Dear Mrs. Bird: A Novelvolume 1 (The Emmy Lake Chronicles) - Softcover

Pearce, A J

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1501170074 ISBN 13: 9781501170072

Publisher: Scribner Book Company, 2019

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).

About this title

Review:

"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

"Charming and funny."
--New York Post

"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

"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

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 first novel, Dear Mrs. Bird. She lives in the south of England and is at work on her second book.

About this edition

• Publisher: Scribner Book Company
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1501170074
• ISBN 13: 9781501170072
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288