Dear Mrs. Bird (The Emmy Lake Chronicles)

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).
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Community Reviews
Set in and around London at the height of the Blitz. Emmeline (Emmy) Lake a 23/24 year old middle class young woman has ambitions of being a war correspondent! She is already ‘doing her bit’ to assist the war effort by being a volunteer part time call handler with the Auxiliary Fire Service. One day she sees in the Sits Vac a vacancy in the offices of a newspaper. She says to herself “this is just what I am looking for”. But is it? What does the advertisement fail to mention? For those of a certain age or those interested in the social history of WW2 you will, I hope, find the revealing of what life was like for the ordinary people and the more privileged illuminating.
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