Amanda-Jane Pearce (born 1964) is an English author. She is known for her ''Sunday Times'' Bestselling historical fiction series ''The Emmy Lake Chronicles'', beginning with ''Dear Mrs Bird'' in 2018.

Life and career

Pearce is from

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

. She attended secondary school in

Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is a town in Hampshire, situated in south-central England across a valley at the source of the River Loddon on the western edge of the North Downs. It is the largest settlement in Hampshire without city status in the United King ...

. She went on to graduate with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in American Studies and History from the

University of Sussex The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...

. She studied abroad in the United States at

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. She worked in entertainment marketing and publishing for an engineering magazine before going into writing, a hobby she enjoyed as a child and rediscovered in 2005. She honed her creative writing skills through classes with the

Arvon Foundation The Arvon Foundation is a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom that promotes creative writing. Arvon is one of Arts Council England's National Portfolio Organisations. Andrew Kidd is the Chief Executive Officer, and Patricia Cumper is ...

. Pearce was inspired to write ''Dear Mrs Bird'' by a women's magazine from 1939 she stumbled upon back in 2011. She began collecting wartime magazines to form the premise of her

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

London-set novel. Following a bidding auction, Pearce landed a two-book publishing deal with

Picador A ''picador'' (; pl. ''picadores'') is one of the pair of horse-mounted bullfighters in a Spanish-style bullfight that jab the bull with a lance. They perform in the ''tercio de varas'', which is the first of the three stages in a stylized bull ...

in 2016 with potential for more. Scribner won the U.S. side of the deal. In advance of ''Dear Mrs Bird''s release date, 42 optioned the novel for television. ''Dear Mrs Bird'' was published in April 2018 and became a ''Sunday Times'' Bestseller. It was shortlisted at the 2019

British Book Awards The British Book Awards or Nibbies are literary awards for the best UK writers and their works, administered by ''The Bookseller''. The awards have had several previous names, owners and sponsors since being launched in 1990, including the Na ...

and for the

RSL Christopher Bland Prize The RSL Christopher Bland Prize was inaugurated by the Royal Society of Literature to encourage the work of older writers. It is awarded annually to an author of a fiction or non-fiction book who was first published when aged 50 or over. The prize ...

. Its sequel, ''Yours Cheerfully'', followed in summer 2021. It was also a ''Times'' Bestseller. In an interview with ''

My Weekly ''My Weekly'' is a magazine for women. Published by D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd of Dundee, Scotland. It tends to consist of short stories, reader contributions, knitting or sewing patterns, and celebrity gossip. There are no real life horror stories ...

'', Pearce discussed her plans for the series to follow the lead character Emmy through the war. The third book in the series, ''Mrs Porter Calling'' is set in 1943, and was published in 2023, with a fourth book, ''Dear Miss Lake'', due in the summer of 2025.

Bibliography

''The Emmy Lake Chronicles''

* ''Dear Mrs Bird'' (2018) * ''Yours Cheerfully'' (2021) * ''Mrs Porter Calling'' (2023) * ''Dear Miss Lake'' (2025)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearce, AJ Living people 1964 births 21st-century English women writers Alumni of the University of Sussex English historical novelists People from Basingstoke English women historical novelists Writers from Hampshire