Dear Mrs Bird

"The sweetest, most uplifting, lovely book about courage, friendship, love ... It'll be huge; it deserves to be" Marian Keyes, author of The BreakLondon, 1940. Emmeline Lake and her best friend Bunty are trying to stay cheerful despite the Luftwaffe making life thoroughly annoying for everyone. 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, the renowned agony aunt of Woman's Friend magazine.Mrs Bird is very clear: letters containing any form of Unpleasantness must go straight into the bin. Emmy finds herself dismissing problems from lovelorn, grief-stricken and morally conflicted readers in favour of those who fear their ankles are unsightly or have trouble untangling lengths of wool. But soon the thought of desperate women going unanswered becomes too much to bear and Emmy decides the only thing for it is to secretly write back . . .Irresistibly funny and enormously moving, Dear Mrs Bird by AJ Pearce is a love letter to female friendship, Blitz spirit, the kindness of strangers and the art of letter-writing itself.MORE PRAISE FOR DEAR MRS BIRD"If I had only known how much I was going to adore Dear Mrs. Bird, I wouldn't have gobbled it down all at once. Funny, fresh, and touching" Annie Barrows, author of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society"A joy from start to finish. Dear Mrs Bird is as funny as it is heart-warming." John Boyne, author The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas"A joyfully uplifting and optimistic novel ... a timely story of courage and good humour in adversity." Observer"Irresistibly charming and delightful" Kate Eberlen, author of Miss You"An utterly charming story of friendship, heartbreak and heroism... You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll love it" Lucy Diamond

Short-listed for Books Are My Bag Breakthrough Author Award 2018 (UK) Short-listed for HWA Debut Crown 2019 (UK) Long-listed for Waverton Good Read Award 2019 (UK) Long-listed for Comedy Women in Print Prize 2019 (UK)

“I've never read a novel that has grabbed me by the heart quite so much as this one”

If I had only known how much I was going to adore Dear Mrs Bird, I wouldn’t have gobbled it down all at once. Funny, fresh, and touching, Dear Mrs Bird is a treat of a read. -- Annie Barrows, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
I fell in love with Dear Mrs Bird on page one and completely adored every single word . . . a wonderfully heartwarming book, which I will recommend to everyone I know -- Jill Mansell, author of An Almost Perfect Summer
Utterly charming and helplessly funny -- Jenny Colgan, author of Little Beach Street Bakery
Witty, wise and full of charm . . . I absolutely loved it -- Rachel Lucas, author of The Winter Cottage
The sweetest, most uplifting, lovely book about courage, friendship, love . . . It'll be huge; it deserves to be -- Marian Keyes, author of The Break
A winning wartime romp . . . as hilarious as it is moving. Emmy is truly charming. When her upper lip finally wobbles, the reader’s will, too. In the end, the novel’s spirit is madly winning, and its foregrounding of wartime women seems spiffingly modern. The Guardian
This story of female friendship is just the tonic for that jaded feeling that the world is ugly and mad. The Times
A joyfully uplifting and optimistic novel . . . a timely story of courage and good humour in adversity. The Observer
A marvellous treat. Charming and delightful. -- Nina Stibbe, author of Love, Nina
When we need it most, Dear Mrs Bird is a wonderful, uplifting novel and, like its heroine, its breathless, giddy tone has real depth and heart. -- Sarra Manning Red
Here’s a refreshing take on the Second World War novel. Dear Mrs Bird is charming without being twee, full of fun and heart, and will being you to tears. -- Sarah Shaffi Stylist
Dear Mrs Bird is an adorable novel, charming, funny, and uplifting . . . Catch a cold immediately and retire to bed with it -- Louisa Young, author of My Dear I Wanted To Tell You
Irresistibly charming and delightful -- Kate Eberlen, author of Miss You
A joy from start to finish. Dear Mrs Bird is as funny as it is heart-warming. -- John Boyne, author The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
An utterly charming story of friendship, heartbreak and heroism... You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll love it -- Lucy Diamond
Shelley Harris
Books that make you shake with laughter and sob with tears are rare. I gulped this one down but didn’t stop thinking about it for a long time -- Katie Fforde
Dear Mrs Bird is an utterly enchanting debut: cheering, compelling, charming. If you loved Their Finest this is for you. -- Amanda Craig, author of The Lie of The Land
A thoroughly lovely book, and reading it is like a great big shot of serotonin in the arm. I defy anyone not to fall for its numerous charms -- Kate Riordan
Dear Mrs Bird is an adorable novel, charming, funny, and uplifting; a WW2 London-Blitz tears ’n’ cheers plucky-gal romance. -- Louisa Young, author of My Dear I Wanted to Tell You
A story bathed in good cheer, it celebrates the power of female friendship in difficult times and how writing a letter might heal the sorest of hearts. -- Mary Paulson-Ellis, author of The Other Mrs Walker
Dear Mrs Bird is a triumph – authentic, funny and packed with heart. -- Miranda Dickinson, Sunday Times Bestselling Author
Imagine Bridget Jones running amok in the wartime world of Mrs Miniver. AJ Pearce’s hoot of a debut, Dear Mrs Bird is a comic confection that is sweetly uplifting. Sunday Times
I loved the concept of a light-hearted historical novel inspired by real Forties letters sent into advice columns, which highlight how women’s lives were affected amid the ‘stiff upper lip’ attitudes of the time. -- Millie Hurst Stylist
A wonderful wartime story that is funny, yet poignant and realistic. I can't wait for the next in the series. -- Kate Fforde Daily Mail
A delight: witty, tear-jerking and a vivid depiction of the time. I absolutely loved it. -- Woman & Home magazine ‘Pick of the Month’
Like Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, Dear Mrs Bird manages to strike a delicate balance between funny and heart breaking. When we need it most, Dear Mrs Bird is a wonderful, uplifting novel and, like its heroine, its breathless, giddy tone has real depth and heart. Red Magazine
A proper comfort read -- India Knight, author of Darling
Incredibly funny yet very touching, [Dear Mrs Bird] explores friendship and romance against the bleak backdrop of the Blitz with trademark British humour and a stiff upper lip. Daily Express
Charming, funny and moving, this is a total joy of a read Fabulous Magazine
I loved Dear Mrs Bird, the joyous debut of AJ Pearce Good Housekeeping
(A) moving and funny debut of friendship and kindness in the Blitz. Elle
A sweet and charming read Prima
Emmy, her best friend, Bunty, and Mrs Bird herself are wonderful characters. Rich, warm, funny….I loved them. […]And I loved A.J. Pearce’s writing. It’s warm and humorous, and brilliantly engaging. The People’s Friend
I just adored Dear Mrs Bird and think it should be available on prescription, it is such a tonic. It’s so clever and wise but sweet and moving too. Just the ticket -- Harriet Evans, author of The Wildflowers

AJ Pearce grew up in Hampshire and studied at the University of Sussex. She has worked in magazine publishing and home entertainment marketing. She now lives in the south of England and works freelance. Dear Mrs Bird is her first novel.

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