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The Songbird
Poppy Mazzini, born in Hull over her father’s grocery shop, with fiery red hair, a lovely singing voice and Italian ancestry, has always wanted to be a music hall star. She realizes her ambition, and is soon top of the bill both in her home town and down south, in Brighton and London. But when her childhood love becomes engaged to someone else Poppy is devastated. She disappears in despair, but eventually finds solace from an unexpected quarter, and through her singing she is gradually able to overcome her misery.
571 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2005
9 people are currently reading
71 people want to read
About the author
Valerie Wood
20 books26 followersVal Wood, formerly published as Valerie Wood is the award winning author of romantic historical novels set in and around Hull | City of Culture 2017
Val Wood
Val Wood
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 31, 2023
I'M hooked. My emotions were put to the test when reading, the story was absolutely beautiful.
Poppy was so sweet and young but a woman at heart and mind.
Anthony was so sweet and a gentleman to poppy, I fell in love with him myself.
All the characters were so loveable, well for a few who made my blood boil.
Charlie or Charles whatever his name is was a douche, he wanted to defile poppy just because they were no longer with their parents and he toyed with her feelings.
Val wood knows how to pull the audience in,and am so in love with her work.
Poppy was so sweet and young but a woman at heart and mind.
Anthony was so sweet and a gentleman to poppy, I fell in love with him myself.
All the characters were so loveable, well for a few who made my blood boil.
Charlie or Charles whatever his name is was a douche, he wanted to defile poppy just because they were no longer with their parents and he toyed with her feelings.
Val wood knows how to pull the audience in,and am so in love with her work.
October 10, 2025
I find Val Wood books “easy reads” no great emotional trauma which some books offer. She writes historical novels set in and around Hull, however the protagonist in this story moves to London. It’s Val Woods usual style and I consider her one of the better authors for this genre. However I did get rather bored halfway through and then the story perked up again. As with most of her novels the outcomes are very predictable, but there were a few plot turns in this novel. If you haven’t read Val Wood and this is your genre I’d recommend this book.
August 25, 2020
Very good
I enjoyed the story but found I skipped a few lines to get to the storyline. The latter part of the story was good.
I enjoyed the story but found I skipped a few lines to get to the storyline. The latter part of the story was good.
August 28, 2021
A good read as always from Val wood. Although her books are all kind of similar they wr enjoyable to read
May 10, 2014
It had been suggested to me more than once that I should read some of Valerie Wood’s novels. They are mostly set in the region where I currently live, East Yorkshire and The Humber. They are also historical in nature, usually focusing on Victorian, working class families.
My mother-in-law lent me a handful of them, and first I embarked upon “The Innkeeper’s Daughter”. Less than two chapters in, however, I put it aside. Colloquial dialogue often grates on me (I recall first coming to despise it as I read “Huckleberry Finn” in high school), and for some reason that novel seemed to be squeezing it in whenever possible; really overemphasizing it. I very nearly called my forage into the world of Valerie Wood quits after that experience, but I was eager to learn the appeal of her works. I chose “The Songbird” from the pile and gave her one more try.
"Songbird" is not a bad novel. It’s a bit of fluff; and a pleasant bit of fluff if indeed it’s fluff you’re after. Poppy is a young singer from Hull who wants to make it in the theatre. Her mother is dead and her father runs a coffee shop in town. She is madly in love with her brother’s best friend before imparting upon her career. The people she meets along the way will open her eyes, but just like Dorothy, she also learns to truly appreciate her home and those who love her.
The writing isn’t grand, yet it’s very readable. I believe that most of Wood’s dedicated readers are also from the Hull area and simply love to see their familiar haunts incorporated into a story. Wood certainly does her history, and is eager to show off her knowledge. I felt at times that she was inserting location details that were irrelevant to the story, purely for this “travelogue” type purpose.
It was all very twee and tied bow-like at the end. Wood’s readers do seem to love a happy ending. In conclusion, I believe I have found the simple magic of her appeal - a bit of nostalgia, a light and decent romance, and a map of Humberside. Personally, I don’t feel I have time to spend on any more of her quaint creations; but I wouldn’t frown upon those who enjoy a nice, warm-hearted story to cozy up with on a night.
My mother-in-law lent me a handful of them, and first I embarked upon “The Innkeeper’s Daughter”. Less than two chapters in, however, I put it aside. Colloquial dialogue often grates on me (I recall first coming to despise it as I read “Huckleberry Finn” in high school), and for some reason that novel seemed to be squeezing it in whenever possible; really overemphasizing it. I very nearly called my forage into the world of Valerie Wood quits after that experience, but I was eager to learn the appeal of her works. I chose “The Songbird” from the pile and gave her one more try.
"Songbird" is not a bad novel. It’s a bit of fluff; and a pleasant bit of fluff if indeed it’s fluff you’re after. Poppy is a young singer from Hull who wants to make it in the theatre. Her mother is dead and her father runs a coffee shop in town. She is madly in love with her brother’s best friend before imparting upon her career. The people she meets along the way will open her eyes, but just like Dorothy, she also learns to truly appreciate her home and those who love her.
The writing isn’t grand, yet it’s very readable. I believe that most of Wood’s dedicated readers are also from the Hull area and simply love to see their familiar haunts incorporated into a story. Wood certainly does her history, and is eager to show off her knowledge. I felt at times that she was inserting location details that were irrelevant to the story, purely for this “travelogue” type purpose.
It was all very twee and tied bow-like at the end. Wood’s readers do seem to love a happy ending. In conclusion, I believe I have found the simple magic of her appeal - a bit of nostalgia, a light and decent romance, and a map of Humberside. Personally, I don’t feel I have time to spend on any more of her quaint creations; but I wouldn’t frown upon those who enjoy a nice, warm-hearted story to cozy up with on a night.
March 26, 2013
One of her 'nicer' books, by this I mean no upsetting events, unlike many of Val's books. This was an enjoyable book to read.
August 9, 2012
Beautiful bold story of Poppy Mazzini who moves from Hull where his father manages a bakery to realize her dreams of music star.
January 12, 2013
A wonderful book of a girl who finds herself. As the book progresses she grows into a young woman and learns who her real friends are. Magnificent.
December 11, 2014
Great
Another good one by Val Wood. Love all her books. Great writer. Now on to the next one of hers
Another good one by Val Wood. Love all her books. Great writer. Now on to the next one of hers
April 3, 2018
disappointed a bit with the ending but it was a good read!
May 20, 2014
excellent
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews