April book club - Dear Mrs Bird

eGJ

GN you’ve done it again! You chose an amusing, thought provoking novel for April. A suprising central theme but Mrs Bird herself is beautifully drawn; she LEAPS OFF THE PAGE! The other characters and the war-time local colour keep you turning the pages long into the night. I was sorry that it had to end!
A. J. you say that a 1939 magazine inspired you to write Dear Mrs Bird - have you any more novels inspired by these magazines up your sleeve? I’ll be in the queue if you do!
Thank you GN (and AJP) for lifting the spirits and raising a few chuckles and smiles and all round

Thank you, I am so glad Dear Mrs Bird made you smile! The magazines from the WW2 era are endlessly inspiring, and such a gift to writers. I am writing the sequel to Dear Mrs Bird now and there will definitely be more from the world wartime magazine world on its way!

GrannyBear

‘Dear Mrs Bird’ is a delightful book, light reading but nevertheless most enjoyable. The naiveté of the main character, Emmeline (Emmy), and the predictability of the main storyline only serve to add to its charm.

Emmy dreams of becoming a journalist, a war correspondent to be precise. She applies for a job at a local newspaper and even before her interview, she has visions of being sent on dangerous assignments across London in pursuit of stories at the cutting edge of political reporting. However, when the job materialises, she is a junior typist reporting to Mrs Bird, a bossy Agony Aunt who writes the Problems Page in a failing woman’s magazine.

Mrs Bird is well characterised in the book. She is a large woman with a large voice. Using capital letters to document most of her conversations is an effective way of portraying her as a bit of a bully who is not interested in any points of view but her own.

The description of what life was like for a young girl like Emmy during WW2 was totally engaging and her attempts to be both sophisticated and knowledgeable were on some occasions heart-rending and at other times downright funny. What shone through for me throughout the book was Emmy’s loyalty to her best friend Bunty and her determination to keep their friendship alive despite tragic circumstances.

This is an entertaining and well-written book which amply demonstrates the survival of the human spirit in times of severe adversity and, in addition, it presents a balanced view of difficult times at both national and personal levels. ‘Dear Mrs Bird’ is AJ Pearce’s debut novel. I trust she will keep writing and I look forward to reading more from her in due course.

I would like to know from the Author whether or not she used any real letters from the magazines which were her inspiration.

Yes, all the letters and problems featured in the novel were inspired by letters, advice and features from real magazines. Some of the issues could happen now, others were very much a consequence of the war.

gillyknits

I agree with a GrannyBear that this was a light read but I quite enjoyed it. There were clear descriptions of the era especially during the bombing raids. I think it really captured the fear and chaos when the bombs were falling.
I did feel that the depiction of Mrs Bird as a large person with a loud personality was a bit predictable but amusing all the same.
Unusually for a book about war, this depicted a forgotten aspect of women left at home alone to cope. Young girls thrown into temptation when meeting men in uniform.. The letters written to an agony Aunt were a a good way of depicting this .Mrs.Bird’s refusal to reply to any contentious issues showed the morals of a previous generation coming into conflict with a new generation.
I can’t say that I laughed out loud but it certainly made me cry a couple of times.
Will the author be writing further books about the war time years?

Absolutely! I’m working on the sequel to Dear Mrs Bird at the moment.

GeminiJen

Thanks GN and AJ Pearce. Another good read
I’ve been reading a lot of ‘worthy but seriously dry’ stuff of late and this was the perfect antidote. I enjoyed it right from the beginning and found it well written, funny and touching. What’s even more impressive is that it’s the author’s first novel.
Emmy is a very endearing heroine - intelligent, funny, brave and loyal but far from perfect. I should think it’s impossible not to warm to her and to root for her throughout. Even if her actions may at times be misjudged, she’s always well meaning. Her narrative voice is engaging and upbeat and sets the tone of the book: The sun had pulled its socks up and was making a good effort in the almost cloudless winter sky. However, I liked that the author wasn’t afraid to feature darker moments amongst the light-hearted elements (because, of course, the cloudless sky would be a gift to the Luftwaffe bombers).
The other characters are similarly well drawn. I admit a soft spot for the dishevelled Mr. Collins - journalist, writer and, according to Emmy, mortifyingly old at around forty five. I also warmed to Roy (firefighter with a nifty foxtrot), Kathleen (with her unruly red hair and knitted cardigans) and poor Clarence the Post Boy with a Crush. The 'Baddies' were equally well drawn. I kept imagining the late Margaret Rutherford in the role of Mrs Bird, with her imperious show some backbone approach to life. Who do we have to play that role today? Less believable for me was the character of Charles: given his absence on duty, his promise to teach Emmy how to ride a motorbike so that she could become a dispatch rider seemed a tad far fetched. However, it’s Emmy’s friendship with Bunty that helps her get through the days. Dear Mrs. Bird also acts as a reminder of the important role played by women in World War 2; and that constant danger wasn’t faced only by those serving on the front line.
The reader is transported back to a time when people still wrote letters and used them to express their feelings. As Emmy notes, I could see people were ever so frank when they wrote in (to Woman’s Friend) which I thought was quite brave. The importance of letters to those serving away from home comes across clearly too, providing those receiving them with a reminder of what they are fighting for.
Finally, I found the Author’s Note at the end interesting, where AJ Pearce describes how many of the readers’ letters in Dear Mrs Bird were inspired by letters and features printed in wartime magazines: everything from lamb’s brain stew to how to knit your own swimwear. I can bear personal witness to the toe curling embarrassment of seeing my father in just such a creation: i.e. knitted swimming trunks, witnessed by my 10 year old self as he emerged from the waves: a sight never to be forgotten!
It’s always a good sign when you miss a book once it’s gone, and I wished I could have stayed inside this one a little longer. I want to know what happens next for Emmy and Bunty and how life turns out for Mr. Collins, Kathleen et al.; and I really hope there will be a sequel (with a lot of Mr Collins in it!) because I would love to know just what Emmy Does Next.
For the author - Congratulations on an impressive debut. This strikes me as perfect Sunday evening TV viewing, with its mix of ‘pluck’, female friendship, romance, danger, war and the office secrets Emmy is hiding. Any plans for a film or TV adaptation? And, hopefully, a sequel?

Thank you – I’m delighted you liked Emmy and the ‘gang’, especially Mr Collins! The sequel is under way and I am very pleased to be able to tell you that a production company have acquired the rights to develop the novel into a TV series. They are working on the best way to do it and I am involved too which is very exciting! It will be a while before we know if it will be commission to be filmed for broadcast, so it’s fingers crossed for now. I am writing
the sequel currently and would love to see it as Sunday night TV!

Maggiemaybe

After giving March's GN book a very lukewarm review (and feeling guilty and ungrateful), my heart sank after I'd got through the first few chapters of Dear Mrs Bird without warming to it at all. I initially found the language very stilted, as if 1940s terminology had just been used to hammer the setting home for the modern reader. And the first chapters seemed a bit lightweight and fluffy. The characterisation of Mrs Bird struck me as unsubtle and stereotypical. I was steeling myself to write another ungracious and critical review.

Well, I was wrong (phew!). I soon got into the swing of the 1940s language, and though the overall tone of Dear Mrs Bird was light at first, it certainly became darker as the story progressed. It's fluffy till it isn't.... The descriptions of blitzed and war torn London were hard-hitting and vivid. I began to believe in the dreadful Mrs Bird (who'd have been jolly cross about the duplicated paragraph on page 196, by the way ). And then the central tragedy of the book struck and really gripped me. That section absolutely captured the fear, the bravery, the stoicism and the horror of London under attack.

So thank you, GN and the author, for a spiffing read. I would like to ask A J Pearce about the setting for her next novel - will it be a period piece again or in the present day?

Thank you. The next novel is definitely another period piece – it follows on from Dear Mrs Bird and while I have been sworn to secrecy about the details, I can tell you that it is set not too much later after the end of the first novel.

Parsleywin

Like some previous reviewers, I too assumed that this book was going to be too light to be satisfying. Not so!

I think the author (are we allowed to know what her initials stand for?) was very skilful in capturing the feel of wartime and the bravery and endurance which seem a million light years away from Generation Snowflake.

Thanks for my copy of a book I would probably not otherwise have read, and I very much look forward to AJ's next one.

Thank you. Yes, AJ stands for Amanda Jane.

cornergran

I’ve enjoyed this book, mostly read sitting in the garden in the sunshine so a million miles away from war in a city. It made me think of my parents and their experiences in London, it brought back my mother describing returning from a night shift and pausing on a railway bridge to see if her home was still standing. I recontacted the stoicism and unthinking bravery of the times.

I found the writing style and language took me straight into the era and so it was not a distraction. Although I would say this was an easy and fairly speedy read it wasn’t superficial. Mrs Bird was my grandmother in attitudes, if noisier and seemingly more powerful. The closeness of friendship a reminder of the strength and understanding that can flow from another person.

I enjoyed this book, I was sorry to get to the end, as the author grew up in Hampshire I wonder why she chose to focus on London and if she plans to set the scene for her next book there.

So, thank you GN and thank you to A J Pearce, I am another who would probably not have picked this book from a shelf but am nevertheless pleased to have read it.

Thank you. I set Dear Mrs Bird in London for several reasons. I wanted to focus on a large city in the middle of the Blitz and as I lived and worked in London for many years, it is somewhere I am most familiar with and know many of the locations used in the novel. My family is from London and that link is important to me. And yes, the next book is set there too.

Pittcity

What a fabulous read for a sunny afternoon in the garden. Plenty of humour and sadness.
Mrs Bird is a larger than life character of Hyacinth Bucket proportions and the story hinges on her foibles.
I too would like to know what happens next. Will Emmy settle with Charles or become a career woman? It was not easy to do both at the time.
I was drawn into the story and fascinated by the descriptions of the watime London that my parents were born into.
Highly recommended.

Thank you so much, I’m really glad you want to know what happens next. I REALLY wish I could tell you here! I can’t give anything away, but I am thrilled to be writing another
novel about Emmy and her friends.