Dear Miss Lake

A heartwarming wartime story of courage and friendship

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Dear Miss Lake

By: AJ Pearce

Narrated by: Anna Popplewell

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Exquisitely narrated by Anna Popplewell (The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe)

‘It’s hard to accept that this is the end of the Emmy Lake series, but if there has to be an end, let it be this one: Dear Miss Lake. Sheer joy!’ - Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry

‘Touching, funny and emotional, it’s the perfect escape and really should be prescribed as a national tonic’ - Jill Mansell, author of An Almost Perfect Summer

From the author of the Sunday Times bestseller Dear Mrs Bird, AJ Pearce’s Dear Miss Lake returns us to wartime London, where Emmy Lake is facing her greatest challenge yet . . .

England, July 1944.

After nearly five years of war the nation is weary, and the readers of Woman’s Friend need agony aunt Emmy Lake more than ever. With London under attack from the doodlebugs, the magazine decamps to the countryside, determined to keep helping the women of Britain and give hope to readers feeling powerless in the face of desperate news.

With husband Charles now posted closer to home, and best friend Bunty at her side, Emmy throws herself into rural life, juggling children, competitive knitters and plans for a very important wedding. And then a phone call comes that means she may finally have the chance to become the war correspondent she always dreamed of being.

But disaster strikes, and suddenly Emmy is faced with her biggest challenge yet. Because when your own heart is breaking, how do you help everyone else?

Joyful, moving and uplifting, Dear Miss Lake is the perfect story of the power of friendship and love.

‘Inspiring and spirited, charming, touching and funny. If ever there was a perfect book, this was it for me. Love, love, loved it beyond words’ - Milly Johnson, author of The Queen of Wishful Thinking

‘The world AJ Pearce writes is cheerful and charming and full of wit’ - Katie Fforde, author of From London With Love

‘Love and laughter for everyone . . . perfect, heart-warming’ - Sally Page, author of The Keeper of Stories

READERS LOVE DEAR MISS LAKE!

‘Absolutely brilliant!’ *****
‘A joy – tears and laughter – from start to finish’ *****
‘Like getting together with an old friend that you love . . . I was entertained, happy, sad and gripped’ *****
‘Engaging, funny, and at time emotional . . . I’m not ready to say goodbye’ *****
‘Had me laughing out loud . . . an absolute must’ *****
‘I’ve come to adore these characters’ *****
‘I enjoyed it immensely’ *****

AJ PearceAnna PopplewellPicadorThe Wartime Chronicles

20th Century

Genre Fiction

Historical

Historical Fiction

Literary Fiction

Women's Fiction

England

Feel-Good

Funny

Heartfelt

Tear-jerking

War

20th Century Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Women's Fiction England Feel-Good Funny Heartfelt Tear-jerking War

Critic reviews

It’s hard to accept that this is the end of the Emmy Lake series, but if there has to be an end, let it be this one: Dear Miss Lake. Sheer joy! (Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry)

The world AJ Pearce writes is cheerful and charming and full of wit, but she doesn’t avoid the hardship and the tragedy of wartime. Her books are ultimately uplifting, even if we have cried a lot while reading them! (Katie Fforde, author of From London With Love)

A celebration of courage in all its forms . . . I bit my nails, cried and cheered as I read. These plucky, loving characters have become my true friends (Julie Mae Cohen, author of Bad Men)

There'll be love and laughter for everyone reading Dear Miss Lake, just you wait and see! AJ Pearce's war time series is destined to become a cherished classic. Dear Miss Lake was the perfect, heart-warming ending (Sally Page, bestselling author of The Keeper of Stories)

Inspiring and spirited, charming, touching and funny. If ever there was a perfect book, this was it for me. Love, love, loved it beyond words (Milly Johnson, author of The Queen of Wishful Thinking)

What a fabulous, funny, emotive and tugging-at-the-heart-strings book. I loved it (Jo Thomas, author of The Oyster Catcher)

The characters in Dear Miss Lake captured my heart. They are such lovely people, with such a bright, courageous, compassionate outlook on life - it's the reading equivalent of curling up with a mug of tea and a friend to chat to

Good hearted, touching, funny and emotional, it’s the perfect escape and really should be prescribed as a national tonic (Jill Mansell, author of An Almost Perfect Summer)

A wonderful, warm and engaging story of wartime life (Margaret Dickinson, author of Plough the Furrow)

Most relevant

It brought to life what everyday life was really like in London and other parts of the UK during wartime. My parents both lived through the Second World War—my father served in the RAF’s Coastal Command, while my mother worked in a shipbuilding factory. She often told me stories of those years: the rationing, the bombings, the doodlebugs, the dances, and the importance of making the most of each day.

She was an avid reader of women’s magazines and was wonderfully talented at making her own clothes. She was also a gifted amateur artist and would draw the faces of the models from the magazine covers. I still have some of those drawings to this day, which makes them all the more precious.

Reading these books brings back so many memories of my parents. The story is beautifully written and, to me, feels remarkably accurate in its portrayal of what life was like during the Second World War—particularly the stoicism and resilience that ordinary people had to find within themselves.

It had me in tears by the end. I was especially relieved and very glad that Captain Mayhew and Clarence survived. 🙏