Miss Read

The villagers of Thrush Green celebrate Christmas traditionally, in a way that has hardly changed over the generations. But not everything is as peaceful as it seems....

Dorothy Watson and Agnes Fogerty have taught at the school for as long as anyone can remember, but now they're thinking and talking about retirement. It won't be an easy adjustment....

Nestled in the heart of the Cotswolds, Thrush Green is normally a peaceful place....

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....

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....

As spring begins at Thrush Green, a series of local dramas takes hold of the community....

Fairacre is a village of cottages....

The two-hundred-year-old cottages known as Tyler’s Row....

Having enjoyed robust health throughout her career, Miss Read, the village schoolmistress at Fairacre, is looking forward to an energetic retirement in a few years' time.....

Gossip From Thrush Green returns readers to that delightful English village, neighbour to Fairacre, for a golden summer....

The village schoolmistress, Miss Read, greets retirement with excitement, and settles down to endless lazy days, but her idyll is interrupted....

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....

‘As I have been given a large and magnificent diary for Christmas... I intend to fill it in as long as my ardour lasts.’ Luckily, Miss Read’s ardour lasts all year, encompassing every aspect of Fairacre life....

Over The Gate is a hugely entertaining collection of tales from Fairacre, past and present....

A mouse's appearance on Christmas Eve in a widow's bedroom leads to a chance encounter with a small boy....

After the death of Emily Davis, school teacher and well-loved member of the local community, many of those who knew her cast their minds back to days past and to their memories of Emily....

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....

When Charles Henstock, rector of Thrush Green, moves a mile downhill to the parish of Lulling, his many friends rejoice in his promotion....

Summer at Fairacre charmingly recounts this bright, bustling season and the problems and possibilities that unfold against the backdrop of roses, skylarks and bees....

There are new people on the Green... When old Admiral Trigg and his sister Lucy died, their house - Tullivers - stood empty for many months....