ミス・リ−ド

From organising the school summer fete to the sometimes rather odd passions of childhood, Miss Read captures the essence of rural life as only she can....

"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...."

Charles Henstock, vicar of Thrush Green, is living in his new vicarage after the old one burned down. In its place are eight retirement homes, but there’s heated debate in the village about the new residents....

Anna Lacey had spent most of her 20 years on her Essex farm. She was not prepared her for the shock of relocation to a raw new neighbourhood....

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....

The Cotswold village of Thrush Green is a particularly close-knit community, where many of the inhabitants have known each other since childhood....

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....

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

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

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....

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....

The end of the school year often brings unmitigated rapture for schoolteachers, and so it should for Miss Read....

The Howards of Caxley begins on a fine May morning in the fateful year of 1939....

The house stood empty for many months. Then one bright April day, some discreet onlookers saw a good-looking woman pushing her way through the nettles to the front door....

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....

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

On a blustery day in Fairacre, Miss Clare sees two strangers "pacing slowly, side by side, along the edge of Hundred Acre Field, which lay on the other side of Miss Clare's garden hedge....

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

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.....