Rachel Reviews: Dear Mrs Bird by A. J. Pearce

Dear Mrs Bird is one of those novels that you can read quickly and easily, and which leaves you with a nice warm feeling: loose ends pretty much tied up, conflicts resolved or on their way to being sorted, happiness arrived at or on the horizon.

Set in Blitz-besieged London, our heroine is Emmeline Lake, a young woman with ambitions to be a war reporter but struggling to find an opening. When she sees an advert for a position at a London newspaper, she jumps at the chance. However, it is not the role for which she had hoped. She is, in fact, a glorified administrative assistant for a stern and domineering woman called Henrietta Bird, the editress of Woman's Friend a magazine of some popular renown. Dear Mrs Bird is the title of a column in the magazine which publishes answers from said Mrs Bird to questions posed in letters to her about problems various. Mrs Bird is an agony aunt; however, Mrs Bird does not engage in discussion of all problems, as some of them are deemed quite unsavoury and so, are discarded before they even reach her eyes by her faithful and obedient assistant, Kathleen. She is, for the most part, a woman who is less concerned with the people who read her and more about how she looks to the outside world. There are certainly topics which are broached in letters which are very much off topic, which of course, are from the people who are the most desperate.

Emmy, however, feels differently and does not like the fact that these women are asking for help and not receiving it and so, she takes it on herself to answer on Mrs Bird's behalf - without anyone knowing about it.

Whilst the book is framed around Emmy's renegade behaviour and this is the crux of the story, the novel is a little snapshot of 1930s' war life too. Pearce's narratorial voice emulates the speech and vocabulary of the time and she also puts her characters into difficult scenarios that only present themselves at war time. This is also augmented by the problems that are brought to light in the letters sent in too, as many are of situations that would only arise in wartime.

Tragedy hits Emmy and her friends and Pearce's descriptions of London being bombed show the strength of character of residents of the capital to stay and doggedly continue with life as best they can, seeking enjoyment when it presents itself in defiance of Hitler and his nighttime raids, and enduring beyond the chaos that living in a bombed city proposes.

Despite the times that the book is set, this book is not a dark read. Pearce describes war-torn London and her characters are very much in the thick of it, the chance of confronting death presenting itself on a daily basis. However, this is not about graphic depictions to shock and revile; this book is about people for the most part, whether they are writing in to Mrs Bird because they've found themselves in a bit of a pickle and need advice on their predicament, or about the friendships and contacts made within the story and how they develop or alter as the war continues and events impact them.

And, of course, there is a little romance too, which always adds to the feel-good factor.

All in all, a satisfying read.

Rachel Rating: 4/5 stars

Parts of this review were first published on Reedsy Discovery:

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