Dear Mrs Bird
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4.0 • 31 Ratings
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- £9.99
Publisher Description
The Richard & Judy Book Club Pick and Sunday Times Bestseller
'Funny, fresh, and touching, Dear Mrs Bird is a treat of a read.' Annie Barrows, author of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
'The sweetest, most uplifting, lovely book about courage, friendship, love . . . It'll be huge; it deserves to be' Marian Keyes
London, 1941. Emmeline Lake and her best friend Bunty are trying to stay cheerful despite the Luftwaffe making life thoroughly annoying for everyone. 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, the renowned agony aunt of Woman’s Friend magazine.
Mrs Bird is very clear: letters containing any form of Unpleasantness must go straight into the bin. But as Emmy reads the desperate pleas from women who may have Gone Too Far with the wrong man, or can't bear to let their children be evacuated, she decides the only thing for it is to secretly write back . . .
Irresistibly funny and enormously moving, Dear Mrs Bird by AJ Pearce is a love letter to the enduring power of friendship, the kindness of strangers and the courage of ordinary people in extraordinary times.
'A marvellous treat. Charming and delightful' Nina Stibbe
'A joy from start to finish. Dear Mrs Bird is as funny as it is heart-warming' John Boyne
Customer Reviews
*A Bittersweet Tale*
This tale seemed like it was going to be a delicate and gently funny. But instead it’s a story of friendship, hardship, tragedy and real heartbreak.
Emmeline Lake (Aka Emmy) has a dream. She wants to be a war correspondent. She helps out by taking calls from people who need help and rescue due to the constant bombs and the loneliness that is felt by the families left behind due to the war. This is her war effort helping out but Emmy needs more.
A chance comes up when Emmy spots an advert for a junior working for a prominent newspaper & publishing company. She is so full of her dreams that she hardly hears a word about the job at the interview and is accepted on the spot.
When Emmy starts work she is made aware of what her role is. The assistant Editor is the formidable Henrietta Bird. She seems to have her fingers in many pies and often booms out her many missions as she wafts out of the office under the banner “IMPORTANT WAR WORK”
She also answers letters for Women’s Friend magazine.
Mrs Bird is an agony aunt with a difference. She will never answer any letters that include what she calls “unpleasantness” which includes feelings, love & relationships etc the list is exhaustive. Emmy’s job is to sift through the letters and only leave the suitable ones for Mrs Bird to answer. The rest go in the bin. For Emmy it’s a step too far. So she decides to answer the odd one in the guise of Mrs Bird - what could go wrong?…..
Will the letters catch up with Emmy? Will she be found out? Her best friend Marigold (Aka Bunty) has warned her not to write anymore replies…. Then a tragedy happens and it derails Bunty’s future plans and Emmy is blamed and how will it change their relationship?….