Dear Mrs Bird by A J Pearce

Woman’s Friend

For the Modern Lady

Crochet your own dressing table doily.

Adorable pattern inside!

Set in 1940s London, the book follows Emmeline Lake, a young woman who mistakenly believes she is applying for a post as a junior war correspondent with the respectable Evening Chronicle newspaper, only to discover that the job is actually working as an assistant to Henrietta Bird; the indomitable agony aunt at the outmoded Women’s Friend magazine. This is the first book in The Emmy Lake Chronicles.

The book is full of characters that jump off the page. They are familiar in their languages and mannerisms that are wonderfully reminiscent of the era. The heroine, Emmeline, or Emmy as she is known, is full of grit and gumption as she navigates the ever-present dangers of London during the Blitz, whilst at the same time, making the most of a job that is initially uninspiring and disappointing. We first meet Henrietta Bird, the austere and dogmatic editor of Women’s Friend magazine on the steps of Launceston Press Ltd. From her description and tone, you are left in no doubt that she is a formidable woman with an elevated sense of self-importance.

As Emmy settles into her new junior role, she is given a list of topics that Mrs Bird will not address or publish in her help column. These topics are; ‘Marital relations, Pre-marital relations, Extra-marital relations,, Physical relations, Sexual relations in general (all issues, mentions, suggestion or results of), Illegal activities, Political activities and opinions, Religious activities and opinions (excl. queries regarding church groups and services), The war (excl. queries regarding rationing, voluntary services, clubs and practicalities), Cookery’. As Emmy sifts her way through the handful of letters sent in by desperate readers, it becomes apparent that Mrs Bird, despite all of her committees and charitable works, is out of touch with the ordinary woman who is navigating life on the home front. On reading the desperate pleas for help and advice in the letters discarded by Mrs Bird, Emmy finds herself in a moral and social dilemma, and decides to respond instead…

I loved this book. A J Pearce balances the warmth and hope of the time expertly with the harsh realties of wartime London. She uses the humour of ‘britishness’ to root the novel in its era and lighten what at times is a heart-breaking story. Reading it makes you want to pull out your grandmother’s embroidered tablecloth, pin a brooch to your cardigan and pour some tea into a Woods Beryl Ware cup and saucer. But essentially this book, through the medium of letter writing, gives the reader an insight into the daily lives and troubles of the women who remained at home and kept the home fires burning.