Dear Mrs Bird by AJ Pearce

I am always drawn to books set in London and I’m pleased to be able to share another one with you.  Dear Mr Bird is not a new novel.  It was published in 2018 and in fact the follow on to this ‘Yours Cheerfully’ has just been released.  However when I was thinking about which of my London reads to share this month this seemed to fit the bill.  When the days are shorter I love books I can completely immerse myself in, and this is one of those books.

Ser in London in 1941 during the throes of WW2,  bombs are falling and causing devastation in the city.  The protagonist Emmeline dreams of being a daring war correspondent. Instead she finds herself employed as a typist for the formidable Mrs Bird.  Mrs Bird is an agony aunt with a strong sense of what she classes as ‘unpleasant.  She has a very strict criteria for which letters she is prepared to read and answer, being particularly adverse to any from the lovelorn, grief stricken or morally conflicted.  The thought of the letters from these desperate women being ignored is too much for Emmey to bear and she decides to begin secretly answering them herself. Of course this does not go smoothly.

Emmy also has a night job as a voluntary air warden and finds herself in the midst of the blitz.  She lives at the heart of danger for much of the time but with the optimism and fearlessness of youth manages to brush it aside.  With her best friend Bunty they continue to go dancing and remain determined that Hitler won’t stop their fun.  Of course the very nature of the time they are living through means there is bound to be tragedy.  Before long we realise that although there is much to laugh about, and with in this novel, it is peppered with a sobering reality of what it was like to live through the war.

The detail of London is so clear and the reader is transported to another time experiencing the fear and thrill of living amongst such uncertainty and danger.

This is a delightful story of love, friendship and tragedy.  It is never too sentimental but wholly authentic in its exploration of loss and the guilt that goes with being a survivor.

See my other London Reads here.