Dear Mrs. Bird: A Novel
by AJ Pearce
[i]“A marvelous treat. Charming and delightful.” —Nina Stibbe--author of *Love, Nina.[/i]
An irresistible debut set in London during World War II about an adventurous young woman who becomes a secret advice columnist— a warm, funny, and enormously moving story for fans of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and Lilac Girls.
London, 1940. Emmeline Lake is Doing Her Bit for the war effort, volunteering as a telephone operator with the Auxiliary Fire Services. When Emmy sees an advertisement for a job at the London Evening Chronicle, her dreams of becoming a Lady War Correspondent suddenly seem achievable. But the job turns out to be working as a typist for the fierce and renowned advice columnist, Henrietta Bird. Emmy is disappointed, but gamely bucks up and buckles down.
Mrs. Bird is very clear: letters containing any Unpleasantness must go straight in the bin. But when Emmy reads poignant notes from women who may have Gone Too Far with the wrong men, or who can’t bear to let their children be evacuated, she is unable to resist responding. As the German planes make their nightly raids, and London picks up the smoldering pieces each morning, Emmy secretly begins to write back to the readers who have poured out their troubles.
Prepare to fall head over heels for Emmy and her best friend, Bunty, who are gutsy and spirited, even in the face of a terrible blow. The irrepressible Emmy keeps writing letters in this hilarious and enormously moving tale of friendship, the kindness of strangers, and ordinary people in extraordinary times.
**Amazon.com Review
An Amazon Best Book of July 2018: In this funny, uplifting novel set during the London Blitz, first-time author AJ Pearce shows herself to be a master of wartime vernacular speech and period charm. Though Emmeline Lake, Pearce’s outspoken narrator, dreams of becoming a serious journalist, she rashly accepts a job as junior secretary to “Mrs. Bird,” a women’s advice columnist whose views on behavior are as outmoded as her tweeds. Mrs. Bird won’t deign to reply to readers with real-world problems, but Emmeline can’t resist offering them the support she knows they need. Before long, she’s writing back on her employer’s stationary, and her well-intentioned counsel begins to threaten her relationships at work and at home. Nighttime bombing raids bring danger and pathos to this otherwise giddy, delectable story. If you enjoyed Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand or Chris Cleave’s Everyone Brave is Forgiven, Dear Mrs. Bird might be your favorite book of the summer. —Sarah Harrison Smith, Amazon Book Review
Review
“Funny, fresh, and touching, Dear Mrs. Bird is a pitch-perfect pleasure. It’s a rare and wonderful thing to read a book that seems to live properly in its era.”
—Annie Barrows, New York Times bestselling co-author of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society
“A marvelous treat. Charming and delightful.”
—Nina Stibbe, author of Love, Nina
“A joy from start to finish. Dear Mrs. Bird is as funny as it is heartwarming.”
—John Boyne, author of The Heart's Invisible Furies
"I relished every moment of Dear Mrs. Bird. What a joy! Hilarious, heartwarming, and unutterably charming." --Jennifer Ryan, author of The Chilbury Ladies' Choir
“Vividly evocative of wartime life… a very English tribute to the women of the homefront.” —Kirkus
“Fans of Jojo Moyes will enjoy Pearce’s debut, with its plucky female characters and fresh portrait of women’s lives in wartime Britain.”
—Library Journal
"Set against a backdrop of war-torn London, this is a charming and heartfelt novel. Pearce brings to life a tale of true friendship, and how love will outlast even the most challenging times." --Booklist
"The sweetest, most uplifting, lovely book about courage, friendship, love." --Marian Keyes
"Clever... The novel has a wonderfully droll tone, a reminder of the exuberance of youth even under dire circumstances. Headlined by its winning lead character, who always keeps carrying on, Pearce’s novel is a delight." --Publishers Weekly
"Emmeline Lake, the heroine of Dear Mrs. Bird, is the most endearing character to emerge from the world of British fiction since Bridget Jones. She’s funny, she’s indefatigable, and she faces the worst of circumstances with the pluckiest of resolves. You cannot help but love her."—Kimmery Martin, author of The Queen of Hearts
"A winning wartime romp, as hilarious as it is moving....the novel's spirit is madly winning, and its foregrounding of wartime women seems spiffingly modern." --The Guardian
“Books that make you shake with laughter and sob with tears are rare. I gulped this one down but didn’t stop thinking about it for a long time.”
—Katie Fforde, author of A Secret Garden
An irresistible debut set in London during World War II about an adventurous young woman who becomes a secret advice columnist— a warm, funny, and enormously moving story for fans of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and Lilac Girls.
London, 1940. Emmeline Lake is Doing Her Bit for the war effort, volunteering as a telephone operator with the Auxiliary Fire Services. When Emmy sees an advertisement for a job at the London Evening Chronicle, her dreams of becoming a Lady War Correspondent suddenly seem achievable. But the job turns out to be working as a typist for the fierce and renowned advice columnist, Henrietta Bird. Emmy is disappointed, but gamely bucks up and buckles down.
Mrs. Bird is very clear: letters containing any Unpleasantness must go straight in the bin. But when Emmy reads poignant notes from women who may have Gone Too Far with the wrong men, or who can’t bear to let their children be evacuated, she is unable to resist responding. As the German planes make their nightly raids, and London picks up the smoldering pieces each morning, Emmy secretly begins to write back to the readers who have poured out their troubles.
Prepare to fall head over heels for Emmy and her best friend, Bunty, who are gutsy and spirited, even in the face of a terrible blow. The irrepressible Emmy keeps writing letters in this hilarious and enormously moving tale of friendship, the kindness of strangers, and ordinary people in extraordinary times.
**Amazon.com Review
An Amazon Best Book of July 2018: In this funny, uplifting novel set during the London Blitz, first-time author AJ Pearce shows herself to be a master of wartime vernacular speech and period charm. Though Emmeline Lake, Pearce’s outspoken narrator, dreams of becoming a serious journalist, she rashly accepts a job as junior secretary to “Mrs. Bird,” a women’s advice columnist whose views on behavior are as outmoded as her tweeds. Mrs. Bird won’t deign to reply to readers with real-world problems, but Emmeline can’t resist offering them the support she knows they need. Before long, she’s writing back on her employer’s stationary, and her well-intentioned counsel begins to threaten her relationships at work and at home. Nighttime bombing raids bring danger and pathos to this otherwise giddy, delectable story. If you enjoyed Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand or Chris Cleave’s Everyone Brave is Forgiven, Dear Mrs. Bird might be your favorite book of the summer. —Sarah Harrison Smith, Amazon Book Review
Review
“Funny, fresh, and touching, Dear Mrs. Bird is a pitch-perfect pleasure. It’s a rare and wonderful thing to read a book that seems to live properly in its era.”
—Annie Barrows, New York Times bestselling co-author of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society
“A marvelous treat. Charming and delightful.”
—Nina Stibbe, author of Love, Nina
“A joy from start to finish. Dear Mrs. Bird is as funny as it is heartwarming.”
—John Boyne, author of The Heart's Invisible Furies
"I relished every moment of Dear Mrs. Bird. What a joy! Hilarious, heartwarming, and unutterably charming." --Jennifer Ryan, author of The Chilbury Ladies' Choir
“Vividly evocative of wartime life… a very English tribute to the women of the homefront.” —Kirkus
“Fans of Jojo Moyes will enjoy Pearce’s debut, with its plucky female characters and fresh portrait of women’s lives in wartime Britain.”
—Library Journal
"Set against a backdrop of war-torn London, this is a charming and heartfelt novel. Pearce brings to life a tale of true friendship, and how love will outlast even the most challenging times." --Booklist
"The sweetest, most uplifting, lovely book about courage, friendship, love." --Marian Keyes
"Clever... The novel has a wonderfully droll tone, a reminder of the exuberance of youth even under dire circumstances. Headlined by its winning lead character, who always keeps carrying on, Pearce’s novel is a delight." --Publishers Weekly
"Emmeline Lake, the heroine of Dear Mrs. Bird, is the most endearing character to emerge from the world of British fiction since Bridget Jones. She’s funny, she’s indefatigable, and she faces the worst of circumstances with the pluckiest of resolves. You cannot help but love her."—Kimmery Martin, author of The Queen of Hearts
"A winning wartime romp, as hilarious as it is moving....the novel's spirit is madly winning, and its foregrounding of wartime women seems spiffingly modern." --The Guardian
“Books that make you shake with laughter and sob with tears are rare. I gulped this one down but didn’t stop thinking about it for a long time.”
—Katie Fforde, author of A Secret Garden