Miss Read is the pseudonym of Mrs Dora Saint, a school-mistress born in 1913, who wrote two series of novels between the 1950s and 1990s which were set in the first half of the century. These are set in the two fictional villages of Fairacre and Thrush Green. I think the Fairacre books are my favourite because they have an obvious autobiographical element; the principal character is "Miss Read", an unmarried school teacher in the village school. Both of the series deal with village life and the characters therein and are wonderful evocations of the countryside, nature, the changing seasons as well as involving a degree of social commentary on the villages and some gentle humour.
"The first day of term has a flavour that is all its own; a whiff of lazy days behind and a foretaste of the busy future. The essential thing for a village schoolmistress on such a day is to get up early. I told myself this on a fine September morning, five minutes after switching off the alarm clock. The sun streamed into the bedroom, sparking little rainbows from the window's edge, and outside rooks cawed noisily from the tops of the elm trees in the churchyard" -- Village School
I've just discovered that you can get a preview of Thrush Green and Village School, the first book in each series on Google Books (just search for "Miss Read") and hopefully that might be enough to tempt you. The books were originally published by Penguin, in a variety of editions (see below) but have recently been republished by Orion (bottom picture). Penguin also produced compendium editions, which would be wonderful to get your hands on if you spot them in a second hand bookshop.
I simply must remember to read my copies at some point (the first two). I'm sure they will be delightful.
ReplyDeleteI love her books, after the publication of "Farewell to Fairacre" in hardback, wrote to Miss Read c/o her publisher and got a delightful handwritten letter from Mrs Saint.
ReplyDeleteFairacre is my favourite of the two series.
I wish I'd written to some of my other favourite authors while they were still alive.
I was given a copy of Village School last Christmas and have been meaning to read it. I definitely need to bump that to the top of my to-be-read pile.
ReplyDeleteI've had Village School on my shelf for some time and just a few weeks ago found a stack of Miss Read book at a used book store. I am really looking forward to reading them soon.
ReplyDeleteHave yet to read any 'Miss Read' books but I do love Rebecca Shaw's books which are along the same vein I think.
ReplyDeleteI have another friend that keeps recommending these books. She compares them to Jan Karon's Mitford series, which I loved about 10 years ago. Will keep Miss Read in mind when I'm in that kind of mood!
ReplyDeleteI see these in shops all the time and for some reason I thought they were Miss Marple-esque mysteries! How strange! They sound delightful and I'll be sure to pick one up next time I see one.
ReplyDeleteMy problem with Miss Read is that there are too many of them and they are in series which makes me a little crazy. I have read about 3 of them out of order, but my OCD got the best of me and I can't contemplate reading the others I own until I read the ones that came before them (in order). But then I think of all the other things I want to read and reading a giant stack of Miss Read seems a little overwhelming.
ReplyDeleteHaving said all that. They are cozy books. Like putting on pajamas and drinking cocoa.
I'm glad this post sparked so much enthusiasm - do read them, those of you who haven't yet. As Thomas says they definitely are cozy books, perfect for the Autumn. The series element can be a bit daunting, and I have to say that Fairacre is my favourite series too, but the books can be read reasonably easily out of sequence (which is what I'm doing this time).
ReplyDeleteI'm going to look out for the Jan Karon Mitford series.
I loved Rebecca Shaw, but Miss Read is a classic version of Rebecca Shaw, and much better!
They do sound good and I will definitely look them up on google. I was thinking, are they also a bit like Laurie Lee's Cider With Rosie (which I absolutely loved)?
ReplyDeleteSamantha - yes, a little bit like Cider with Rosie, but perhaps a little bit lighter. Much recommended though!
ReplyDelete