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A Novel
by AJ Pearce
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.
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.
"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
"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
"Although the jauntiness and feel-good tone can grate on occasion, especially during the farcical wrap-up, this is a readable, well-intentioned, very English tribute to the women of the home-front." - Kirkus Reviews
"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 joy from start to finish. Dear Mrs. Bird is as funny as it is heartwarming." - John Boyne, author of The Heart's Invisible Furies
"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
"I relished every moment of Dear Mrs. Bird. What a joy! Hilarious, heartwarming, and unutterably charming." - Jennifer Ryan, author of The Chilbury Ladies' Choir
"A marvelous treat. Charming and delightful." - Nina Stibbe, author of Love, Nina
This information about Dear Mrs. Bird was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
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 first novel, Dear Mrs. Bird. She lives in the south of England.
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