in school; the other needs to go to work in a brothel. Flossy took the brothel job at 12 to protect her 11-year-old sister. Mrs. Heidelberg returns Birdie’s call. She confronts Meg about where the orphanage actually is located. Mrs. Heidelberg explains that she wants to have her son send Meg back and explains that she knows Dr. Pittman and might have him help straighten it all out.

After the ad runs in the paper, they start to interview girls; they explain the costs and also that the house will pay for disease testing. One woman comes in, but she has syphilis, so they turn her down. Birdie serves dinner all the while thinking about all that can go wrong with opening a whorehouse. 

They hired some girls, and then Esmerelda showed up, having turned them down earlier, but after going to Sweetwater, she came right back. Charlie called a meeting to prepare for their opening the next day. Birdie is sent to get condoms, the opening scene from the prologue. The girls are sent to town to give out cards advertising the business. Esmerelda drives them into town in her fancy car, a gift from her father. 

Dr. Pittman is waiting for Birdie when she comes out of the bank, and he asks her to stop calling the Heidelbergs. When she gets back to the house, she sees Charlie talking to Mr. Binny. She’s asking his band to play for them and for him to keep a secret when he drives the college boys out to their business. He agrees.

Miss Cunningham arrives at the house to do the testing for the women instead of Dr. Kleinkamp because he says it’s not worth the danger of getting caught. She’s gonna test the girls in the kitchen; she’s gonna take some from the school where she’s going to be a doctor. She’s clearly upset about the way women are treated in the medical field and even by her own professors. All the girls are clear.

At last, it’s opening night. Only one person shows up; he takes a look around and immediately bolts away. Birdie is discouraged, but Charlie is optimistic. Then Bertie tells her that Garnett is trying to get Meg returned to the orphanage. Charlie is furious.

Meg

Lucille, Tom, and Meg head to Mrs. Heidelberg’s for dinner. Mrs. Heidelberg starts asking about Memphis and wants to go visit the orphanage. Tom shares that he is almost done with his book, and he talks about how Meg has made such a difference in their lives. His parents seem proud.

The next morning, Mrs. Heidelberg brings Meg to see her and confront her about lying about the orphanage she came from. But she also says she’s proud of the impact she’s made on Tom. She asks about the drinking; Meg lies and says Tom and Lucille don’t drink, and she promises to tell Mrs. Heidelberg if they do.

Tom begins to question Lucille about why she’s always keeping Meg away from the cousins. On the way to school, shopping with the cousins, Lucille explains that they’ve come back from New York because it was so expensive. She was pregnant, lost the baby, and had to give up her job. 

Meg is left out while shopping from the cousins. Marybeth wants to buy Meg a doll, but her mom says Lucille can pay for it, and then Marybeth lets slip that Mrs. Heidelberg doesn’t trust “Tom’s white trash wife for as far as she can throw her.” Insisting it’s not Meg’s fault Lucille can’t get a cent. Lucille hears and starts hollering at her SIL. Rowena stands up for Marybeth, saying she was just trying to do something nice and offering her old toys to Meg. She tells Meg this family will always treat them both differently and they need to look out for themselves. That night, Meg overhears Lucille threatening to leave Tom if he can’t get them back on the deposits.

The next day, Marybeth sends a letter to Meg apologizing, but then, on a second page, she says she’s not sorry at all but hopes they can be friends. Mrs. Heidelberg arrives to confront Tom and Lucille about the adoption lie after Lucille demands to be on the deposits. She then lets Lucille know what she really thinks about her and tells her she knows she got Meg for free and kept the money. Lucille says it’s not all her fault; it’s also that Tom lost money with his bookie. They won’t be getting the deposits. Tom resists drinking and goes back to writing.

Birdie

They still haven’t had any customers, so when Virginia Cummings shows up, she draws a map of where they should go to solicit the boys on campus. The ladies all dress Birdie up for her church date with Jack.

At church, Birdie discovers that Garnett has been made president of the Anti-Vice League. They are opposed to prostitution, alcohol, the tainting of a pure Christian nation, and “the mixing of races.” 

After church, Jack and Brody go back to his house where they almost have sex, but she says she needs more time. They played gin rummy, and then he told her that he’s gonna be leaving to head back to Jackson tomorrow and wasn’t sure when he would be back.

That night, they finally get their first two customers! Birdie bumps into Polly the next day in town and finds a letter for Charlie saying that she had registered Meg for school in California in the fall. Again, that night they have no customers. 

Virginia continues to talk about the injustices in female gynecological care she’s learning about. A boy delivered a telegraph to Birdie with instructions to call for news about Rory. That night, Flossy explains that her sister won’t even talk to her anymore, that once you are in this line of work, you can’t go back. 

The next day, Birdie talks to Frances, and she mentions going to see Jimmy, who told her he saw Rory two weeks ago when he tried on shoes and mentioned taking a train south. Frances is gonna go after him but needs money. Luckily, that night, after a crackdown around Sweetwater and Victoria passing word about the brothel, they are jumping with business.  Divided by thirds, Charlie, Mrs. Tartt, and Birdie each get 57 dollars.

After the evening is done, Bertie and Charlie have to stay up late washing sheets, so they decide to hire Polly and Picador to help them. She wants to keep them in the dark, but they figure it out immediately. By the end of the weekend, each partner has made $100.

They settle into a routine, and Birdie is able to send some money home and to Frances. The women continue to bond, and Polly and Picador keep making suggestions. Picador asks Charlie where the scars on her wrist came from. And she replies that ropes are cheaper than anesthesia. Birdie thinks about how Garnett had that done to Charlie, worrying about what she’ll do to her now.

Picador tells Birdie that she got a letter from Rory with the money he owed her; it was sent from Biloxi. She also suggests they don’t tell Francis and Mrs. Tartt yet, so they can finish earning the money they need.

Jack sends a letter implying he wants to marry Birdie and have children with her. Virginia helps Birdie feel better. They celebrate Flossy’s birthday, and the new total is $423 per partner. They decide to close in a week and a half.

The women continue telling their stories of when they started getting into the business and why. They also reveal their ages. It’s then that Flossy tells everyone she has a son, 13, who lives with her sister. Esmeralda also has a daughter.

They see a car idling outside and get worried that it might be the sheriff. Birdie volunteers to go down and make a deal. He’s already aware of Idlewild. He asks about mixing but then gets a call about a warrant. He mentions they will be up there soon, but she gets quite worried that something is off. Charlie doesn’t think he actually knows. They settle on staying open for a week.

Frances calls, saying she found Rory in Biloxi. He’s in jail for many charges. He hit a policeman with a car; he was drunk, trying to leave a party for gay men that the police were raiding. Frances saw him in the jail cell and felt almost like he wanted to get caught. He only had $40 on him, and Frances says that any other money he has will have to go toward a lawyer and bail. She’ll be home in about a week.

Birdie writes a letter to Jack explaining she can’t have children, and then she and the ladies go into town to mail it and run some errands. They see Garnett and the Anti-Vice League protesting the ending of Prohibition. The sheriff joins them. Birdie also learns about Section 213, which says a married man and wife can’t both be employed at once. On the cover of The Oxford Eagle is a picture of the sheriff dragging Priscilla and the other ladies of Sweetwater away with ropes. That’s probably the warrant the sheriff got.

Birdie tries to convince Charlie to close, but Charlie won’t; she needs more money to get to California with Meg. She also makes Birdie swear to adopt Meg if she gets arrested. Birdie promises.

—— Ending follows below ——

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Review of The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett

The Calamity Club Summary: Ending

Meg

Meg is upset because now the whole family knows where Meg came from, and Lucille is fighting with the whole family, and they are keeping the kids away from Meg. Meg tries to write Marybeth, but her letter is returned unopened, and then Big Tom shows up and yells at Tom.

Tom continues to teach Meg to swim, and he begins making plans to head to New York with Lucille and Meg to deliver his new manuscript. Lucille tries to get Tom to drink, but he doesn’t want to. She says she read Tom’s book while they were at the lake and then accuses Tom of plagiarism. She then picks apart his entire manuscript.  Lucille then tells Meg that Tom fails everything, including failing out of Yale. 

Meg writes a letter to Tom, telling him not to listen to Lucille, and then she goes downstairs in the middle of the night and tries to clean his office. She finds Lucille sleeping on the couch in Tom’s office. Meg sends her up to bed and goes to search for Tom, who is also drinking; she gets Tom to bed too.

Mrs. Heidelberg shows up, and Meg says that they are sick, but that Tom doesn’t want to see her. Meg colors while everyone sleeps, recalling how kind Birdie was to her when she painted the office. Tom wakes up and starts daydrinking. Meg is furious at Lucille. She goes back to sleep but wakes in the middle of the night to Tom drunk and singing and picking up rocks. He tells her to go back to sleep.

In the morning, Lucille comes back from the lake, saying that Tom rowed out to the center of it and jumped. She calls the big house, and workers come along with Tom’s parents. They find him dead at the bottom of the lake.

Over the next few days, family comes to the house to pay their respects.
The rest of the family is nice to Lucille and worried about Meg. Tom’s mom is having a particularly difficult time. Meanwhile, Lucille mostly ignores her. Meg doesn’t cry until Willy May hugs her. As much as she wouldn’t like to go, she is not permitted to attend the funeral.

At the funeral, Lucille accuses Mrs. Heidelberg of being the reason Tom died; she responds by ripping the family earrings off Lucille. Tom hasn’t left a will, so Meg and Lucille are unsure of what will happen to them. 

Lucille won’t let Meg go to school, and Meg ends up having to take care of her, making her food, lighting her cigarettes, and even learning to make a gin martini. At one point, Lucille confesses that Heidelberg blames her for losing while she was pregnant because she drank too much. Lucille almost let the house on fire.

Mrs. Heidelberg comes to the door, hugs Meg, and says she isn’t to blame. Then she yells at Lucille, accusing her of the poor treatment of Meg. Then she says that Lucille needs to go and will give her money to leave Meg and Tom’s family behind. Lucille takes the money and inquires what she’ll do with Meg. Mrs. Heidelberg says she’ll be sending her back to Oxford. Meg curls into a ball and says quietly, “I want my mommy.”

Birdie 

Homecoming weekend is upon them, and they are expecting to be busier than ever. Mr. Binny arrives unexpectedly with Frances and Mrs. Tartt. They refuse to go to a hotel; they agree to sleep in the attic.

They decide to keep the women upstairs tonight, and in the morning, Birdie will offer to pay Frances if she can keep Mrs. Tartt from figuring out what’s going on. For now, Birdie goes up to find out what happened to Rory.

Rory is still in jail, being held for manslaughter; we’re trying to hit the policeman with his car. She doesn’t know anything about what happened to the funds. The lawyer is trying to make an arrangement for Rory to keep the Tartt name out of the paper.

Frances explains that Rory is a homosexual, and Birdie admits she already knows. She said Rory’s idea was to go back in for treatment because she doesn’t want to get divorced. The next morning, Mrs. Tartt is delighted to see Polly and Picador before Birdie sends her off to the beauty parlor.

Birdie knows someone is watching the house, but they only have to make it to Saturday before they close for good. She heads to the bank to pay off the loan, but she learns all Mrs. Tartt owes is $1. She’s told it was a bank decision to dismiss the rest; she’s then told Jack did it for her.

After meeting Ruby and Flossie, Birdie prepares to tell Frances about what’s really happening at the house, but she starts out wrong and indignant; Frances insults her. She yells about never having had intercourse with her husband, and then she calls Birdie selfish for bringing the boarders in and not wondering how that would make Frances feel.  She accuses Birdie of being jealous that she could have children and then says it’s no wonder Jack left Birdie behind. Birdie thinks about all the selfless things she’s done, and she doesn’t even know where to start.

Flossie comes in and offers to help. Ruby comes in and orders her to sit down. And then they tell her the truth: “We are running a brothel.” It’s then that Flossie tells her it’s gonna be Frances’s job to keep Mrs. Tartt from finding out. They offer to give her $50 for her help. Then Ruby and Flossie tell her to start treating Birdie better, or Ruby will shave Frances’s hair off. They also say if she can’t do her job, they will tell the whole town Frances is also a prostitute if they get busted. Frances says that when it’s over, she never wants to see Birdie again.

Mrs. Tartt meets all the boarders and Virginia. Frances and Mrs. Tartt are given tickets to a double feature as a present from the boarders, so they leave. Then there is a knock on the door, and Jack arrives unexpectedly. He’s upset that she tried to break it off, when he would rather be with her and not have kids. He says he loves her, and he’s moving to Oxford in the fall as the head of the bank. Jack is confused by the boarders and the dance club; she can’t tell if he knows or not, but he calls her smart. He said it doesn’t change anything, but he hopes he can be good enough for her.

Mrs. Tartt and Frances come back to observe the dance lessons, then Charlie gives Mrs. Tartt her wedding ring back. Birdie takes Mrs. Tartt upstairs and then reminds Frances that they are doing this to save her home and their mama’s home. Downstairs, Virginia tells her that Esmeralda is worried her family might show up and give her away. But then Mrs. Tartt wakes up and comes down the stairs with Trixie in a bedsheet, calling after her; Mrs. Tartt thought she had heard Rory in his room, but it was a male customer.

Mrs. Tartt is frozen in shock, and that’s when Charlie hands her the more than $700 that is her share of the business and begs her to keep it open so she can have enough to get Meg. Frances realizes who Charlie’s daughter is immediately. Charlie and Birdie promise they will be done in 2 days. They tell her the mortgage is paid off. Mrs. Tartt realizes what it means for her and agrees to keep the brothel open through the weekend. 

The next morning, Frances confronts Birdie about Meg and Charlie, so Birdie tells her about who Meg’s father is. Frances realizes that’s why Garnett was so mean to Meg. Polly and Picador pretend they know nothing and don’t mention anything to Mrs. Tartt. While getting her nails painted by Flossie, Mrs. Tartt gets the call that Rory is out of jail and headed back in for treatment. 

Later, the girls discuss where they will go when this is done: Virginia to medical school in PA, Esmerelda to Paris, Flossie and Ruby to Chicago, Birdie to be with Jack and set up a bookkeeping business in Oxford. Charlie is hoping to reason with the Heidelbergs; Esmerelda offers her car to Charlie to get Meg in exchange for Charlie selling it for her in Memphis. That’s when it comes out that Esmerelda is passing for a white woman but is actually Black.

Frances is headed to the Orphanage to work; the women are setting up for the night, and Dr. Pittman shows up. He came to see Charlie and clearly still longs for her, but Charlie is fuming mad, accusing him of knowing what his horrible wife did and not caring. 

Welty says he didn’t know about the letters until it was too late. He thought Garnett would take care of her; he didn’t know how she was being treated. He came to tell Charlie about Tom and that Isabelle had asked him to come get Meg and bring her back to the orphanage. He said he told her that Birdie would be picking her up tomorrow.

That night, Frances talks to Birdie. She knows Rory will never love her, but she asks Birdie for money to clean her shoes. Birdie gives her $50. She tells Frances about her plans with Jack, and Frances says, “I can’t believe you got the bank president instead of me.” Then, when Frances is sleeping, Mrs. Tartt and Charlie dance, and then she dances around the floor alone. 

Birdie is woken up by Frances, who has come from the orphanage to tell her that Garnett is about to go get Meg. Birdie and Frances confront Garnett. Garnett throws an insult about Rory being gay at Frances when she learns they’ve been living with Charlie, and Frances throws one right back about Welty not taking care of his illegitimate child. They say Welty was there last night to see them.

Welty says it’s true, and he stops Garnett. Threatening to go to court, he takes Meg’s file and gives it to Birdie to let her go get Meg.

Meg 

Meg mentally prepares to go back to the orphanage and Garnett. Mrs. Heidelberg tells her to take all she needs, but doesn’t hug her again, and Meg thinks she will forget her. Meg remarks, “There is no feeling lonelier than knowing the people you love won’t remember your name soon.” 

Lucille gives her a quick hug goodbye and then leaves the Heidelberg’s around. She heads to Tom’s parent’s house and is instructed to wait outside for someone to pick her up. Willy May stays with her, feeding her milk and giving her a sandwich. 

A car arrives, and it’s not Garnett. It’s Charlie. They hug and reunite. Charlie apologizes, and Meg asks where she has been. Charlie says she has to hurry, and then they drive to Memphis. 

*Be aware that The Calamity Club summary will have spoilers from this point onward in addition to potentially triggering content.

The Calamity Club Character Guide

Main Characters

• Birdie Calhoun – Sent by her Mama and MeeMaw to ask her sister for help
• Meg (Margot) Lefleur – 11-year-old orphan separated from her Mom.
• Charlie – Meg’s Mama
• Miss Garnett Pittman – runs the Orphanage
• Frances Tartt – Birdie’s younger sister
• Roderick Tartt (Rory)- Frances’s husband
• Mrs. Viktoria Tartt- Frances’s MIL
• Jack Walsh – Banker, love interest of Birdie’s
• Tom and Lucille Heidelberg – Meg’s adopted family
• Flossy – Charlie’s friend and fellow prostitute

More Characters

• Ava – Meg’s friend 
• Dorella Pratt – Meg’s orphanage nemesis
• Mathilda Tate – Frances’s best friend; she volunteers at the orphanage
• Miss Pripp (Fatass by Meg) – Frances’s friend
• Polly and Picador – Frances’s servants
• Mr. Welty Pittman – Garnett’s Husband
• Mr. Binny – taxi driver
• Isabelle and Big Tom Heidelberg – Tom’s parents
• Willy May- Heidelberg’s maid
• Marybeth, Gloria – Tom’s nieces
• Jimmy Watts – Owner of Florsheim Shoes in Jackson
• Esmerelda, Ruby, Dixie, Trixie – Prostitutes
• Miss Cunningham – Medical student
• Priscilla – Owner of Sweetwater, a brothel

What to Read After The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett

Frequently Asked Questions

Epilogue

Did you like my summary of The Calamity Club? Will you choose The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett for your next book club?