Listen free for 30 days
Listen with offer
-
Dear Mrs Bird
- Narrated by: Anna Popplewell
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Dear Mrs Bird
Buy Now for £12.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
Summary
The Richard & Judy Book Club Pick and Sunday Times Bestseller
London, 1941. Emmeline Lake and her best friend Bunty are trying to stay cheerful despite the Luftwaffe making life thoroughly annoying for everyone. Emmy dreams of becoming a Lady War Correspondent and when she spots a job advertisement in the newspaper she seizes her chance – but after a rather unfortunate misunderstanding, she finds herself typing letters for the formidable Henrietta Bird, the renowned agony aunt of Woman’s Friend magazine.
Mrs Bird is very clear: letters containing any form of Unpleasantness must go straight into the bin. But as Emmy reads the desperate pleas from women who may have Gone Too Far with the wrong man, or can't bear to let their children be evacuated, she decides the only thing for it is to secretly write back...
Irresistibly funny and enormously moving, Dear Mrs Bird by AJ Pearce is a love letter to the enduring power of friendship, the kindness of strangers and the courage of ordinary people in extraordinary times.
Critic reviews
"In a performance that transports the listener to WWII-era London, narrator Anna Popplewell becomes Emmy Lake who, like many others, is doing what she can to help the war effort. Popplewell embodies Emmy and the sundry characters who are part of her world, both during carefree times and as they struggle with the devastation of the war. A thoroughly enjoyable listen." (AudioFile)
"A marvellous treat. Charming and delightful." (Nina Stibbe)
"A joy from start to finish. Dear Mrs Bird is as funny as it is heart-warming." (John Boyne)
More from the same
What listeners say about Dear Mrs Bird
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- Sarah
- 22-04-18
Fabulous narration, good story, but....
This is a tricky one! If there’s a plan for a follow up then it’s a good book, if not, then it’s finished in a rushed and incomplete way, it could definitely have at least done with an epilogue. If there is a follow up I would certainly buy it as I enjoyed the story, characters and narration. There are a few negative comments here about the narrator’s projection switching from low to high, but I think that’s really unfair when she’s voicing characters described in the book as whispering and timid or thundering and booming - and also conversations had amidst air raids!! My husband said he’d find the jolly hockey sticks delivery annoying, but again, I thought it fit well within the context of the book - all in all I found her performance “top draw”!!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
12 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Victoria Saint
- 15-04-18
A warm and believable tale
I really enjoyed listening to this book. Very good characters and a thoughtful insight into wartime England for women.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- BountifulBasket
- 01-06-18
Pleasant tale
Nice tale based in wartime, sweet characters, enthusiastic narrator, just about the right length book
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
- treehouse
- 10-10-19
Fantastic!
What a wonderful story! This has kept us gripped throughout whilst decorating and we didn't want the story to end. It is written beautifully, with just the right level of description to make you feel as if you really are there with Emmy and Bunty. I'm so pleased that a sequel is underway. I strongly recommend listening to or reading this story.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Suzanne
- 28-01-20
A ‘feel good’ listen
What a great book. I only chose to buy it after reading an article in which someone discussed their favourite books. I wasn’t disappointed. A great story with a definite ‘feel good’ factor.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- carol
- 04-02-19
Wonderful story, set in wartime London
I loved listening to the story, and the resilience of people, esp, women , who still helped out volunteering, to help the war effort, not scared of writing about the horrific effect on what the bombing raids, had on people, the Great British Spirit was the calling cry!!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Karen Croan
- 02-06-19
Great
I loved this book. A delightful heroine whose dreams of becoming a journalist are stymied by her position as assistant to an agony aunt (or more accurately an agonising aunt as Mrs Bird turns out to be the least helpful or sympathetic advisor ever). Her attitude to modern problems drives her readers & her assistant to their own devices & that’s where the problems start. Meanwhile the horror & dangers of the Blitz bring a sobering tone to the story & some difficult choices for our heroine. Brilliant book that makes you laugh and cry.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 06-07-22
Brilliant
Brilliant book! Great storyline, Mostly amusing but sometimes sad, it is so easy to love the characters and get drawn into their lives, their friendships and it truly evokes the fear and bravery of the 1941 blitz. Can’t wait to read the sequel.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- fibey
- 24-06-23
Just lovely
The style according to the times was just so refreshing.
My mother herself a teenager starting work in 1941 was transported by this story to her own experiences of the war and working in a book shop so it was spot on. Hoping for more …..
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- michelle
- 30-08-18
Wonderful
Such a wonderful book. Highly recommended. Great story and characters. Such an interesting topic, women in the WWII.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful