Dear Poppy

David, Betsy, and Sammy Berman were nine, six, and four years old in May 1943 when the U.S. Army sent their father, Dr. Reuben Berman, to Europe. Over the next two and a half years, the children regularly gathered around their mother, Isabel, in their Minneapolis home while she typed exactly what they wanted to say to their father. This collection of more than 340 letters, selected from more than a thousand exchanged by the Berman family via V-mail, captures the anxiety and loss that children experienced when their fathers left for war.

A young woman is forced to decide for herself just who she wants to be—and who she wants, period—in this “high-spirited and inventive” witty romance (The Daily Telegraph). Poppy Carew is at a crossroads. Her longtime boyfriend, Edmund Platt, has just left her. Her father has just passed away, leaving her a substantial sum of money he made betting on the ponies. And the undertaker for the funeral is showing an alarming amount of interest in her, as is a local farmer and a would-be author. In all, Poppy is having a strange time of it. When her father’s funeral ends with Poppy being whisked off to North Africa by Edmund—who wants her back—Poppy realizes that she must finally take charge of her life and sort through the inheritance, the suitors, and her own flighty feelings, or risk being adrift for good. Wesley’s winking look at female independence, family ties, infatuation, and love is a “fast and surprising” ride peopled with remarkable characters and unforgettably hilarious situations, proving that Wesley is a genius when it comes to smart romantic comedy (The Times Literary Supplement).

When Poppy moves to the family farm to escape memories of her late mother, she uncovers a stack of letters from 1985 addressed to herself written by her mother, and Poppy believes she has finally discovered the best friend she has been looking for.

Poppy decides she must travel to Yorkshire to see her father, George, who is dying of cancer. She is thrown into the role of carer, but also into her own tumult. How long can her life be on hold? And what will happen when she returns home?

New York Times–Bestselling Author: It’s a long road from the slums to the London stage—but the path to love and happiness may be even more challenging . . . To better the lives of her sisters in the East End slums, Poppy Duveen built a new life as a star of the stage and then married a rich bounder . . . who soon left her a widow. Now she finds herself well off but forced to deal with her late husband’s uncle Hugo, the Duke of Guildham. The attraction she feels is highly improper, but difficult to resist—despite his obvious disdain for her disreputable background. Poppy, however, has never been one to give up. Thus begins her plan to revive her career, because with or without a man, she refuses to let her future be controlled by an insufferable snob . . . “A romance writer who deftly blends humor and adventure.” —Booklist Previously published under the names Jennie Tremaine and Marion Chesney