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Title details for Dear Mrs. Bird by AJ Pearce - Available

Dear Mrs. Bird

by AJ Pearce
Anna Popplewell
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
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).

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    July 3, 2018

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781508255192
      • File size: 282698 KB
      • Duration: 09:48:57

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      May 28, 2018
      Pearce’s clever debut follows a plucky Londoner during the Blitz who dreams about becoming a war correspondent. When 22-year-old Emmeline Lake sees an ad for a “Junior” from the London Evening Chronicle’s publisher in 1940, she believes this will be the start of her journalism career. Alas, the job entails assisting Henrietta Bird, the advice columnist in Women’s Friend, a magazine dying off from fustiness. Henrietta is a literary Violet Crawley who won’t answer letters involving any unpleasantness, which eliminates most everything pertinent. Emmy, however, fails to destroy unsuitable letters as instructed, instead answering them privately under Mrs. Bird’s forged signature. Meanwhile, she and her best friend, Bunty, demonstrate resolve as bombs rain down night after night and Emmy’s fiancé informs her, via overseas telegram, that he is leaving her for a nurse. 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.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      In a performance that transports the listener to WWII-era London, narrator Anna Popplewell becomes Emmy Lake who, like many others, is doing what she can to help the war effort. Emmy and her best friend live a carefree life, even while the Germans bomb the city. Emmy, whose greatest desire is to be a Lady War Correspondent, takes a job at a women's magazine, working under Mrs. Bird, a gregarious, assertive advice columnist. Ultimately, Emmy decides to respond to letters on "unpleasant" topics as if SHE is Mrs. Bird. Popplewell embodies Emmy and the sundry characters who are part of her world, both during carefree times and as they struggle with the devastation of the war. A thoroughly enjoyable listen. A.L.S.M. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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