What do you think?
Rate this book
Dear Sir
Alexa had a perfectly innocent reason for being with Richard Millom in his Paris hotel room. But in his devilish way, Richard made it seem otherwise to the handsome disapproving stranger, Christopher Walden, who arrived at the wrong moment... Why was this stranger's opinion so important to Alexa?
When she met Christopher again, he did not remember her and she wanted him to think well of her-and he would if Richard did not interfere!
When she met Christopher again, he did not remember her and she wanted him to think well of her-and he would if Richard did not interfere!
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1958
1 person is currently reading
43 people want to read
About the author
Mary Burchell
158 books84 followersIda Cook was born on 1904 at 37 Croft Avenue, Sunderland, England. With her eldest sister Mary Louise Cook (1901), she attending the Duchess' School in Alnwick. Later the sisters took civil service jobs in London, and developed a passionate interest in opera. The sisters helped 29 jews to escape from the Nazis, funded mainly by Ida's writing. In 1965, the Cook sisters were honored as Righteous Gentiles by the Yad Vashem Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Authority in Israel.
As Mary Burchell, she published more than 125 romance novels by Mills & Boon since 1936. She also wrote some western novels as James Keene in collaboration with the author Will Cook (aka Frank Peace). In 1950, Ida Cook wrote her autobiography: "We followed our stars". She helped to found the Romantic Novelists' Association, and was its president from 1966 to her death on December 22, 1986.
As Mary Burchell, she published more than 125 romance novels by Mills & Boon since 1936. She also wrote some western novels as James Keene in collaboration with the author Will Cook (aka Frank Peace). In 1950, Ida Cook wrote her autobiography: "We followed our stars". She helped to found the Romantic Novelists' Association, and was its president from 1966 to her death on December 22, 1986.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 28, 2015
Loved it! I really don't want to give away the plot but I loved how the book ended. So, I am going to keep my mouth shut and recommend it to anyone who likes to judge others by using their own judgments and draw their own conclusions.
December 15, 2020
Absolutely weird title. There is no Sir in the story, let alone someone dear !!
If you are willing to read through 200 pages and not know till page 190 who the real hero is, then this book is for you !!!!!!!!!!
There are 2 men, I dare not call them "Hero" and "OM". I was vacillating between the 2 throughout.
Alexa, a lovely and sweet secretary lives with her younger sister - a rather shrewd girl.
The younger one gets into a muddle with Richard, a rich man. She goes away to France with him, allegedly to pursue a career in music. Before things get messy, the heroine lands up in Paris and confronts Richard about the sordid business.
But the whole meeting lasted exactly 2 minutes. And during those 2 minutes, Christopher, a surgeon comes there. Seeing Alexa with Richard, he assumes the worst.
So throughout the book, Alexa keeps meeting these 2 men in varied circumstances. She spends most of the book fancying Christopher, but thoroughly intrigued by Richard's character.
Christopher, as you might have guessed by now is the worthy (read 'boring' !) OM. And Richard is the rakish (read 'charming' !) hero. After a few misunderstandings set right, Alexa decides, its going to be the charming rake after all.
But during the middle pages, it looked as though Alexa was going to settle happily for Christopher. And the story lacked spice then. Only when Richard started to gain the upper hand, did I heave a sigh of relief.
So much for my righteous choice of good men! The author clearly played a trick on me. And proved beyond doubt that, gentle and honest men are certainly not hero material !!!!!!!
If you are willing to read through 200 pages and not know till page 190 who the real hero is, then this book is for you !!!!!!!!!!
There are 2 men, I dare not call them "Hero" and "OM". I was vacillating between the 2 throughout.
Alexa, a lovely and sweet secretary lives with her younger sister - a rather shrewd girl.
The younger one gets into a muddle with Richard, a rich man. She goes away to France with him, allegedly to pursue a career in music. Before things get messy, the heroine lands up in Paris and confronts Richard about the sordid business.
But the whole meeting lasted exactly 2 minutes. And during those 2 minutes, Christopher, a surgeon comes there. Seeing Alexa with Richard, he assumes the worst.
So throughout the book, Alexa keeps meeting these 2 men in varied circumstances. She spends most of the book fancying Christopher, but thoroughly intrigued by Richard's character.
Christopher, as you might have guessed by now is the worthy (read 'boring' !) OM. And Richard is the rakish (read 'charming' !) hero. After a few misunderstandings set right, Alexa decides, its going to be the charming rake after all.
But during the middle pages, it looked as though Alexa was going to settle happily for Christopher. And the story lacked spice then. Only when Richard started to gain the upper hand, did I heave a sigh of relief.
So much for my righteous choice of good men! The author clearly played a trick on me. And proved beyond doubt that, gentle and honest men are certainly not hero material !!!!!!!
March 1, 2019
A super strange Mary Burchell, where I didn't like the way the heroine let her sister walk all over her, and I just wanted her to have conversations and clear things up! She didn't show any real spunk until the end, and there were a few too many coincidences.
It's a Mary Burchell, so it's worth reading, and it's good when a genre romance can surprise you, but I wasn't fond of any of the characters.
It's a Mary Burchell, so it's worth reading, and it's good when a genre romance can surprise you, but I wasn't fond of any of the characters.
June 18, 2019
This book was made of wildly improbable coincidences and increasingly nonsensical Big Misunderstandings. Oh vey. Though this heroine wasn’t quite as stupid as the one who couldn’t figure out how to work an escalator. So there’s that.
Read
January 4, 2016The book ended too soon but I was extremely happy with the ending. Jessica was adorable, so were H&h.
September 1, 2025
This wasn’t BAD, but I liked it more before the reveal 🤣
August 13, 2021
2.5 stars ⭐️ ⭐️ This was a 50's book. It was the one about the hotel and sister disaster in France that older sister, heroine, had to rescue sister's passport and suitcase. Too many misunderstandings, not enough romance. But it was written in 50's.
August 23, 2020
A well written book as always from Mary Burchell but a bit of a surprising one where until 2 pages from the end I wasn’t sure who the h was going to end up with....
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 26, 2022
Good story-telling skills. Couldn't resist, I had to peek the end.😉
June 28, 2023
Story with twist!
June 18, 2025
This book was worth all of the trouble I went through to buy it. The first copy got lost in the mail for over a month before we asked for a refund and ordered it from another seller.
It was hard to find this one at a reasonable price. I ended up buying the golden hardcover edition, which contained this book and two others by different authors. The pages are brittle with age (published in 1971) and tear very easily. I would rather have had the paperback I ordered originally because I've never had problems with brittle pages on these collectable books before.
Alexa lives with her sister Jill in London. One day, she sees a note from Jill saying a man called Richard is taking her to Paris with him. Alexa follows her sister to Paris. To Jill's surprise, only one room has been booked for them, which makes Jill uncomfortable. Alexa and Jill meet up and plan to go home, but Jill remembers her passport is with Richard. Alexa goes back to get it. As she's leaving with Jill's suitcase and passport, Richard kisses her in front of his friend, Christopher, who has just walked in the door. He intimates that Alexa had been sharing his room, rather than Jill.
Some side characters get involved, and lies are told to cover up Jill's embarrassment. The plot goes from there.
"Dear Sir" is number 3 in the Florian series, which starts with "Under the Stars of Paris". I inserted "Yours to Command" into the list because its characters show up in the following three books, along with Florian. Only book 1 and book 5 are shown on lists as her Florian books, but, because I found others with these characters, I made my own list.
Florian Book List
1. Under the Stars of Paris (1956)
1.5 Yours to Command (1956) (not a related story-wise, but has recurring characters in the next 3 books.)
2. On the Air (1956) (has characters from Yours to Command)
2.5 Love is My Reason (1957) (not related story-wise, but characters also appear in Dear Sir)
3. Dear Sir (1958) (has characters from Yours to Command, as well as other former characters)
4. Dear Trustee (1958) (has characters from Yours to Command, but not Florian)
5. Paris and My Love (1960)
6. The Wedding Dress (1961)
7. The Other Linding Girl (1966)
Grey eyes: Christopher; Florian; Sydney Manning has grey-blue eyes
It was hard to find this one at a reasonable price. I ended up buying the golden hardcover edition, which contained this book and two others by different authors. The pages are brittle with age (published in 1971) and tear very easily. I would rather have had the paperback I ordered originally because I've never had problems with brittle pages on these collectable books before.
Alexa lives with her sister Jill in London. One day, she sees a note from Jill saying a man called Richard is taking her to Paris with him. Alexa follows her sister to Paris. To Jill's surprise, only one room has been booked for them, which makes Jill uncomfortable. Alexa and Jill meet up and plan to go home, but Jill remembers her passport is with Richard. Alexa goes back to get it. As she's leaving with Jill's suitcase and passport, Richard kisses her in front of his friend, Christopher, who has just walked in the door. He intimates that Alexa had been sharing his room, rather than Jill.
Some side characters get involved, and lies are told to cover up Jill's embarrassment. The plot goes from there.
"Dear Sir" is number 3 in the Florian series, which starts with "Under the Stars of Paris". I inserted "Yours to Command" into the list because its characters show up in the following three books, along with Florian. Only book 1 and book 5 are shown on lists as her Florian books, but, because I found others with these characters, I made my own list.
Florian Book List
1. Under the Stars of Paris (1956)
1.5 Yours to Command (1956) (not a related story-wise, but has recurring characters in the next 3 books.)
2. On the Air (1956) (has characters from Yours to Command)
2.5 Love is My Reason (1957) (not related story-wise, but characters also appear in Dear Sir)
3. Dear Sir (1958) (has characters from Yours to Command, as well as other former characters)
4. Dear Trustee (1958) (has characters from Yours to Command, but not Florian)
5. Paris and My Love (1960)
6. The Wedding Dress (1961)
7. The Other Linding Girl (1966)
Grey eyes: Christopher; Florian; Sydney Manning has grey-blue eyes
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews