Bravery during the Blitz

In Dear Mrs. Bird, by A.J. Pearson, Emmeline Lake, age 22, dreams of being a journalist, and when she sees an ad for a position at the London Evening Chronicle, she immediately imagines a fabulous career ahead of her as a Lady Wartime Correspondent. In early 1940s London, during the Blitz, Emmy and her friend, Bunty, do their bit for the war effort, volunteering for duty during air raids and staying cheerful despite the city’s devastation, but Emmy is disheartened when she realizes the job she gets is really at Women’s Friend,  a dreary, failing women’s magazine. She is the assistant to the formidable Mrs. Bird, the straitlaced advice columnist, who won’t answer letters with any “unpleasantness,” such as “unpatriotic” fear of being killed during the nightly bombings or unseemly wartime romances.  Soon, though, the letters from troubled readers kindle Emmy’s compassion and she begins to respond to them in secret, leading to a very funny confrontation with Mrs. Bird at the end. Emmy’s and Bunty’s bravery and perseverance are told with good cheer and sympathy.