old fashioned gentle books

[mumwon]

Talking on another topic 2 of us mentioned "Mrs Harris goes to Paris" a lovely uplifting old fashioned book - ia there any books that other people like - either as a child or as an adult that you can suggest & tell us about them - briefly!
Mrs Harris is about an old fashioned char who saves & goes to Paris to buy Dior dress
& "Family at One end Street" children's story about a family with several dc before the ww2

Oh the Milly Molly Mandy stories.
They were the only books I felt reflected my childhood.

Gobbolino the Witch's cat

Goodnight Mr Tom - lovely book (loved the film too - it makes me cry)

I recently read The Countess Downstairs (recommended upthread) as it was recommended also by the novelist Tana French in a NYT interview. IT was so charming.

I love the Blue Castle by A.E. Montgomery (anne of green gables) - another one I got from MN. Cheryl Mendelson has 3 lovely books set in New York . Morningside Heights is the first one.

So many books mentioned here which I love.

One of my all-time favourites was A Little Princess, which I loved much more than The Secret Garden.

A Little White Horse was another favourite and Just William, of course.

And as a much younger child: My Naughty Little Sister, Sam Pig, Milly Molly Mandy, and Teddy Robinson. I managed to find a collection of Teddy Robinson stories and that was a big favourite of DS's when he was little.

Actually Mumwon, I fondly remember reading On The Beach. You are right, it is gentle. I've always resisted rereading it in case I ruin the memory.

I have an archetype in my head that the end of humankind will be gentle and that book fits. Hope I'm making sense.

Michelle Magorian! Yes. Though I preferred Coming Home to Goodnight Mr Tom.

Eva Ibbotson and Vienna. Try Madensky Square for light love story and appreciation of beautiful dresses.

I second Miss Read, ditto the Diary of A Provincial Lady books which are seriously funny.

As a child I loved the Jennings books, and also the Bobby Brewster ones by H.E. Todd (?)

My favourite gentle read as an adult is Forster’s “A Room with a View”, which I have re-read countless times.

Maeve Binchy books are the literary equivalent of a cup of hot chocolate on a cold day.

There are so many lovely ideas here. Can I recommend early Margery Allingham books? Crime fiction but of another era. Also Josephine Tey. I used to borrow some of my mum's favourites by Louise May Alcott until I got a kindle: 8 Cousins and its sequel Rose in Bloom, and also An Old-fashioned Girl. I enjoyed the Dimsie books by Dorita Fairlie Bruce though they are long out of print now. Swallows and Amazons along with the sequels are lovely books - much prefer the UK based ones to the more exotic locations though. Thank you for starting such a fun thread!

Lots of love for Gobbolino here!
Also:
Twig - Mary Orton Jones
The Animals of Farthing Wood - Colin Dann
The Kitchen Madonna - Rumer Godden (no one I know has ever heard of it but it’s brilliant, can read it in one sitting) and others by RG
The Borrowers - Mary Norton
The Mary Poppins books - PL Travers
The Grand Sophy - Georgette Heyer (more grown up!)

Someone mentioned Persephone books. They are classic books by female authors. There is a list on their website of books free to kindle.

Yes to James Herriot and Alison Uttley!

One of my favourites by Alison Uttley is 'Magic In My Pocket: A Selection of Tales'

For snippets of European folklore on fairies, leprechauns, elves and such, I love reading 'A Field Guide to the Little People' by Nancy Arrowsmith and George Moorse

Ahh, like hot chocolate on a cold day is a lovely way to describe Maeve Binchey books!

Elizabeth Jane Howard - The Beautiful Visit
Betty MacDonald - The Egg & I, Anybody Can Do Anything, The Plague & I. Fabulous, easy to read, funny and full of endearing and unforgettable characters
Jerome K Jerome - Three Men On A Boat, Three Men On The Bummel
L P Hartley - The Go-Between
Rumer Godden - The Greengage Summer
Rebecca West - The Fountain Overflows
Rosamond Lehmann - Dusty Answer
Vita Sackville-West - All Passion Spent
Elizabeth Von Arnim - The Enchanted April
Miles Franklin - My Brilliant Career
Also as suggested by a PP - E M Delafield's Diary of A Provincial Lady

Monica Dickens wrote some books that were harrowing rather than peaceful, but the autobiographical ones One Pair of Feet, One Pair of Hands and My Turn To Make The Tea are all lovely (and very funny in places) also great are The Happy Prisoner and Marianna.

Classic stuff. Was sad to reach the end of all of these

Oh, forgot to mention The Precious Bane, by Mary Webb. I loved poor Prue...

I just want to post again to thank the OP and everyone who has contributed to this thread. This forum is one of my favourites on MN.

Barbara Willard's Mantlemass Chronicles,written in the 1970s, starting with The Lark and the Laurel - THE most wonderful historical fiction for children. It spans generations and I'm always astonished that her books don't get mentioned more often.

Diana Wynne Jones, the Chronicles of Chrestomanci and Howl's Moving Castle - brilliant stuff.

Tove Jansson's Moomintroll novels are really lovely, gently philosophical.

Barbara Kingsolver has written some wonderful stuff.

Mary Jane Staples and Beryl Kingston are great authors of cosy saga type stories. Also Rosamunde Pilcher - I love Coming Home and the Shellseekers.

Hens Dancing and Summertime by Raffaella Barker

Some of my favourites on here. I also recommend
Major Pettigrew's Last stand - Helen Simonson and Adriana Trigiani's Big Stone Gap trilogy.