In September 1943, a twenty-nine-year-old postal clerk from North London named Chris Barker found a spare hour to write to a work colleague named Bessie Moore. His letter was innocent enough, but Bessie’s response was unexpectedly enthusiastic. By their third exchange, it was clear to both of them they had ignited a passion that would not easily be extinguished.

But there were complications, such as not actually seeing each other. When he first wrote, Barker was serving as a signalman in North Africa during the war. Their passionate romance through the mail would have to survive three years of unusual obstacles, including ruined cities, enemy capture, disdain from friends and the army censor. The couple exchanged more than five-hundred letters, some steamy and full of torrents of desire, others stoic or illuminating. This book distils the most alluring, compelling and heart-warming.

It’s all here: bombs, lust, comical misunderstandings and deep yearning - brought to life in the deft and elegant language that the great poets would struggle to emulate. My Dear Bessie is a moving love story set against the backdrop of war- torn Europe, a remarkable account of life during the war and above all a unique example of the power of letters to transform ordinary lives.