Showing results by author "Miss Miss Read" in All Categories

Anna Lacey had spent most of her 20 years on her Essex farm. Her doting parents, rural friends and country childhood had not prepared her for the shock of relocation to a raw new neighbourhood for her first year as a teacher. But Anna was gifted with the abilities to make friends and to learn as she taught.

On a bright summer's day, old Miss Clare, now retired from teaching, awaits the visit of her oldest friend, Emily Davis. In between, she recalls the events in their 70-year friendship and country life in England during that time.

Those who have come to love Miss Read's delightfully humorous novels of country life will be enraptured by these two autobiographical volumes, affectionate and unashamedly nostalgic accounts of her childhood. In A Fortunate Grandchild, Miss Read draws on her gentle and colourful memories of Grandma Read in Lewisham and Grandma Shafe in Walton-on-the-Naze, and their rambling, flock-wallpapered houses full of nooks and forbidden adult mysteries, which provided young Dora with a bedrock of security in the uncertain days of the Great War.

Mrs Pringle, the lugubrious school cleaner, has always been a favourite character in the Fairacre series. Here we trace Maud Pringle's life from childhood visits to the village from her Caxley home.

The people of Fairacre are up in arms about the possible closure of the village school. This anxious time for Miss Read is made bearable by the support of all her friends and neighbours.

From organising the school summer fete - 'Because of our inability to recognise our climatic shortcomings from the outset, arrangements for outdoor jollities get completely out of hand' - to the sometimes rather odd passions of childhood - 'I collect stones with holes in them' - Miss Read captures the essence of rural life, and in particular of village schools, as only she can.

From an unexpected visitor on Christmas Eve in "The Christmas Mouse" to an unwanted change of plan in "No Holly For Miss Quinn", Miss Read recounts some of the most memorable Christmas events where often, despite best-laid plans, things do not always go as expected.For heart-warming reading there is no writer to rival Miss Read, and this charming collection of Christmas tales is packed with unforgettable characters, enchanting stories and festive cheer.

The arrival of a stranger in the village of Thrush Green stirs up ripples of speculation and interest. Not only does the village find itself paying tribute to this stranger's hero (a missionary born and bred in Thrush Green) but his presence has a dramatic affect on Miss Dimity Dean's romantic prospects.

Storm in the Village, Miss Read, Headmistress of Fairacre School, learns of a proposed new housing development that soon has the citizens of Fairacre up in arms. In The Fairacre Festival, after a storm damages the church roof, the villagers must raise money for repairs.

The end of the school year often brings unmitigated rapture for schoolteachers, and so it should for Miss Read, schoolmistress in the charming English village of Fairacre. But on the very first day of the long summer holiday, she falls and breaks her arm. Just when her summer seems ruined, her old friend Amy Garfield, comes to her aid with a diverting suggestion. They travel to Crete for two weeks, and the change of scene provides a welcome break for both of them.

When the Cotswold village of Thrush Green decides to combine the 100th anniversary of a mission school opened by the village's most distinguished son and the centenary of the village school, the plans are for a very special celebration indeed.

A weight-losing recipe sends a portly Victorian housemaid literally sky-high. Mrs Next-Door, the queen of copycats, drives her patient neighbour mad with rage; the tragic tale of the ghost of Fairacre; the touch-and-go romance of Elsie Parker. In Over the Gate, Miss Read, the village schoolmistress, continues to remember odd incidents and excellent stories and to retell them with characteristic grace and compassion.

It's the May Day holiday, and a fair has come to the village of Thrush Green. The residents of Thrush Green all have their own views about the fair. For young Paul, just recovered from an illness, it is a joy to be allowed out to play at the fair; for Ruth, who returned to the soothing tranquility of Thrush Green nursing a broken heart, the fair is a welcome distraction from her own problems. And for Dr Lovell, the fair brings an unexpected new patient.

Fairacre is a village of cottages, a church and the school, and at the heart of the school, its head mistress, Miss Read. Through her discerning eye, we meet the villagers of Fairacre and see their trials and tribulations, from the irascible school cleaner Mrs. Pringle, to the young school children, with their scraped knees, hopeful faces, and inevitable mischief.

Illegal battering of gingernuts and conkers in a murky corner of the playground; a procession of bearers of lost property interrupting the telling of the story of Joseph; justice being firmly done on three malefactors who stole Mr Henry's eggs... Here are 40 delightful stories about life as a village schoolteacher, set against the changing seasons of the countryside.

From the rural festivities in 'Village Christmas' to the poignant tale of a white robin, these two stories demonstrate the wry wit and light touch of Miss Read. Two heartwarming and wonderfully festive listens.

The first charming Caxley tale introduces the deep-rooted camaraderie between Septimus Howard, a calm and controlled man, and Bender North, a confident, successful but gruff ironmonger. Their argumentative sides often clash, displaying moments of fury and forgiveness with wonderful tenderness. Theirs is a friendship that survives misunderstandings, the tragedy of war, and the bitterness of loss. The story of their families continues through the generations. Read by June Barrie.

In Village Diary, Miss Read describes the people of Fairacre with exactitude, a sense of comedy, and sharp observation. In addition to those characters familiar to readers of Village School, there are newcomers, including dictatorial Amy, an old college friend; Mr Mawne, whom the village sees as a possible husband for the unwilling Miss Read; and the earnest new infants teacher.

"No matter how devoted, dedicated, conscientious and altogether noble a teacher is, I feel pretty sure that each and everyone feels the same sense of freedom and relief from her chains when the end of term arrives..." So it is for Miss Read - but on the very first day of the long summer holiday...

Miss Read heard about the sale of Tyler's Row from the always well-informed Mrs Pringle - and before long, Fairacre was alive with rumours. Why were the present owners selling? Was it true that a football pools winner was about to buy it? Had Tyler's Row been condemned - or was it to be restored?...