Dear Mrs. Bird: A Novel (1) (The Emmy Lake Chronicles)

An Amazon Best Book of July 2018: In this funny, uplifting novel set during the London Blitz, first-time author AJ Pearce shows herself to be a master of wartime vernacular speech and period charm. Though Emmeline Lake, Pearce’s outspoken narrator, dreams of becoming a serious journalist, she rashly accepts a job as junior secretary to “Mrs. Bird,” a women’s advice columnist whose views on behavior are as outmoded as her tweeds. Mrs. Bird won’t deign to reply to readers with real-world problems, but Emmeline can’t resist offering them the support she knows they need. Before long, she’s writing back on her employer’s stationary, and her well-intentioned counsel begins to threaten her relationships at work and at home. Nighttime bombing raids bring danger and pathos to this otherwise giddy, delectable story. If you enjoyed Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand or Chris Cleave’s Everyone Brave is Forgiven, Dear Mrs. Bird might be your favorite book of the summer. —Sarah Harrison Smith, Amazon Book Review