Many thanks to Netgalley, Pushkin Press and Eva Meijer for my copy. This was a lovely book about the little known bird lover Len Howard, who lived in rural East Sussex in the 1940s to 1960s and developed a close relationship with the wild birds that frequented her garden, especially the great tits. They all had names, personalities and littl quirks. I thought it was amazing how she taught one of them to count, and how tame they were, and lived in nest boxes in her bedroom or roosted in her kitchen at night. An unusual and delightful story.

I loved this book. It had me looking at my chirping garden visitors in a new light. I have always loved birds, they make me feel closer to nature and remind me of the sometimes harshness and wonders of planet earth, so resilient creatures for things so tiny, so I adored this really original book. It was a completely fresh perspective in literature. I highly recommend it, especially for bird and animal lovers! 

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I feel like the description of this book threw me off. I thought it would be about Len Howard's life, and I guess it was, but I didn't realize her whole life revolved around birds. It was really slow, and I'm just not interested in birds enough to read about them in this much detail. I did think the story is well written, so if you really love birds, give it a shot.

I loved this book.

It was about a lady called Gwen who loved birds and music.

The descriptions of the birds are very intriguing. She played the violin and piano.

If you like birds and music then I highly recommend

I was approved for this title last year but it was archived so quickly afterwards that I was unable to download it in time. As such, I cannot access it and I'm leaving this perfunctory review in order to have it not damage my feedback ratio. 5 stars simply so it doesn't affect the title's marketing.

While I am grateful to the author and publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this title, a busy schedule got in the way, and I was unable to read it before it was archived on Netgalley. I will be looking for a physical copy of this title at my local bookstore!

Once you realise that some of the Characters such as Jacob are actually the Field & Garden Birds with whom Len Howard , strikes up remarkable & very trusting relationships you see them & their world in a whole different light. The Book is both enchanting & also very informative too, a truly enjoyable read.

WONDERFUL WONDERFUL WONDERFUL!!!

I highly recommend every bird-lover to read this gem of a book. 

It’s made me feel that it’s normal to name the birds in the garden, they become your friends, companions. I shall see Great Tits in a different light now, I’ll watch them more closely, I’ll see their individual personalities, thanks to Ms Meijer. Thanks to Len. 

This is a mix of biography and fiction put together in an enchantingly beautiful way and it didn’t make me cry at all. (Lies, I weeped gently because I finished it!)

Gwendolen Howard is born into a bohemian family at the turn of the century.  As a child she is obsessed by two things - her violin and the birds she sees in the welsh countryside.  Moving to London to become a professional violinist Len is still drawn to the country and the birds.  After her father dies Len buys an isolated cottage in Ditchling and devotes the rest of her life to the study of her garden birds.
Reading this book I did not realise it was based on the true life story of an eccentric but passionate woman.  Len is such an engaging character, following her passions to the exclusion of everything else.  Even the more shocking aspects of the story are dealt with in a gentle and whimsical way.  The writing fits the tone beautifully, Len is a pure soul and her passion shines through.  Interspersing the narrative with extracts from her books just makes the story come alive.

A lovely book a book I read in two days.The love of a woman for birds.A woman who leaves her busy city life behind moves to an isolated cottage to devote her life to bird watching. Charming engaging wonderful #pushkinpress #netgalley

They are trying to trim the hedges where the bird nests are. Gwen loves birds and studies them . I love birds but I couldn't get interested in the characters or events

Jan 23, 2020
Samantha rated it 
it was amazing




A must read for bird lovers. 

This gorgeous novel tells the story of Len Howard, the incredible woman who defied convention and chose to dedicate much of her life to her studies at Bird Cottage, where she forms fascinating interspecies bonds with the local avians. 

Though the book is technically fiction, Meijer does a wonderful job of blending research on the life of Howard with compelling fiction to round out the novel. 

The book will break your heart a bit, multiple times throughout the narrative and particularly at the end, but it’s well worth it for the compelling insight into Howard, her avian companions, and the enthralling ways in which they interact and communicate with one another. 

And for those who fret about these things (as I do), the translation of the novel into English is wonderfully done.

I actually requested this one from Netgalley in English, not realising that the original was in my mother tongue, Dutch. I found the Dutch version, so I decided to read that instead.

Bird Cottage is about a woman who moves to the English countryside to observe birds in her backyard. She manages to tame them and they even end up living in her house. The bird parts are mixed with other parts of her life, and those were a little less interesting. I really enjoyed reading about the birds though, especially because I read it while watching the birds in my own backyard.

I guess what I was expecting from Bird Cottage - a book with "bird" in the title and pictures of birds on the cover - was a story about birds. This was not a story about birds. Bird Cottage is a story about a woman who loves birds and the environment in which they live in. It's a great premise, honestly, but this book wasn't what I was looking for.

I thought that the events in the story that take our protagonist (who's based off a real woman, by the way) away from the birds and her yard were particularly boring. After the exciting first chapter, I didn't want her to go away from the baby bird she's trying to save or the bush that it was in. Chapter 1 was what I wanted the rest of the novel to be like... and it wasn't. Bird Cottage addresses family issues and such, which just wasn't interesting.

Overall, Bird Cottage needed more birds and less problems from our main characters.

The woman and her birds. Beautiful but very slow literary fiction.

Thank you Netgalley and Pushkin Press for the ARC.

Bird Cottage Tells the story of  Gwendolen ‘Len’ Howard, a violinist in a London orchestra who tires of that life and, inheriting a substantial sum of money, buys an isolated cottage in Sussex and befriends the birds. The book is an intriguing blend of fact and fiction. Howard (1894-1973) was a real person who wrote several books about her interactions with the Great Tits that lived near her home, grew accustomed to her, and became the main focus of her life. Bird Cottage uses some of Len's own writings, describing some of her birds and their behavior, and these sections are particularly delightful; the joy that she takes in watching and describing them shines through these pages. 

Interspersed with Howard's own writings is the factionalized account of her life, from the time she was a young child in Wales, living with her arty Edwardian family, performing at "soirées" organized by her parents. Her father, n not very successful poet, would recite some of his own poetry, Len would play violin, and other poets or artists were invited to join in. Though from  the outside The Howard home appears, well, if not exactly "happy" then at least successful, Len cannot wait to leave, and does so at the first opportunity. She goes to London to study music and play in an orchestra. 
These sections, punctuated by the Great War, the Great Depression, and World War Two, are marked by melancholy; there is nothing wrong with Len's life, exactly ,but it's not entirely right, either. Although she has opportunities, she does not seem to make the solid connections with others that most of us so desire. And so, to Sussex and her birds. 
Bird Cottage is a simple story, on the surface - the path by which Len Howard found her birds. There are deeper aspects to it, however, and the reader is left to piece together the small cuts, frustrations, and fears which lead Len to Sussex. A lovely, meditative book.

This is one of the most unusual books I have read this year. And I picked it up at a perfect time for me. I just started watching birds this winter. Perhaps that's why this resonated so much with me. I would imagine that Len is a much more interesting person in the book than in real life, but her determination to share her research is admirable.

Bird Cottage by Eva Meijer is a novel based on the life and research of Gwendolen Howard, a British naturalist and musician. It fictionalizes the journey of a woman who pursued her passion for music and birds at a time when women’s ambitions were throttled. 

Gwendolen was known for her amateur studies on the behavior of birds that were published in various periodicals and two books under her pseudonym, Len Howard. After building a successful musical career as a violinist, she left London at the age of forty, to settle in the English countryside and study birds. Coming from a bird-loving family, this was an inevitable progression for Howard. She wanted to study the behavior of birds when they were free. Her devotion towards her passion reflected in her relationship with the birds. The tits, robins, sparrows, and the other birds that lived in the garden of her cottage would fly in and out of the windows of her cottage freely and would even perch on her shoulders and play with her. 

Meijer weaves biographical facts with fiction to produce a unique novel. While several passages about the behavior of the birds have their origin in anecdotes penned by Howard herself in her two best-selling books, much of her life has been imagined by Meijer. This provides an insight into Howard’s solitary life, her sensitive nature, and her fascination towards birds. Her relationship with Charles, the crow, during her childhood is particularly endearing and paves the way for her future studies on birds. 

Bird Cottage is as much a book on birds, as it is a book of sounds. Howard notes the various sounds such as the cheery whistle of the robin, the soft single notes of the tits, and the chirrup notes of the sparrows in her anecdotes, which are aptly described by Meijer as well. I, especially, liked the counting games Howard played with the birds to demonstrate they are highly intelligent creatures. Howard’s meticulous description of the birds she studied is worth reading. In due course of time, Star and Baldhead—Howard’s most favorite Great tit companions—became my favorite too.

Besides bringing Howard’s avian companions to life, Meijer also describes the claustrophobic and limiting atmosphere of the twentieth century. The way women’s ambitions were bridled resulting in marriage to be the only logical conclusion of a woman’s life makes Howard’s passion for studying birds more admirable. Although it is sometimes slow-paced, Meijer’s poetic prose with many good phrases peppered throughout the book makes this an engaging read.

Bird Cottage by Eva Meijer is a moving tribute to a woman whose works must not be forgotten. I recommend it to anyone who appreciates a well-written literary fiction novel.

Lovely, escapist fun! This would have been the perfect quarantine read - I almost wish I'd saved it to read now, but will have to settle for recommending it to everyone who hasn't yet been to Bird Cottage!

What a beautiful, serene, inspiring story! The Bird Cottage is based on an actual person, and her patience, care, and love for the wild birds who reside in her yard. Written in a calm and descriptive manner, the setting comes alive for you.
Len Howard isn’t impressed with people. She really doesn’t care to follow the expectations of her generation: grow up, marry, have kids. Len is independent, quiet, and really not affected by what others think. When she turns forty, she does the one thing that she knows will make her happy. She moves to Sussex, buys a small old cottage, and begins her study of the birds that live around her. Actually writing two very successful books, she was able to study and explain habits of wild birds while they lived freely in their natural habitat. 
This is such a peaceful and endearing read, especially if you enjoy birds. It’s so refreshing to read about people who follow their dream and resist the forces and expectations of society.
(I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Thank you to Pushkin Press and NetGalley for making it available.)