Dear Mrs. Bird - By A. J. Pearce ( Paperback )

About the Book

"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"--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

This charming, irresistible debut novel set in London during World War II about a young woman who longs to be a war correspondent and inadvertently becomes a secret advice columnist is "a jaunty, heartbreaking winner" (People)--for fans of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and Lilac Girls.

Emmeline Lake and her best friend Bunty are doing their bit for the war effort and trying to stay cheerful, despite the German planes making their nightly raids. Emmy dreams of becoming a Lady War Correspondent, and when she spots a job advertisement in the newspaper she seizes her chance; but after a rather unfortunate misunderstanding, she finds herself typing letters for the formidable Henrietta Bird, renowned advice columnist of Woman's Friend magazine.

Mrs. Bird is very clear: letters containing any Unpleasantness must go straight into the bin. But as Emmy reads the desperate pleas from women who many have Gone Too Far with the wrong man, or can't bear to let their children be evacuated, she begins to secretly write back to the readers who have poured out their troubles.

"Fans of Jojo Moyes will enjoy AJ Pearce's debut, with its plucky female characters and fresh portrait of women's lives in wartime Britain" (Library Journal)--a love letter to the enduring power of friendship, the kindness of strangers, and the courage of ordinary people in extraordinary times. "Headlined by its winning lead character, who always keeps carrying on, Pearce's novel is a delight" (Publishers Weekly). Irrepressibly funny and enormously moving, Dear Mrs. Bird is "funny and poignant...about the strength of women and the importance of friendship" (Star Tribune, Minneapolis).

Review Quotes

"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

"A marvelous treat. Charming and delightful."
--Nina Stibbe, author of Love, Nina

"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

"Charming and funny."
--New York Post

"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

"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

"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

"I relished every moment of Dear Mrs. Bird. What a joy! Hilarious, heartwarming, and unutterably charming."
--Jennifer Ryan, author of The Chilbury Ladies' Choir

"Perfect wartime details, but it's the voice that really makes this debut shine. A tragicomedy set amid falling bombs, it's a jaunty, heartbreaking winner."
--People

"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

"There is more to this very English novel than first meets the eye . . . a delightful read -- funny and poignant . . . It is about the home front during war, yes, but even more it is about the strength of women, the importance of friendship and the toll of stoicism.
--Laurie Hertzel, Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Utterly charming and helplessly funny."
--Jenny Colgan, author of The Bookshop on the Corner

"Vividly evocative of wartime life... a very English tribute to the women of the homefront." --Kirkus

About The Author

AJ Pearce grew up in Hampshire, England. She studied at the University of Sussex and Northwestern University. A chance discovery of a 1939 women's magazine became the inspiration for her international bestseller, Dear Mrs. Bird, the first novel in The Emmeline Lake Chronicles series. She lives in the south of England.