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Fairacre #1
Village School
The very first Miss Read novel - set in 1950s England, perfect nostalgia for fans of CALL THE MIDWIFE or Gervase Phinn.'An affectionate, humorous and gently charming chronicle ... sometimes funny, sometimes touching, always appealing' New York TimesFairacre is a village of cottages, a church and the school - and at the heart of the school, its headmistress, 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 schoolchildren with their scraped knees, hopeful faces and inevitable mischief.Miss Read takes us through the school year, beginning with the Christmas term when the bitterly cold weather challenges the school's ancient heating system, right through to the hot summer day when school is over for another year.VILLAGE SCHOOL is an intriguing glimpse into a forgotten world and has become a true classic.
193 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1955
534 people are currently reading
6320 people want to read
About the author
Miss Read
159 books516 followersDora Jessie Saint MBE née Shafe (born 17 April 1913), best known by the pen name Miss Read, was an English novelist, by profession a schoolmistress. Her pseudonym was derived from her mother's maiden name. In 1940 she married her husband, Douglas, a former headmaster. The couple had a daughter, Jill. She began writing for several journals after World War II and worked as a scriptwriter for the BBC.
She wrote a series of novels from 1955 to 1996. Her work centred on two fictional English villages, Fairacre and Thrush Green. The principal character in the Fairacre books, "Miss Read", is an unmarried schoolteacher in a small village school, an acerbic and yet compassionate observer of village life. Miss Read's novels are wry regional social comedies, laced with gentle humour and subtle social commentary. Miss Read is also a keen observer of nature and the changing seasons.
Her most direct influence is from Jane Austen, although her work also bears similarities to the social comedies of manners written in the 1920s and 1930s, and in particular the work of Barbara Pym. Miss Read's work has influenced a number of writers in her own turn, including the American writer Jan Karon. The musician Enya has a track on her Watermark album named after the book Miss Clare Remembers, and one on her Shepherd Moons album named after No Holly for Miss Quinn.
In 1996 she retired. In 1998 she was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire for her services to literature. She died 7 April, 2012 in Shefford Woodlands.
She wrote a series of novels from 1955 to 1996. Her work centred on two fictional English villages, Fairacre and Thrush Green. The principal character in the Fairacre books, "Miss Read", is an unmarried schoolteacher in a small village school, an acerbic and yet compassionate observer of village life. Miss Read's novels are wry regional social comedies, laced with gentle humour and subtle social commentary. Miss Read is also a keen observer of nature and the changing seasons.
Her most direct influence is from Jane Austen, although her work also bears similarities to the social comedies of manners written in the 1920s and 1930s, and in particular the work of Barbara Pym. Miss Read's work has influenced a number of writers in her own turn, including the American writer Jan Karon. The musician Enya has a track on her Watermark album named after the book Miss Clare Remembers, and one on her Shepherd Moons album named after No Holly for Miss Quinn.
In 1996 she retired. In 1998 she was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire for her services to literature. She died 7 April, 2012 in Shefford Woodlands.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 577 reviews
April 25, 2019
This was a re-read for me and I’m happy to say Village School has lost none of its allure!
Set in the quintessentially English village of Fairacre, Village School follows the lives of head school mistress Miss Read and an eclectic bunch of children and their families in the 1950’s.
This is a place where everyone knows everyone else’s business and like to have a say in in too! But Fairacre has such a warm cosy nostalgic feel to it, that it’s impossible not to be drawn into the daily lives of its characters. The narrative is served with a great big dollop of dry humour, and a keen observant eye. Though there isn’t a plot as such, it’s impossible not to become absorbed in the daily going’s on in the village, and it acts as a respite from the madness and pace of life in the 21st century.
Set in the quintessentially English village of Fairacre, Village School follows the lives of head school mistress Miss Read and an eclectic bunch of children and their families in the 1950’s.
This is a place where everyone knows everyone else’s business and like to have a say in in too! But Fairacre has such a warm cosy nostalgic feel to it, that it’s impossible not to be drawn into the daily lives of its characters. The narrative is served with a great big dollop of dry humour, and a keen observant eye. Though there isn’t a plot as such, it’s impossible not to become absorbed in the daily going’s on in the village, and it acts as a respite from the madness and pace of life in the 21st century.
June 7, 2012
I turned to Miss Read's Fairacre Chronicles when I had finished the last Thrush Green book, The Year at Thrush Green. I had always thought the Thrush Green books infinitely better than the Mitford books my sisters-in-law so love. I was heartbroken when it was over. Thinking that the Fairacre novels would be more of the same, I turned to Village School.
Was I wrong! Yes, the story concerns a Cotswold village, as in Thrush Green. But the Fairacre novels are more worldly wise and the humor is much more sly. Thrush Green is the terribly idealized village everyone wishes they could live in; Fairacre is the village that you really live in, if you are lucky. The world of Fairacre is more realistic, with misbehaving children, out-of-wedlock births, alcoholic schoolmasters, the occasional abusive parent, and a schoolmistress who is human enough to lose patience and lose track of a 5-year-old while on a field trip.
I turned to Fairacre because I had already devoured all 12 Thrush Green books; I was seeking consolation. However, if Village School is any indication, I shall come to prefer it even to my own beloved Thrush Green.
Was I wrong! Yes, the story concerns a Cotswold village, as in Thrush Green. But the Fairacre novels are more worldly wise and the humor is much more sly. Thrush Green is the terribly idealized village everyone wishes they could live in; Fairacre is the village that you really live in, if you are lucky. The world of Fairacre is more realistic, with misbehaving children, out-of-wedlock births, alcoholic schoolmasters, the occasional abusive parent, and a schoolmistress who is human enough to lose patience and lose track of a 5-year-old while on a field trip.
I turned to Fairacre because I had already devoured all 12 Thrush Green books; I was seeking consolation. However, if Village School is any indication, I shall come to prefer it even to my own beloved Thrush Green.
January 26, 2019
One of a series of books written as fiction but based on the actual experiences of a spinster lady school teacher. Easy gentle reads. I have the full set on my shelves. This is the first one. Recommended.
June 6, 2007
I have read Miss Read books for many years now. I still read them regularly and get the same thrill of reading of village and school as they used to be. Her books are always by my bedside and I can always pick one of them up and get transported back into a forgotten age. Magnificent.
March 8, 2022
I have always had a soft spot for charming tales of British village life—the insularity, the micro-negotiations, the compromises, the weirdness indulged for the sake of getting along in a small society. For me such books evoke a yearned-for simpler life, though I know rationally that there were hardships involved such as I have never had to endure. So I enjoyed this brief trek through the year of a British village schoolteacher in the 1950s, but with some major caveats.
As time has passed and perceptions have changed, I’ve become more sensitive to portrayals of the working classes in such books. The authors always presume a “we” consisting of educated, middle-class, gentrified people, wealthy or just scraping by, with provisional space for the occasional aristocrat. The lower classes are often presented in patronizing terms—they have their picturesque folk wisdom, their funny ways of speaking, the moral failings resulting from their limited potential. Cozy village tales are more or less comfortable to me depending on how much page space the lower-class characters occupy and the degree of condescension practiced toward them.
So Village School was quite an uncomfortable read for me in the end, despite its charms. Here the gentry are way out on the fringes, the schoolteachers and vicar pretty much the only educated people, and the students—the book’s main focus—nearly all children of laborers or small-scale shopkeepers. Their struggles to learn to read, their poor grammar, their prejudices are all front and center, and by implication their futures are for the most part dreary to contemplate.
This may be quite a realistic picture; the author was a teacher before she began to write her chronicles. But I couldn’t help feeling the presence of the “tyranny of low expectations”—that the standards demanded of the children were so low that their ignorance became a self-fulfilling prophecy. In many ways their elementary-level schooling (through age eleven) seemed more like warehousing than any attempt to exercise their minds. And that depressed me and deprived me of the “feelz” I was hoping for. I found myself wishing for the homogenizing effect TV would start to have a few years later—at least it would open up the children’s worlds to wider possibilities.
As time has passed and perceptions have changed, I’ve become more sensitive to portrayals of the working classes in such books. The authors always presume a “we” consisting of educated, middle-class, gentrified people, wealthy or just scraping by, with provisional space for the occasional aristocrat. The lower classes are often presented in patronizing terms—they have their picturesque folk wisdom, their funny ways of speaking, the moral failings resulting from their limited potential. Cozy village tales are more or less comfortable to me depending on how much page space the lower-class characters occupy and the degree of condescension practiced toward them.
So Village School was quite an uncomfortable read for me in the end, despite its charms. Here the gentry are way out on the fringes, the schoolteachers and vicar pretty much the only educated people, and the students—the book’s main focus—nearly all children of laborers or small-scale shopkeepers. Their struggles to learn to read, their poor grammar, their prejudices are all front and center, and by implication their futures are for the most part dreary to contemplate.
This may be quite a realistic picture; the author was a teacher before she began to write her chronicles. But I couldn’t help feeling the presence of the “tyranny of low expectations”—that the standards demanded of the children were so low that their ignorance became a self-fulfilling prophecy. In many ways their elementary-level schooling (through age eleven) seemed more like warehousing than any attempt to exercise their minds. And that depressed me and deprived me of the “feelz” I was hoping for. I found myself wishing for the homogenizing effect TV would start to have a few years later—at least it would open up the children’s worlds to wider possibilities.
August 4, 2021
A charming book about a year in the life of Miss Read, the headmistress of the village school. From the book cover I had imagined something a little twee, but although it has a very nostalgic feel to it, it is honest about the hardships faced by the villagers.
March 9, 2025
After finishing the Thrush Green series by Miss Read, I decided to embark on the Fairacre Chronicles, the stories of a small rural village set in the 1950's. So far, not as beloved as Thrush Green, but it may be yet as I get to know these people better.
March 9, 2017
These books by Miss Read are my nostalgia fix and sometimes give me a lump in my throat.
The setting is the village school in Fairacre, the story is told by the head mistress Miss Read and they are a perfect picture of school life in a rural English village during the fifties and before.
The story covers a year in the life of the school, its pupils and their families. Many of the people are poor and struggle to manage of the wages of farm labourers but they are always there for each other. If there is a village event then everyone pulls together to make it a success.
Miss Clare is the elderly teacher of the infant's class and her health is failing. The school is basically one large room which has a partition between the infants and the older children which can be folded back for an event involving the whole school such as a school play. The Schoolroom has a pot bellied stove that uses coke as fuel, this is the blight of Mrs Pringle's life and she will do anything to avoid the first lighting of it as the weather grows cold. She has a 'bad leg' which flairs up when she is feeling put upon and she is a character that provides many a smile in the books. The windows in the school are set high in the thick stone walls (to avoid distraction), playtime in the school yard under the trees and overlooking the row of cottages is a much loved time. During different times of the year the teachers take the children on nature walks, during the autumn they collect leaves of different hues, acorns, conkers from the horse chestnut trees and if lucky they would find an oak apple.
I remember these things so clearly from my own time at just such a village school and the portrait painted by the author is an exact depiction of that school, we had the partition, the high windows the nature walks and a nature table, leaves in the winter and spring flowers at the start of the year. I have put some photographs of my school on my profile pictures for my goodreads friends. They show the outside of my school with the stone plaque stating 'Saint Marys School Exton 1874.' There is a picture of the old village pump which over looks the playground, it was taken in winter and shows the cottages opposite the school covered in snow. There is also a photo of the cottages facing the school across the narrow road. The old school is now a private house but you can see the old playground with its surrounding wall.
The author has a real gift for bringing the sights and sounds of the countryside to life, one of my favourite quotes from this book is:
Behind the tractor wheeled and fluttered a flock of hungry rooks, scrutinizing the fresh-turned ribs of earth for food. They were too far away to hear, but their black shapes rose and scattered like flakes of burnt paper from a bonfire.
Beautiful memories of and idyllic time.
The setting is the village school in Fairacre, the story is told by the head mistress Miss Read and they are a perfect picture of school life in a rural English village during the fifties and before.
The story covers a year in the life of the school, its pupils and their families. Many of the people are poor and struggle to manage of the wages of farm labourers but they are always there for each other. If there is a village event then everyone pulls together to make it a success.
Miss Clare is the elderly teacher of the infant's class and her health is failing. The school is basically one large room which has a partition between the infants and the older children which can be folded back for an event involving the whole school such as a school play. The Schoolroom has a pot bellied stove that uses coke as fuel, this is the blight of Mrs Pringle's life and she will do anything to avoid the first lighting of it as the weather grows cold. She has a 'bad leg' which flairs up when she is feeling put upon and she is a character that provides many a smile in the books. The windows in the school are set high in the thick stone walls (to avoid distraction), playtime in the school yard under the trees and overlooking the row of cottages is a much loved time. During different times of the year the teachers take the children on nature walks, during the autumn they collect leaves of different hues, acorns, conkers from the horse chestnut trees and if lucky they would find an oak apple.
I remember these things so clearly from my own time at just such a village school and the portrait painted by the author is an exact depiction of that school, we had the partition, the high windows the nature walks and a nature table, leaves in the winter and spring flowers at the start of the year. I have put some photographs of my school on my profile pictures for my goodreads friends. They show the outside of my school with the stone plaque stating 'Saint Marys School Exton 1874.' There is a picture of the old village pump which over looks the playground, it was taken in winter and shows the cottages opposite the school covered in snow. There is also a photo of the cottages facing the school across the narrow road. The old school is now a private house but you can see the old playground with its surrounding wall.
The author has a real gift for bringing the sights and sounds of the countryside to life, one of my favourite quotes from this book is:
Behind the tractor wheeled and fluttered a flock of hungry rooks, scrutinizing the fresh-turned ribs of earth for food. They were too far away to hear, but their black shapes rose and scattered like flakes of burnt paper from a bonfire.
Beautiful memories of and idyllic time.
October 21, 2024
Why oh why have I not read Miss Read until now? Apparently she was waiting for the perfect moment to make her arrival in my life. I thoroughly enjoyed my first foray into Fairacre and have already grown quite fond of its inhabitants. I am looking forward to continuing to enmesh myself in their delightful community.
September 2, 2017
I love reading these books about how school life was back in the 1950's and how everyone knew everyone
March 4, 2021
The three new children, who had entered so timorously on that far September morning, were now part and parcel of Fairacre School. Each had added something to the life of our small school; that little microcosm, working busily, within the larger one of Fairacre village.
Village School, published in 1955, is a work of fiction - but could just as easily be described as social history. I have no doubt that it is highly accurate about the daily routines and concerns of a village school in that era. It can be read nostalgically, certainly, but that does not mean that the narrator glosses over the difficulties of village life. Indeed, 'Miss Read' begins by describing the school house and its various inadequacies: no running water, no drains, a leaking skylight, damp stone walls and windows set high - so that the children aren't distracted from their work by the views.
The book is divided into the three terms that make up the school calendar: Christmas Term, Spring Term and Summer Term. Like her narrator, the author of the 'Miss Read' novels was a teacher for many years. I think that all teachers invariably think of the year in terms of the fixed rituals of the school year, but this is the novel which really lays down that calendar as it was (and still is, to a large extent) in an English school. Harvest festivals, the Christmas concert, Sports Day, the exams which determine what stream of schooling is open to each pupil - these are just a few of the events which provide fixed points for a school year, and which belong to the community as much to the school.
Miss Read doesn't whitewash life in the countryside. Although she is certainly alive to its beauties, there is an awareness of its hardships, too. Many of her students are poor and few of them are bookish. Although the book doesn't overly dwell on political points, they are certainly embedded in the storyline.
However, the main thing are the personalities: the kindly Vicar, the difficult school cleaner who is Miss Read's nemesis, the children and the parents. Miss Read's fellow teachers also play an important role in the plot, particularly since in one school year she has to accommodate several changes in personnel. Of all the characters, we actually know the least about Miss Read herself. This is my first book in the Fairacre series, though, so possibly we will learn more about her as the series develops. Or perhaps we won't; perhaps she will continue to serve as the reader's perceptive and sharp eye into the small but complete world of a village school.
Life in a village demands a guard on the tongue, and none knows this better than the vicar's wife.
. . . I returned to the schoolroom reflecting that we do indeed take our pleasures variously.
. . . how seldom one can indulge in the inflation of any sort of emotion without life's little pin-pricks bursting the balloon.
What an afternoon, I mused! When these boys and girls are old and look back to their childhood, it is the brightest hours that they will remember. This is one of those golden days to lay up as treasure for the future, I told myself, excusing our general idleness.
January 15, 2025
I hadn't read any Miss Read since 2021, and it's a delight to be back in her capable hands again. Her books are hopeful--no one is beyond redemption (or a laugh, see below). It is really lovely meeting a huge cast of characters, knowing that they will be more fully explored in future volumes. I am growing as much at home in Fairacre as I was in Thrush Green (though this series gets off to a smoother start, IMO). Miss Read (Dora Jessie Saint) writes slice-of-life books that imagine postwar life in rural southern England, and the milk of human kindness flows freely in her narrative.
If you wonder whether you might enjoy Miss Read, see if this sentence appeals to you:
"Occasionally, I could hear a snatch of some lugubrious hymn in Mrs Pringle's mooing contralto." (Kindle loc 2997-2998)
If you wonder whether you might enjoy Miss Read, see if this sentence appeals to you:
"Occasionally, I could hear a snatch of some lugubrious hymn in Mrs Pringle's mooing contralto." (Kindle loc 2997-2998)
March 2, 2015
A charming, undemanding tale of a single year at a two-room village school in post-war England; the story is enhanced by lovely illustrations. Lovable adults and children, with a few curmudgeons just for spice. Nothing much happens, but that is sort of the point.
Not quite as much fun as Winter in Thrush Green, but full of evocative details of tending the coal stove and planning summer fetes and jumble sales. I always did wonder how they managed before indoor plumbing and now I know. Moms who are caught up in the competitive schooling mania now infecting the U.S. should read this book.
Content rating G.
Not quite as much fun as Winter in Thrush Green, but full of evocative details of tending the coal stove and planning summer fetes and jumble sales. I always did wonder how they managed before indoor plumbing and now I know. Moms who are caught up in the competitive schooling mania now infecting the U.S. should read this book.
Content rating G.
August 16, 2007
Miss Read's books are gentle, easy reads with perceptive and amusing insights into human nature. Set in small English villages, both the Fair Acre and Thrush Green series have the same hometown feel of Jan Karon's Mitford series. These books are delightful to read whenever you need a break from the hectic pace of life and the people who are making demands on your time.
February 15, 2017
*Read for S524: Adult Readers' Advisory* I'm COMPLETELY shocked that I enjoyed this book as much as I did. There was a time when my mother's Mitford books infuriated me because they seemed so trite and I felt like they stood for everything I hated. Now I'm all Martha Stewart-ed and stuff, and I crave all things domestic. How things change... Maybe I liked this because it wasn't trying to force anything feel-good down my throat? Anyway, nothing really happens at all in these books (they are the epitome of gentle fiction), but they have little vignettes of village life throughout the seasons. I loved reading about the Harvest Festival, and picnics, and details of the schoolhouse. Oh my gosh, what has happened to me???? The stories are soothing and charming, but I definitely wouldn't recommend them for everyone since there really isn't any plot to propel things forward. I found it easiest to read a couple of chapters at a time rather than sitting for prolonged periods. There were some parts that bored me as characters discussed their theories on teaching (understandable since the author was a schoolteacher), but luckily it didn't come up too often. Now I have to let my mom in on these because she'll totally love them and I'll have to apologize for all the times I hid her Mitford books...
May 15, 2024
Thank you, LA Times Obituaries for introducing me to Miss Read,* although I am very sorry that she has passed on (at age 98). This book was delicious! Cozy, warm, comforting, gentle - a small English village filled with memorable characters, adults and children alike. The book follows the school year from "Christmas term" which starts in September to the end of the year in June. Nothing much happens - yet so much happens in the day to day life of the villagers of Fairacre. I want to live there! - in that time, of course, sixty years ago when it was a simpler world. I could not put this book down and finished it in one day (in my jammies all day!) Lovely little illustrations (black and white drawings) in the 1950 edition that I read. It is still in print, believe it or not, and your local library may very well have Miss Read's books. Amazon has them in paperback. "Village School" is the 1st in the Fairacre series. And thank you to the Oviatt Library for having this book! I'll be turning it in soon; I'm anxious to read "Village Diary," #2 in the series.
*Miss Read was Dora Saint's pen name. Here is her LA Times obituary: https://www.latimes.com/local/obituar...
*Miss Read was Dora Saint's pen name. Here is her LA Times obituary: https://www.latimes.com/local/obituar...
July 20, 2014
Charming, low-key, well-written. Village School reminded me of Anne of Green Gables without the strength of a central character you love. There's not much of a plot driving this forward, but the characters are a joy to spend an afternoon with, and Miss Read's humor is gentle and wonderful. What it's not? saccharine.
March 23, 2023
How could I have known that a random free book at a local flea market would turn out to be so rich, personal, and moving?
It's the simple story of an English village schoolteacher during an ordinary academic year in 1955. She teaches grades 1-5 together in one room (preschool takes place in the other room), lives in the designated house across the lane, and pops home during recess for tea. The account is full of day-to-day details and charming in every way.
Though the school facility is decidedly not state-of-the-art — the roof leaks perpetually, there is no plumbing, the schoolyard so small that they must use a farmer's field for games — the teachers offer a rich and vibrant education that includes nature study, music, excursions, art, handicrafts, and great literature. Perhaps precisely because of limited resources, the school is a focal point in village life, the children or the building playing a key part in festivals and events throughout the year. The vicar stops by regularly to talk to the children and teachers; the school organizes an event to raise funds for replacing the church roof. The children decorate the church for the harvest festival, where they also sing; the vicar and his wife accompany children and villagers on an outing to the seaside. Even just between church and school there is a bond of mutual interest, sacrifice, and harmony, and this same bond extends, in different ways, to the rest of the community.
I was inspired by how seasoned and foresightful the character of Miss Read was. Having weathered many a schoolyear, she has pretty accurate knowledge of how to manoeuver her classroom through quotidian challenges and handle emergency situations with equanimity when they arise. Her example has led to me think more carefully about my own small mixed-grade school and the conditions — both practical and theoretical — under which teaching and learning can flourish.
Also of particular interest was how to book described the students' experience from time to time, considering them as real characters in the story. This was a poignant reminder that even though education may be the teacher's bread and butter, education is actually not all about the teacher.
This is without a doubt one of the most influential books I've read lately; it has given me all sorts of delicious food for thought and shining ideals to strive for.
It's the simple story of an English village schoolteacher during an ordinary academic year in 1955. She teaches grades 1-5 together in one room (preschool takes place in the other room), lives in the designated house across the lane, and pops home during recess for tea. The account is full of day-to-day details and charming in every way.
Though the school facility is decidedly not state-of-the-art — the roof leaks perpetually, there is no plumbing, the schoolyard so small that they must use a farmer's field for games — the teachers offer a rich and vibrant education that includes nature study, music, excursions, art, handicrafts, and great literature. Perhaps precisely because of limited resources, the school is a focal point in village life, the children or the building playing a key part in festivals and events throughout the year. The vicar stops by regularly to talk to the children and teachers; the school organizes an event to raise funds for replacing the church roof. The children decorate the church for the harvest festival, where they also sing; the vicar and his wife accompany children and villagers on an outing to the seaside. Even just between church and school there is a bond of mutual interest, sacrifice, and harmony, and this same bond extends, in different ways, to the rest of the community.
I was inspired by how seasoned and foresightful the character of Miss Read was. Having weathered many a schoolyear, she has pretty accurate knowledge of how to manoeuver her classroom through quotidian challenges and handle emergency situations with equanimity when they arise. Her example has led to me think more carefully about my own small mixed-grade school and the conditions — both practical and theoretical — under which teaching and learning can flourish.
Also of particular interest was how to book described the students' experience from time to time, considering them as real characters in the story. This was a poignant reminder that even though education may be the teacher's bread and butter, education is actually not all about the teacher.
This is without a doubt one of the most influential books I've read lately; it has given me all sorts of delicious food for thought and shining ideals to strive for.
July 22, 2018
It is simply a joy to sit down and get lost in the little village of Fairacre. I am completely transported to 1950's England by Miss Read. It's like a mini-vacation to just sit down and listen to her woes, her thrills, her triumphs in life as a schoolmistress (though little triumphs it feels like to her, I'm sure).
This particular novel, the very first of the Fairacre lot, takes us on a journey of a normal year in Miss Read's classroom, and her interactions with the other townspeople during the year.
She's such a talented writer, I must say. Her descriptions are just so delicious, it's amazing. Her vocabulary? I'm in awe of. I never knew before that one could “run scrunchily”… or that one can eat “craggy slices of bread”!
The narrator of the story, Miss Read, leads with a charming voice – ever so sweetly pointing out the ironies of village life and the fun bits of happiness in her days, usually with some highlights of comedic episodes. Yes, and sometimes the bits of sourness too, when necessary – especially with certain dour-faced children are in the picture.
Overall? Absolutely, positively wonderful.
Favorite quote:
"'Are you alright? Can I fetch you some water?' inquired a kindly headmaster near the door. I felt inclined to tell him that I was on the verge of an apoplectic fit, brought on through exasperation, and that nothing less than a full pot of tea could even begin to help me -- So I merely thanked him and escaped into the market square."
(Chapter 18, The Music Festival)
This particular novel, the very first of the Fairacre lot, takes us on a journey of a normal year in Miss Read's classroom, and her interactions with the other townspeople during the year.
She's such a talented writer, I must say. Her descriptions are just so delicious, it's amazing. Her vocabulary? I'm in awe of. I never knew before that one could “run scrunchily”… or that one can eat “craggy slices of bread”!
The narrator of the story, Miss Read, leads with a charming voice – ever so sweetly pointing out the ironies of village life and the fun bits of happiness in her days, usually with some highlights of comedic episodes. Yes, and sometimes the bits of sourness too, when necessary – especially with certain dour-faced children are in the picture.
Overall? Absolutely, positively wonderful.
Favorite quote:
"'Are you alright? Can I fetch you some water?' inquired a kindly headmaster near the door. I felt inclined to tell him that I was on the verge of an apoplectic fit, brought on through exasperation, and that nothing less than a full pot of tea could even begin to help me -- So I merely thanked him and escaped into the market square."
(Chapter 18, The Music Festival)
didn-t-finish
May 4, 2022My second try with this book, but I'm around 20% in and just can't get into it the way I did with the Thrush Green series by the same author. It seems that many people prefer one series or the other... So I guess I'm more of a Thrush Green gal, not a Fairacre one.
July 20, 2007
My mom introduced me to the Miss Read books a few years ago. Her books are a great way to escape to a quiet, gentle, humorous world. A cup of tea goes quite well with this book!
March 24, 2019
An utterly chance find at a local bookstore, Miss Read’s ‘Village School’ took me back in time. It had me chuckling at a childhood spent reading about English villages. And Fairacres is as English as they come. As the characters reveal themselves, you can’t help but fall in love with each one of them.
The writing reminded me of Jane Austen - you can’t really read this book fast. But then, why should you? You should kick back with a cup of tea or coffee as you may, drop the smartphone and go back to a gentler time.
The writing reminded me of Jane Austen - you can’t really read this book fast. But then, why should you? You should kick back with a cup of tea or coffee as you may, drop the smartphone and go back to a gentler time.
October 8, 2022
I absolutely adored this book! The quaint setting of Fairacre is a perfect example of a “simpler times” setting, which I very much enjoy. Don’t, however, take that to mean that the book is all unicorns and rainbows. There are many serious topics brought up in the book as well.
In terms of characters, I instantly connected to Miss Read, being a teacher myself. The education aspect of the story fascinated me, as I alternated between wishing today’s educational system could be more like it was in the past, and often thinking “Education still experiences that problem (whatever problem Miss Read was lamenting).
My favorite character was Joseph Coggs. What a vividly written little boy character! I just wanted to wrap him up and take him home. I loved his indignation at having his picture copied, the seriousness with which he approached delivering an important item to Miss Gray, and how thrilled he was to get to spend time with “his baby” between terms.
Now I’m off to find a copy of the next book in the series!
In terms of characters, I instantly connected to Miss Read, being a teacher myself. The education aspect of the story fascinated me, as I alternated between wishing today’s educational system could be more like it was in the past, and often thinking “Education still experiences that problem (whatever problem Miss Read was lamenting).
My favorite character was Joseph Coggs. What a vividly written little boy character! I just wanted to wrap him up and take him home. I loved his indignation at having his picture copied, the seriousness with which he approached delivering an important item to Miss Gray, and how thrilled he was to get to spend time with “his baby” between terms.
Now I’m off to find a copy of the next book in the series!
September 18, 2025
A village in the English countryside circa 1955. Miss Reed relates the goings on as a spinster teacher in this idyllic place, although not always idyllic adults. The children are energetic, wide-eyed innocent, providing meaning to Miss Reed’s life. It’s a nice change to read something as simple without the heaviness of today.
I was ready for the conclusion, even though as in real life, it’s a continuum. It’s a little melancholy to think that those children are approaching end of life, or have gotten there.
Anyway, it’s a good read for enjoying something different.
I was ready for the conclusion, even though as in real life, it’s a continuum. It’s a little melancholy to think that those children are approaching end of life, or have gotten there.
Anyway, it’s a good read for enjoying something different.
August 28, 2021
Oh this was just the perfect soothing book for our current times. It was a gentle escape to a simpler life. Or what feels like a simpler life. One that finds troubles easily solved by the end of a chapter.
June 6, 2014
I enjoyed this first book in the Fairacre series. Dora Saint wrote under the pseudonym Miss Read. I was interested enough in the book that I wanted to find out a little more about this author. She is a former school teacher. She died just short of her 99th birthday ( according to Wikipedia). Just so my source is known;) it also said that she was inspired by Jane Austen and the author Jan Karon and the singer Enya were inspired by her. Finding out more information about her was interesting to me , especially since Miss Read is the main character and narrator of the story. I loved the dry sense of humor of Miss Read and the other fun and quirky characters. I loved Miss Clare and Joseph Coggs. So amused by Mrs. Pringle. Would love to read more books by this author.
I do have to say it started a little slow for me, so don't give up if you feel the same way. Somewhere along the way I was charmed by the characters and village life.
I do have to say it started a little slow for me, so don't give up if you feel the same way. Somewhere along the way I was charmed by the characters and village life.
April 6, 2018
I read about this series after it was recommended on a Facebook group. They sounded just the kind of stories I would enjoy so I started at the beginning and it did not disappoint.
Set in the 1950's the tale is set in a small rural village school and told by the headmistress Miss Read.
We meet the pupils, teachers, families, villagers, caretaker, cleaner & vicar and anyone else involved in the school and follow the school year and all the goings on. I really enjoyed Miss Read's observations, simplistic writing style and humour which really brought the characters and story alive, you could easily imagine it all happening.
A very enjoyable glimpse in to how things were and a great World to escape in to for a while.
Set in the 1950's the tale is set in a small rural village school and told by the headmistress Miss Read.
We meet the pupils, teachers, families, villagers, caretaker, cleaner & vicar and anyone else involved in the school and follow the school year and all the goings on. I really enjoyed Miss Read's observations, simplistic writing style and humour which really brought the characters and story alive, you could easily imagine it all happening.
A very enjoyable glimpse in to how things were and a great World to escape in to for a while.
November 1, 2014
I have just listened to this audiobook a second time round because I love it so much. It is relaxing, well written and funny, reminding me of my own primary school years, in another place and era. I think what I like best are the cheeky childrens' dialogues and Miss Read's dry humour. There is NO plot, just a series of events and a quaint, nostalgic, charming, peaceful depiction of a small village school.
October 29, 2012
This book is essentially plotless and reads like a teacher's journal from a (boring) year in a post-war English village. If you are an Anglophile then you will enjoy the glimpses into everyday life during the time period but even that gets tiresome.
May 8, 2020
I picked up this in a used bookshop in the Yorkshire Dales. Attracted by the orange penguin cover, I didn't really know what to expect. A charming look at the year in the life of a village school. A perfect read for a countryside holiday.
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