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A review by nothingforpomegranted
Dear Mrs. Bird by A.J. Pearce
5.0
This book made me laugh out loud and cry in public as I walked down the street listening to Anna Popplewell's fabulous rendition of this incredible book.
Emmeline Lake is a fiery, patriotic, ambitious young woman with goals of becoming a Lady War Correspondent. When an advertisement appears in the newspaper seeking a junior typist at the London Evening Chronicle, Emmy and her friend Bunty are ecstatic. Here is Emmy's chance! Except, as it turns out, Emmy's dream job at the Chronicle turns out to be a job sorting incoming letters for the thunderous Mrs. Henrietta Bird of the Henrietta Helps column at Woman's Friend, decidedly not war journalism. This disappointment is made worse by the realization that Mrs. Bird refuses to answer the vast majority of the letters due to their references to "unpleasantnesses." Mrs. Bird will not acknowledge any letter writers who speak about affairs, premarital relations, marital relations, extramarital relations, politics, war, or a long list of other offenses.
Encouraged to do the best she can in her situation by her colleague, Mr. Collins, Emmy decides to respond to some of the letters on her own, unable to bear the thought of so many kind women with nowhere else to turn going without the advice she thinks they deserve. After all, helping women whose lives have been ravaged by war is an important contribution to the war effort, and Emmy is nothing if not determined to do her very best to defend London against the Luftwaffe and Hitler. In addition to her new job at, Emmy is also a telephone operator at the Auxiliary Fire Services, where William, Bunty's boyfriend, is a firefighter, having been prevented from serving at the front by his damaged hearing.
The relationships among these three characters, as well as Emmy's coworkers at the magazine and the AFS, are honest, raw, and heartwarming. Their love for each other is endearing, especially given the context of war surrounding, and it was wonderful to celebrate with them and to grieve with them as the months passed and tensions rose.
[a:A.J. Pearce|5230303|A.J. Pearce|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1520156325p2/5230303.jpg]'s writing is well-researched, beautifully written, and entirely immersive, and [a:Anna Popplewell|4798164|Anna Popplewell|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]'s narration brought life to every single one of the characters in the most wonderful way. It was hard to stop listening to get my work done because I just wanted to know what happened next. A light read about war that doesn't deny the hardships is such a fresh take on the trend of World War II fiction that has characterized much of the last several years, and I loved every minute of it.
Emmeline Lake is a fiery, patriotic, ambitious young woman with goals of becoming a Lady War Correspondent. When an advertisement appears in the newspaper seeking a junior typist at the London Evening Chronicle, Emmy and her friend Bunty are ecstatic. Here is Emmy's chance! Except, as it turns out, Emmy's dream job at the Chronicle turns out to be a job sorting incoming letters for the thunderous Mrs. Henrietta Bird of the Henrietta Helps column at Woman's Friend, decidedly not war journalism. This disappointment is made worse by the realization that Mrs. Bird refuses to answer the vast majority of the letters due to their references to "unpleasantnesses." Mrs. Bird will not acknowledge any letter writers who speak about affairs, premarital relations, marital relations, extramarital relations, politics, war, or a long list of other offenses.
Encouraged to do the best she can in her situation by her colleague, Mr. Collins, Emmy decides to respond to some of the letters on her own, unable to bear the thought of so many kind women with nowhere else to turn going without the advice she thinks they deserve. After all, helping women whose lives have been ravaged by war is an important contribution to the war effort, and Emmy is nothing if not determined to do her very best to defend London against the Luftwaffe and Hitler. In addition to her new job at
The relationships among these three characters, as well as Emmy's coworkers at the magazine and the AFS, are honest, raw, and heartwarming. Their love for each other is endearing, especially given the context of war surrounding, and it was wonderful to celebrate with them and to grieve with them as the months passed and tensions rose.
[a:A.J. Pearce|5230303|A.J. Pearce|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1520156325p2/5230303.jpg]'s writing is well-researched, beautifully written, and entirely immersive, and [a:Anna Popplewell|4798164|Anna Popplewell|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]'s narration brought life to every single one of the characters in the most wonderful way. It was hard to stop listening to get my work done because I just wanted to know what happened next. A light read about war that doesn't deny the hardships is such a fresh take on the trend of World War II fiction that has characterized much of the last several years, and I loved every minute of it.