Cover Image: Dear Mrs Bird

Dear Mrs Bird

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Member Reviews

Took me a while to get into this book as I felt the characters were a bit wooden and the plot all too predictable but I persevered and quite enjoyed it in the end. At the height of the blitz, Em applies for a job in a newspaper mistakenly thinking she’ll be rubbing shoulders with war correspondents but ends up sorting letters addressed to a dull woman’s magazine’s agony aunt Mrs Bird. Unusual approach to the perils of wartime in London should be popular with fans of the genre. Thanks to netgalley for a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

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An Awfully Good book. It portrays the realities of Keeping Calm and Carrying On in an entertaining and thought provoking way. It made me laugh and cry. Jolly Well Done!

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This is a first novel and the publishers seem to have high hopes for it. 1940 and our heroine Emmeline dreams of becoming a Lady War Correspondent. Instead, through a misunderstanding she takes a secretarial job with a failing women’s magazine. The formidable ‘Mrs Bird’ is the paper’s agony aunt but refuses to deal with any ‘unpleasantness’ i.e most of the problems readers write in with. Emmeline secretly and dangerously (for her job) begins answering some of the letters herself because she feels sorry for the writers. This was such a good idea and could have worked well but for me it doesn’t come off. There’s no real need for the story to be set in wartime; early 1950s would have done. It’s really two books: Emmeline and her ambition and Emmeline and the war. Judging by the breathless, schoolgirl style of her writing, she would never have made a war correspondent, so that aspect is rather silly.

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London 1940 and Emmeline Lake wants to become a reporter and do her bit for the war effort. The chirpy language takes the reader straight to 1940 to the 'can do' and 'we can beat this' attitude of the time.
Emmy gets what she thinks is her dream job, but then realises she is actually assistant to an Agony Aunt - Mrs Bird- who has a very strict moral code.
This book takes the reader through a rainbow of emotions; one minute laughing at the situations Emmy
finds herself in, the next crying at the devastation of both human life and dreams of the future.
Colourful characters abound and I would recommend this as a social insight into living in London through the war. A sequel would be good too!

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I really enjoyed this book and finished it in just a couple of sittings.

It is a gentle read that has touches of humour and a couple of tear jerk moments. The characters are well developed and likeable.

I would recommend this book.

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A lovely gem of a story, really easy to read and I was quickly drawn into the war era. Fully recommend to anyone who enjoys historical fiction. Only problem is it ended too soon!

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This is set in WW2, and is about a young woman who wants to be a Lady War Correspondent, but ends up working on a women’s magazine under the most unsympathetic agony aunt ever.

The voice is fantastic. I am very fussy about the voice in historical fiction. If it doesn’t sound right I can’t read the book. I did just stop reading something because the heroine was eating pavlova in 1913. Research your puddings, my friend. Anyhow, I’m telling you that because the voice in this is perfect. Bright, chipper, chin up, putting on a brave face and the very last of the rouge.

I loved the story, but I’m not going to tell you about it because I really want you to read this book. And I loved Emmy, who is bright and funny, and trying awfully hard to make the best of things. All the characters in the book are really well drawn, their problems are real problems, things get messy, the out and out nastiness of war is shown in little moments, but also the excitement just of being young, and feeling that you are doing something worthwhile; the excitement of going out and having fun while the bombs are falling all around you.

It’s a lovely read. I recommend it.

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This is an utterly adorable novel. There are no other words for it. I can see this being a massive hit - it certainly cheered me up during a miserable November with its message of Keep Calm and Carry On but don't be afraid to ask for help if you really need it. Dear Mrs Bird is less an historical novel than an immersion in the kind of imagined 1940s that we like to reminisce about, full of plucky girls, dashing chaps and a sense of stoic commitment to a good national cause. It verges on the twee at times, especially in its chapter titles - one, for example, is called 'The Prospect of Pineapple Chunks' - but carries all of this off with its sheer good humour and the way that it really makes you care about its central characters. Because of this, it's consistently gripping, and there's a tense few chapters about two-thirds of the way through where I genuinely couldn't put it down. I would recommend this to anybody who needs a pick-me-up.

I received a review copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. I will post a fuller review when the book is published in April 2018.

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What a poignant and funny novel set in wartime London when Emmy and her friend Bunny are sharing a flat at the top of Bunny’s grandmother’s home. Life is boring in the solicitor’s office so Emmy applies for a job with the press and through a misreading of her dream job as a war correspindent she ends up working for Mrs Bird in People’s Friend. Emmy cannot obey the strict rules of who Mrs Bird replies to in her Problem Page and begins for reply to the genuinely distressed ladies who write in with funny and disasterous results. Also into mix throw a fiancé who sends her a telegram saying he is marrying a nurse plus a dour fiction writer, some delightful publication staff and one gets a great novel. Bunny and William are part of her world as she works with him in Auxilliary Fire Service and he is Bunny’s soulmate. The war is at his height and the novelist’s carefully created story against this background brings alive the “live for day” attitude of those in wartime London who still went to the pictures or went dancing. A great read!

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This book is made me laugh. It is funny in places and an easy read. Emmy is a likeable character who is trying to help but does not think out the consequences of what she is doing. There is a 1940s feel about the book. It easy to imagine being there. There has obviously been a lot of research put into this book.

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I enjoyed this book,a bit different from my usual reads which usually have some historical content. It was a bit predictable at the end, but an enjoyable light hearted romp. I would read more from this author when I come across her.

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London, 1940: Emmeline Lake spends her days working as a secretary for Strawman’s Solicitors and her nights as a volunteer telephone operator for the Auxiliary Fire Service, but dreams of a future as a Lady War Correspondent. Her dreams seem one step closer to coming true when she spots a job advertisement for an Office Junior at Launceston Press, publishers of the London Evening Chronicle.

Emmy imagines herself in a busy newsroom, learning the business of reporting from the ground up. Reality proves rather different though, and via an unfortunate failure to listen properly at her interview, Emmy accidentally finds herself instead at Woman’s Friend magazine typing up problem page letters for the ferocious Mrs Bird, whose list of Unacceptable Topics doesn’t leave much she’s willing to answer.

But there are a lot of women out there who need help and guidance, even on Unacceptable Topics. If Mrs Bird refuses to provide it, maybe Emmy should?

I knew from the first page I was going to love this book, and love it I did. Emmy is an incredibly engaging heroine - intelligent, funny, brave and loyal, but far from perfect. I should think it’s impossible not to warm to her and to root for her throughout, even when she makes somewhat rash choices. The other characters are similarly lovable (well.... maybe not Mrs Bird) and well drawn.

The frightening reality of life in blitz-torn London is not played down, and my tears were flowing freely at points as the effects of war came horribly close to home for Emmy.

If I have any complaint at all it’s that the ending was perhaps a little abrupt, although that could just be because I really didn’t want it to end!

A delightful read which I’m sure is destined to be very successful.

A similar review will also be posted in due course on my blog http://atickettoeverywhere,blogspot.co.uk and on Amazon.

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A good easy read. Emmeline Lake, eager to become a "proper" wartime journalist, by accident winds up as the agony aunt's assistant of a women's magazine that is down on its luck. Will she be able to suppress her journalistic urges, will she survive the heavy bombing of London and find "The Man"?
At the start, the book seemed to be a bit too "jolly hockeysticks" for me, but soon I was eager to follow Emmy's footsteps and root for her in her ups and downs.

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I absolutely loved this book.
I cared about Emmy and Bunty as if they were my own friends.
There is masses of period detail, and tiny facts are nestled into the prose.
A delight.
Read it in one day because I couldn't put it down.

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I enjoyed this book. I found the main character a bit saccharine at times,, but the storyline was interesting and absorbing.

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I was a little confused at the start as to the target audience for this book, the language is reasonably young and flippant and to be honest this really annoyed me to start. By the time I'd read a few chapters this didn't matter and I'd fallen in love with the characters and sobbed my way through parts of the novel. This is a wonderful addition to WW2 fiction and if you liked Their Finest then this book is for you.

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I thought this was a lovely story. I was a little bemused by the style initially until I realised it was aimed at the children's market. The story, set in wartime London, follows the fate of Emmy who wants to be a Lady War Correspondent and applies to work at a newspaper. The Blitz is going on but life continues with love, arguments, and growing up. It's a very gentle tale and I would recommend it for 10-13 year olds.

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I really enjoyed this lighthearted, sweet story. Emmy is a very likeable character, and her friendship with Bunty is a perfect best friend friendship. I also really liked the various characters at the magazine where Emmy works, who were easy to imagine, even with just small sideline roles. The dark desperation of the London bomb raids was there, and yet they're written with a light touch. You see the horror, but it doesn't become such a depressing read that it's unbearable.

My only complaint was that I often felt like Emmy sounded too contemporary...although there are lots of bits of vocab from the period liberally sprinkled throughout they felt forced somehow. I'm probably being far too picky because I see lots of readers have already absolutely loved this. It was just a personal feeling, that something didn't quite sit right in the way the characters were talking. Perhaps there were just too many phrases that made it seem like the author was trying too hard to evoke the period? I'm not sure. It's a shame because otherwise I really did enjoy the story very much, and I was extremely anxious towards the end, worried for Emmy and the resolution of her story.

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The Second World War may not seem like the most obvious place to start for a cheery read, but Dear Mrs Bird is a tonic for these doom-and-gloom times. The resilience of the characters, their optimism and their determination to make the best of what life throws at them is uplifting and refreshing. This book is like a hug, a cup of tea, and a ‘pull yourself together’ pep talk in book form. I’d definitely recommend!

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I read this book in one sitting as it is such a great read. Living in London through WW2 Emmy aspires to be a journalist and is excited when she lands herself a job with a newspaper only to discover that there is a misunderstanding and she is employed as a typist to Mrs Bird who writes the advice column for the newspaper’s failing sister magazine. Mrs Bird is set in her ways and Emmy soon starts pushing the boundaries by answering the incoming letters herself. Will she be discovered? This book captures the effects of the blitz so well and walks us through the terror and pain experienced by so many but somehow manages to remain comforting and cheery. Thank you to Pan Macmillan for providing me with a free copy of this book for an honest review.

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