Absolutely loved The Language of Birds!
This book is so warm, strong and feminine. I found it on the shelves of the library I work at and was attracted by the 60s/70s imagery on the front cover. The main character Mandy is so likeable and I was hooked by the style of writing; simple yet full of depth. Lots of intricate, unusual metaphors and descriptions that made me feel intrigued about the author. I'm always interested in writing that makes me wonder and admire the authors mind. I had no idea until halfway through, but the story is actually a fictionalised account of events based on the real-life characters and events of the aristocratic Lucan family and their nanny. I won't say much more as it was, for me, a massive spoiler realising this and I would rather have read on oblivious. But yes, Lord and Lady Morven are the fictionalised Lord and Lady Lucan and Mandy is the real-life Sandra Rivett who was the family nanny caught up in the nasty custody-battle.
The writing and characters kind of reminded me of an Edna O'Brien novel. I think that must be the lucid femininity throughout the story; the strength and endurance of women, fertility, and the beauty of female friendship. It really is a beautiful book and I highly recommend. ( )

Two young women meet while patients at a psychiatric hospital, and forge ahead to start new lives nannying in London. For Mandy, this means the dysfunctional household of the estranged Lord and Lady Morven...she, frail and mentally unstable; he, ostensibly charming, yet with allegations of violence and bullying.
Are the private detectives he posts on his wife's door just there to ensure the safety of the children? Is Lady Morven hysterical and prone to exaggeration?
With a definite feel of the 70s to the whole narrative, this imaginary re-working of the Lord Lucan case is very readable and enjoyable. ( )

After a traumatic time involving giving up two children and psychiatric care Mandy River is ready to move forward. She arrives in London to work as a nanny with little training but lots of experience and is taken on by Lady Morven to look after her two children. Mandy is supported by her friend Rosemary, a Norland Nanny, and she falls for Neville, a local man. Life in the Morven household is chaotic with fragile Lady Morven in the midst of a bitter battle with her estranged husband, the glamorous gambling Lord Morven. Eventually this has to end in tragedy.
Dawson says that she wanted to write about Lord Lucan but wanted some artistic licence and here she has imagined characters grounded in fact but embellished with fiction. Mandy is a rather tragic character, Lady Morven hard to like and Lord Morven may or may not be a killer. The period touches are immaculate - contraception and sex, racism and fashion are handled brilliantly - the life of society and poverty in 1970s London is juxtaposed. There is a certain degree of floweriness to the writing in places but the sadness of all comes through. ( )