I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it. The story is about a meeting of differing values during the 1940’s, during WWII. It gave an insight into how attitudes changed within a microcosm of society at that time. A lovely read.

Emily desperately wants to be a War Correspondent.. Working as an Auxiliary Fire Telephone Operator, in 1940s war torn London, she sees an advertisement for a job to work for national newspaper. Thinking that this could be her big break Emmy applies and miraculously gets the job. Unfortunately Emmy realise too late that the job is for secretary to Henrietta Bird a very grumpy, no nonsense advice columnist. Mrs Bird has very strict rules “No Unpleasantness”, unfortunately most of the letters that Emmy reads are full of desperate pleas for help and Emmy cannot resist replying to them using Mrs Birds name. Risking her job, and her reputation if Mrs Bird finds out she becomes more and more daring with the risks she is willing to take.
This was a charming, heartwarming, funny book, with lots of moving moments interlaced with the gritty realities of war.

I enjoyed this lovely book. Easy and relatively quick to read, it nevertheless captured my interest and I really felt for the main character and could imagine her World War II London world.

Emmeline Lake has aspirations to become a journalist but ends up as an office junior typing out replies to pleas for help from readers of a small magazine for women. Set during WWII, Emmy is a volunteer fire woman and lives with her best friend Bunty in London. She decides to write replies to the letters that the real agony aunt won't tough. Despite the spiffing nature of the language and at times relentless good cheer, the book is more than a pleasant read. It has heart-break, romance, death and disgrace, and all adds up to a Delightfully Super read.

Absolutely gorgeous novel, with the strongest of characters. Loved the romance and the WW2 setting. So visual - can totally see it as a feature film.

A thoroughly enjoyable read! I laughed and cried my way through this book, and as soon as I put it down was desperate to return. Highly recommended!

Loved this book, I read it in a sitting. Set during WW2, Emmie takes a job as what she thinks is a junior reporter but turns out to be as an office junior on a declining woman's magazine. The story tells of her life, her job, her friendships and her romance during wartime London.
Well told, the story romps along with some very good narrative and description of life at the time.
Highly recommended.

I was captured from the first paragraphs by the amusing situation comedy and the sunny spirit of the narrator, Emmeline. Then, in the middle, I got a little bogged down by several rather ponderous parts (too much introspection maybe?), which I feel could have been edited. The ending, however, was predictable and sweet.

The story is told from an original angle, that of a young secretary but would-be war correspondent, who also volunteers most nights on the phones at the local fire service.

The author succeeds in painting a very realistic picture of the fear and anxiety of the era - or what one imagines it was like during the Blitz - and the patriotic, stiff upper lip spirit deemed vital to keep Hitler at bay.

This was an enjoyable light read that one might even call historical chic-lit. “Dear Mrs Bird” feels like a first novel which holds promise of delightful follow-ups.

A simply told story of a young woman trying to find her way during WW II. Hugely likeable characters and a simple but effective plot told with empathy and a little humour. A great read,

Love it! From the moment Emmy's strong voice opens in Blitz ravaged London to the very last page, it is a joy and a delight to read. The characters are full and well drawn. I smiled and felt genuinely sad for the characters. This book shows that whatever happens we can each try to make life better. Everyone should read Dear Mrs Bird.

I loved this book and would like to read more about Emmy. At first I thought it was going to be a bit Enid Blyton, all ‘jolly hockey sticks’ and ‘stiff upper lip’ in a nice way it was. Where this book excelled was in its description of the bombing of London. I really felt like I was there, the fear, the taste of dust in the air, the everyday bravery. I read some to my mother who lived through it all and she agreed it was exactly like that. You did your day job, then night watches and walk home through the wreckage of people’s lives. Does she ever make it into proper Journalism? What adventures she could have just as she imagined them. Or does she go on to help the war effort in other ways? How about Mrs Bird what’s her story. She’s a battle axe but does lots of war work? Mr. Collins what’s his story. How about the fire crew and their story. What ever became of the onion? More please.

A real feel good book full of lots of laughter and light humor but with also some sadness in between! I absolutely loved it and thought it was a gem of a book. It’s not my usual kind of genre but it was really enjoyable to read. Set in the war time 1940’s Emmy gets a new job as a war correspondent when in fact all is not what it seems and she’s actually landed a job typing letters for Mrs Bird who’s an agony aunt (who’s reputation proceeds her to say the least!) and here the fun begins.

It’s a great book with many LOL moments along with a touch of sadness too, A genuinely good book which I think is a must read for all

I loved this book! It is set in London during the Blitz with friends Emmy and Bunty having their first taste of freedom by living together and working in London. Emmy thinks she is set to become the next Lady War Correspondent in her new job, but it transpires that she is actually the assistant to formidable agony aunt Mrs Bird who won't entertain any queries which are in any way 'racy' or inappropriate'.
I loved the way that the book gave such an evocative sense of London during the war, the setting and the language was just so Keep Calm and Carry On! I would say this was a real feel good book, although there were certainly heartbreakingly sad events, there was a sense of the Blitz spirit and solidarity throughout. I would certainly recommend this book, thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this as an arc.

I really enjoyed this book. It really brought you to the 1940s through the language and capturing how people interacted with each other. A great read!

an interesting insight into life in London in ww2. Emmy takes a job on a magazine and has to sort through the agony aunt letters .Full of humour in places, and yet very sad in others showing the way the population coped in the blitz.. Echoes my parents stories of the war and how everyone tried to cope.

Its 1940s London, and when Emmie answers an ad for a junior typist at The Chronicle, she envisages a route to her dream job as a war correspondent. It’s already too late when she realises that her new position is at the sister magazine, Women’s Friend, and that most of her time will be spent assessing the suitability of letters sent in by readers for inclusion in Dear Mrs Bird, the magazine problem section.
Meantime the bombing continues nightly, Emmie keeps on at her part time voluntary work for the Fire Service and worries she hasn’t heard from her forces fiancé for some weeks.
At first, I thought this book felt terrifically light and jolly, and possibly sad in places, and that the best approach was chin-up and get it done with. But it began to grow on me, and predictable as it was, I really enjoyed this read.
There are of course, many stereotypical characters, but there are some genuine ones too. There is decent balance between dark and light and a nice tongue-in-cheek approach to the most outdated mores of class and creed. The smart and funny heroine put me in mind of Agatha Raisin, so maybe Emmie has more exploits in front of her to be reported upon in due course.
With thanks to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan Picador

Thanks so much for allowing me to read this book, I absolutely loved it. I thought it might just be an easy holiday read but it had so much depth to it and the descriptions of life in war stricken London were so evocative. It really drew me in and I have to admit I might have shed one or two tears... Would absolutely recommend it!

Sometimes a book comes along at just the right moment in life. This was the case with Dear Mrs Bird, a spirited wartime romp that I read back in cold, wet November when my spirits needed A Jolly Good Talking To (as Mrs Bird herself would advise).

Set in 1940s London and with the Luftwaffe making nightly raids overhead, Emmeline (Emmy) Lake dreams of becoming a Lady War Correspondent. So when she seeks a job advertised at an impressive newspaper, she promptly quits her existing job and applies. Only it turns out the job isn't for the newspaper at all but as secretary to the fearsome Henrietta Bird, acting editoress and redoubtable agony aunt at failing women's magazine Woman's Friend.

Mrs Bird's requirements are very clear: letters containing any form of Unpleasantness must go straight in the bin. And Mrs Bird's list of Unpleasantness is very long indeed. As Emmy finds herself dismissing letters from love-lorn, grief-stricken and morally confused readers in favour of those asking for a good rationing recipe or help with unsightly ankles, she decides the only thing to do is to write back to the conflicted readers herself.

Make no mistake, this book is a romp through and through. To start with, I even wondered if it was a pastiche because there's just so much sugar in Emmy - she's the epitome of the Blitz spirit and, as a result, her narrative voice is very Famous Five jolly hockey sticks and lashings of ginger beer. Stick with it though because, behind all the mustn't grumble stiff-upper lip is an irresistibly funny and very moving novel about friendship, growing pains and the importance of being kind.

I loved Emmy as a character - she's spirited and funny and a little bit daft. There's also an eclectic supporting cast from Emmy's sarcastic boss to her sensible best friend Bunty - and not forgetting the formidable Mrs Bird herself of course, who never speaks when she can shout and never shouts when she can bellow.

Underneath all the high-jinks though, there's a real sense of daily life in wartime London, both from Emmy's own experiences and the letters of the readers she responds to. As the book progresses, Emmy begins to realise that you can't always rely on Keeping Your Chin Up and Carrying On Regardless. There's some particularly evocative descriptions of the blitz that, for me, are only rivaled by those I read in Kate Atkinson's Life After Life. And there's definitely sections of the book that made me cry just as much as other parts made me laugh out loud - the deft lightness of touch that allows the story to work on so many levels is a real compliment to the author, especiallt as

Overall though, this is a heart-warming and spirited read that would be perfect for anyone who enjoyed Eva Rice's The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets. Yes, at times it's so quirky that it verges on the twee but some books you read for pure pleasure and this is most definitely one of them. Heart-warming and irresistible, this is a warm hug of a book that's perfect for cheering dull spirits and brightening a wet, cold afternoon.

Thanks to the publishers for the chance to read and review this book.
Here we have Emmy and Bunty, young ladies in London in the early days of WWII, one works for the Government and the other has aspirations to be a war correspondent. The former gets a job with what she believes to be a national newspaper, but she is working in reality for a ladies Magazine and for a very, very prim 'Agony' Aunt' who refuses to answer any letters that contain any 'unpleasantness'. The 'unpleasantness's cover a multitude of sins so not a lot gets answered in the magazine or by letter. Our heroine decides to , unbeknown to her employer, answer a few of the more risque ones herself. That is when the fun begins!
We learn about the girls romances, other jobs supporting the war effort and what life was like during the 'Blitz.'
An entertaining, amusing read that hopefully will become a series.
Highly recommended.

Lovely, well written story capturing the lives of people during the dark days of the London bombings during WW2. Our main character cannot help herself from being very fresh and idealistic and only wants to help people. This leads to her stepping beyond the boundaries of her job and forging answers to letters asking for advice sent to her boss. Her work for the Fire Station highlighted the bravery of all those who stayed behind and tried to cope with nightly bombings of their homes. The character is warm hearted and whilst we know she will get caught out, we do hope that things will work out...