Miss Read books.

[WheresThatCatGoneNow]

Does anyone enjoy the Miss Read books?

I've been reading (and re-reading) them all since about 1993.

I've managed to buy every single one, and they have pride of place on my bookshelves.

I wonder why Miss Read (the character in the Fairacre series, not the author) never revealed her Christian name?

Even when conversing with Amy, her name was never used.

And when John Jenkins was repeatedly proposing marriage to her, he never once said her name 🤔

Also if you like these and haven’t already read them then I would recommend the Lavinia Derwent ones Lady of the manse, A breath of border air etc. They have a similar feel.

Gerard Baker has always been a bit of a mystery figure to me.

He got married to a music-hall starlet, called Hattie May, in Farther Afield (1974)

Then, he pops up again in Summer at Fairacre (1984) happily unencumbered by a wife, and goes on to marry Miss Quinn.

No mention whatsoever about being a widower or divorcee 🤔

I wonder what became of the glamorous Hattie May?

I have a feeling it says she died but the age thing always made me wonder too! Miss Read was famously not great with ages - there’s a character in the the Thrush Green books (Kit) who marries a middle aged woman but is written as being much older. And Joseph Coggs stays about 5-8 through the entire series!

Another bit of an anomaly has always made me wonder.

Mrs Peters, the proprietor of The Fuchsia Bush, is described as a widow, who has grown up children.

It's always been a mystery to me that her children never attempted to get their hands on the business after her death.

Surely, they would have contested the will, and tried to stop Nelly Piggott inheriting it.

And, yes, Kit Armitage married Connie Harmer, who was about twenty years younger than him, but what's wrong with that?

I love older men!

Why shouldn't Connie? 😉

I've come to love the age disparities, and other inconsistencies. I like Joseph Coggs not growing up, and I also notice in the later Fairacre books that while Miss Read has grown older and retired, Mr Willet and Mrs Pringle don't age at all.

I started reading these again recently although I don't think I have the whole series. But I loved the first few. Kind of wish I could live in those times. I do like central heating and my car but would happily leave all the plastic and busyness of the modern world.

With my name I'm a fan of the Fairacre books!

Loving your name!

As well as dusting, she treats bed springs to a proper clean up every week.

I wonder which of her legs is the 'bad' one?

I love the idea of Miss Read!
Would love to try a Christmas book. Is there only one? And do I need to read the series from the start?

There are several Christmas books most of which are stories in themselves but set in the same places and with some of the characters appearing. No Holly For Miss Quinn and The Christmas Mouse are lovely and I think there are a few compilations.

With the two series of books - Fairacre (Village School etc) and Thrush Green, the stores and characters do follow on but each book is complete in itself. I’d recommend reading them in order but it wouldn’t be too confusing if you didn’t.

Thanks @ProfessorofDarkArts
What’s the first book called?

I adore Miss Read and have read them several times over in my life.

There is a book series set in a village called Burracombe which is the closest I’ve found to a similar book series.

Absolutely love Miss Read and the Fairacre/Thrush Green books. I particularly enjoy her school mistress in Fairacre when she is at her most waspish.

Adore them especially on audiobook - beautifully narrated

My grandma had these books and I used to read them when I stayed at her house, starting about ages 8! I’d completely forgotten about them.

I think it was reading these that prompted me to give up teaching! I loved them so much-the way she hangs her tea towel up in her cottage after drying the dishes at 8.45 and walks across the playground to her classroom made my mornings look bonkers! Teaching them seemed like such a nice job-she cared for the children, taught a sensible curriculum (with a huge range of ages in the room!) and gave the inspectors a run for their money, but wasn’t working 7am to 6pm to create a pointless paper trail!

I really loved the books and I must reread them!

I always liked how, if it was a nice day, she would stop lessons and take the children out for a walk.

Has anyone read Fresh From The Country? Follows a young country-bred (hence the title) NQT through her first year of teaching in a school in a newish suburb.

One thing that made an impression on me was how she fell when trying to carry too much downstairs. I live alone, and because of Miss Read I'm always careful when carrying stuff downstairs.

As a child I adored her Hobby Horse Cottage book, I tried to buy a copy of it recently..... nearly £500!!

Village School.

This site has the full reading order.
www.fantasticfiction.com/r/miss-read/

Please don't read 'Christmas at Thrush Green' as your first introduction to Miss Read!

It's awful.

Start at the beginning if you can. They are just the best books ever!

I'm so jealous knowing how much you are going to enjoy them! 😀

My favourites are the Fairacre ones, but the first Thrush Green one is lovely too.

The book just charts a whole day (May 1st) and takes you on a lovely, sometimes bitter-sweet, journey through the characters' lives.

You are so lucky, just discovering these books for the first time!

I agree, they’re my ultimate comfort books and I’ve re-read them numerous times. I even painted my living room in Schoolhouse White 😂

I agree.

Who is your favourite narrator/ reader?

Gwen Watford is my favourite, followed by Prunella Scales and then Carole Boyd.

I'm sorry to say that June Whitfield's style of doing it really irritated me.

I could do with a bottoming from Mrs Pringle😊

I’ve just ordered this one to read!