Emily Davis

Fairacre #8

by Miss Read

The death of Emily Davis awakens remembrances of the many times she unselfishly helped her friends. Through these reflections, the listener comes to know Emily as a strong, kind and resolute person admired throughout her community.

Genres: Fiction, British Literature, Historical Fiction, Audiobook, Historical

Audio Cassette

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Dora 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.

Reviews

[Leila · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought lots of books written by "Miss Read" and she has written many, all set in the country. The name is anonymous but she was a school teacher who began writing after the second world war. 'Emily Davis' was a fellow teacher in the same school and they were the best of friends. After retirement they decided to share a little cottage

. This book, as in so many of Miss Read's books is set in the village of Fairacre. The book is full of little stories about many of the villagers both as children and adults remember the influences of 'Emily Davis with her warmth and wisdom threaded within in each of their lives. Like all her books this is an easy and gentle read.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is my favorite Fairacre novel so far. It's a bold move to start a novel with the death of the title character. I cried at Emily Davis's death which is written so movingly by Miss Read in the first chapter. The rest of the novel is the stories of individuals whose lives were changed by their relationship with Emily. The most poignant of these (even more so than Edgar's story, I think) is Dolly Clare's. She is the one who is left behind. The collection of stories is loosely chronological only at the beginning, but it is all crafted so that it creates a whole person of Emily, though the narrative is rarely from her perspective. It's very different from Miss Clare Remembers which was much more chronologically structured. Even the structure of the two narratives reflects these two friends' personalities. Dolly Clare is methodical, gentle, and orderly. Emily is spunky, passionate, and shrewd.

I love the early story when Emily gets the better of a bully. After getting Emily and Edgar's story from Miss Clare's perspective, I loved getting the story from his perspective here. I loved the story of little Billy Dove, too, as well as the later story of Susan Warwick riding piggyback on Emily after a school trip to a local farm to pick snowdrops. The next to last story is Dr. Martin's and we get a chapter in the life of a village doctor. Miss Read brilliantly captures the perversity of human nature in a few deft strokes. And who better to check in on Dolly at the end of the narrative than Dr. Martin who is able to honor Dolly's wish to be independent?

The novel ends so beautifully, and I had tears in my eyes again. The thing I love best about Miss Read is her ability to lovingly bring to life characters who are vulnerable and often overlooked by society. Emily Davis and Dolly Clare are elderly spinsters. Two "strikes against them". By giving them both their own novels, these two brave, virtuous women are allowed to be richly and wonderfully human, in full possession of their own stories.

[Pamela Shropshire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emily Davis was born in the last years of the 19th century and lived all her life in Caxley or the nearby villages of Springbourne and Beech Green. She never married, but remained a schoolteacher until the infirmities of advancing age necessitated retirement. For a few years, she kept house for her brother, but when he married, she finally was able to moved into Dolly Clare’s cottage with her lifelong friend.

Dolly and Emily met as 5- and 6-year-olds, sharing a desk at the village school. Dolly was quieter and more timid, while Emily, being from a large, happy and boisterous family, was bolder and more daring.

Dolly and Emily have enjoyed a beautiful early autumn day. Emily is tired and goes to bed a bit early, but sits in her bed a while, looking out her window at the moonlit garden. She goes to sleep - and never wakes again.

You might expect that a spinster schoolteacher who had lived a mostly quiet, country life would have left little mark on the world, but you would be wrong. The book consists of the reminisces of a few of the people with whom Miss Davis had been acquainted. Former students span the globe, and all of them feel a deep gratitude for Miss Davis.

[Cindy Rollins · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many bittersweet passages. Very sweet to read in conjunction with Miss Clare Remembers.

[Willow · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the way this was written; as various and sundry villagers think back over memorable happenings involving Miss Davis, we begin to understand how deeply she has touched the lives of those around her. Those reminiscing had sometimes made unscrupulous choices, but somehow or other, Miss Davis' influence made a difference in their lives that endured through the years.

As always, Miss Clare is a lovely example of gentle strength. This poignant story of friendship and a life well lived will stick with me for a long time.

Note: there were multiple instances of misusing the Lord's name, as well as a few oaths.

[Abigail Moreshead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favorite quote:

“… Susan was conscious of the sudden contrast between this warm room, full of colour and conversation, and the great empty airiness outside. Both were lovely, one in its cozy domesticity, the other in its limitless mystery. Her physical tiredness made the child more sensitive to her surroundings than usual, and she suddenly became aware that, for her, she must always have both worlds - each was necessary and complementary. One was her nest. The other was the place in which she stretched her wings, and soared, as effortlessly as a lark outside, into a different dimension” (212).

[Lara Popara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahhh this book is so cute. The writing style :,).
It feels like a warm summer breeze going through my brain.

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Life went on. No matter what happened, life went on, inexorably, callously, it might seem, to those in grief. But somehow, in this continuity, there were the seeds of comfort.”

Life is so very odd, especially now. Social Media offering highly curated views of Life, while Death continues its march across our time on this plane... all too often I wonder if I've wasted my life, if I should've done, could've done a ... better job? of living my life. Have I done anything that mattered?

And when I get like that I go back and read 'Emily Davis' which, in my opinion, is one of Miss Read's finest works. Quiet, seamless, almost elegiac in its simplicity, the novel starts with the death of a spinster. And with that death one supposes it will go on to be about other people. And it does. But much more than that, it goes on to be about other people whose lives were irrevocably changed (some for the better, some not so much) for being in the orbit of this little spinster. It's such a tribute to a Life. And it's a reminder, in that quiet, elegant way of Miss Read, that even the quietest among us have the power to be powerful agents of change - simply by being themselves.

Within the pages of this charming, seemingly simple, insidious book are some incredibly complex and nuanced stories; for those who have looked at the covers and dismissed Miss Read as some Bobbsey Twins wannabe, I urge you to reconsider. I nearly made that mistake (the covers are very misleading). These are adult tales that stand the test of time (these are postwar stories) because no matter how we progress as society, within that society we are all still human. If you ever wonder if you matter (especially now), read 'Emily Davis'

[Iru Sai · Rating 4 out of 5]

As you flip through the chapters, you come across different ways in how Emily Davis touched the lives of those around with her selfless ways and her fine character, whether as a daughter, a life-long friend to Dolly Clare or to all those school children who passed through her hands.

Miss Read is yet to disappoint me with her writing. She creates a world so beautiful that anyone would like to be a part of it, even with some of it's shortcomings. Her descriptions of nature's finest moments, in a pretty little countryside, and wonderful character weaving keeps one craving for more. If it falls a little short of 5-stars, it's just because this book carried a sad note throughout. But that doesn't mean the book was not as good as others in the series. It's just that I always prefer happy-books, or rather happy-endings :-) Nevertheless a great read, as always!

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The life of Emily Davis was of an English country woman, who became a teacher. She retired and lived with her single brother and took care of him. When he married, she went to live with her childhood friend, Dolly Clare. A great deal of the book takes place after Emily dies, and tells of the lives and reflections of former students, and people who loved and respected Emily.

[Hannah Conner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another collection of memories - pleasant, but not as compelling as the novels.

[Arpita (BagfullofBooks) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part of Miss Read Fairacre readalong 2021

[Arwen Baggins · Rating 1 out of 5]

(Spoilers)

This book was rather a disappointment.
It had potential, and started out alright, but ultimately I did not like it.
It had objectionable content, which I was not expecting. I'll put what I found objectionable below.

At first, I was quite enjoying it. I liked the autumn-y feeling of the beginning of the story and it was nice reading about Emily and Dolly's everyday life. The two elderly friends had a nice relationship.

Then Emily dies.
This was a bit of a surprise, and it took the book in a completely different direction then I'd originally expected, but this is not what ruined the book for me. Oh no. That comes later.

The book then shifts to Dolly remembering Emily, and I thought "This is an interesting way to tell a story, from the memories of a different character." Emily is the protagonist while also not being the main character. I found it creative.

I enjoyed reading Dolly reminiscing about her times with Emily, and thought it was sort of nice and sentimental to show what Emily Davis' life was like by a friend remembering her. I was a little disappointed to find that most of the book was from the point of view characters other then Dolly, because I liked reading about her day-to-day life in between her recollections of Emily's past, but I get it was to show how much of an impact Emily's life, and death, had made on many different people.

And at first, though I preferred Dolly's point of view, I didn't mind the other chapters until it came to one from the perspective of Dolly's grumpy sister, Ada, who hadn't liked Emily because Emily was the only one who knew about the affair she'd had. Ada's chapter was mainly about how, after she was already married and had a baby, she ran into an old boyfriend during the war, who was also now married. Ada's husband was serving in Italy, and his wife was in a different town, so they secretly met every day for a week, until the day before he was to be deployed when they secretly went to a hotel together, where Emily happened to run into them. The chapter doesn't go into any details about the affair aside from saying they went for strolls and things, but I still didn't like that the book brought adultery in. I thought it was extremely unnecessary to add that, the plot was doing fine without bringing in an affair. It decreased the quality of the story for me.

And then, as if that wasn't bad enough, there are three other separate affairs mentioned in other chapters.

One chapter from the perspective of an old student of Emily's named Billy Dove focuses mainly on an affair he had with a lady named Mary he met in Spain on a business trip, even though he was married with three young sons, and Mary KNEW that. It doesn't go into detail about the affair.

This episode is largely unrelated to Emily Davis in any way, and so shouldn't be part of the plot. I thought it was disgusting to have a SECOND story line revolving around adultery in this book. And it literally had nothing to do with Emily at all, until the very end of the chapter where Billy is trying to decide if he should end the affair or not, and he thinks to himself that his old teacher would tell him it was a sin from the devil, and he needs to stop it. Well, you can certainly say that again, Emily. Since this plot line added nothing constructive to the story (because there were already two other stories about how Emily had helped Billy, rendering this one unnecessary even if it had had something to do with Emily) I have to assume the only reason it exists is to provide yet another story line about breaking the sixth commandment, just to throw that in here.
I was not amused.

So then we get a few more chapters from people who knew Emily, which aren't too remarkable. The chapters mostly shift from the rural, country autumn-y setting I was enjoying to a big city smoggy London setting, which I didn't like.

Then we hit a chapter from the perspective of a doctor who had known Emily, and in his chapter are the two other affairs. It follows him throughout his day as he goes from patient to patient. Even though almost all of the patients get less then a sentence describing them, there are two patients who receive over a paragraph of attention.

One is a little girl with a cold, and the book mentions for several sentences how her mother is unmarried, and how people call the mom "Mrs. Petty" though she's really "Miss Petty" since when the daughter was born, she wasn't married. The story almost seems to go out of it's way to tell you that the mom is not married. I found it strange how the narrative paused to ensure the reader is aware of this fact.

After a couple of one-sentence long descriptions of a few more patients, the book then focuses on a pregnant sixteen year-old girl who's mother is in denial. After the doctor confirms the daughter is going to have a baby, the mother goes on a rant about how the daughter should know better, and how it's the grandmother's fault for not keeping a close eye on the daughter, and how the boyfriend will have to marry her, and why is this happening?!?! While the mother is (somewhat understandably, but not helpfully) flipping out, the teen meanwhile is disgusted with her mother for getting so worked up and displays a very apathetic, indifferent attitude towards the whole situation, as if she doesn't realize that becoming a parent is a serious matter. The only good part about this entire exchange is how the doctor calmly tells them that they now need to think of what's best for the unborn baby, and that everything will be OK.

Again, I found it strange how the book chose to focus on yet a second unmarried mom, and in the same chapter. Why is it putting so much emphasis on this? I will point out how neither of these two characters have even the smallest connection to Emily Davis, and serve no function to the story aside from just... being there.

There was entirely too much focus on adultery and affairs for my taste, and it took up surprisingly significant chunks in this comparatively short book. Aside from the four longer parts, there's also an off-hand mention about a character who "had produced three children before she was married and two since".

I did not like that there was so much of this in the book. It's a shame really, because the story had so much potential to just be an interesting and enjoyable read about how people's lives touch other people's lives, but sadly all of that got mixed into the narrative.

I wouldn't recommend this book, on the basis of how much rather inappropriate content is present.

Here's two minor notes of things readers may want to know:
#1. One of the chapters is about a college girl, and in it she goes to a party where everyone is getting drunk, and someone gives her a package of pills. She comes to her senses and throws the pills out before leaving and going home. The party was only mentioned in a few sentences and doesn't go into great detail, so I don't know if the pills were supposed to be drugs or what.
#2. In another chapter, a wife gets word that her husband died in an accident, and she's so upset and in despair that she cuts her wrists in an attempt to kill herself (even though she has a son. I guess she doesn't care if he becomes an orphan). Emily Davis finds her and saves her life, so the woman doesn't die.

So all in all, I didn't like this book.

While it started out well, I didn't like all of the affairs. I also didn't like the shift of perspective to characters other then Dolly. Some of those perspectives were far more boring then others. It's really too bad, because for the first little while, the story was good.

But it turned out to not be my cup of tea at all.
I wouldn't recommend it.

[James Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book starts with a sad event. Emily Davis has died in her sleep. The entire book consists of people recalling how they had interacted with her and how much good she had done them. Dealing with a bully at school was one of the stories. (Her classes also had forty to fifty students in them at a time, at different grade levels, and it must have been terribly difficult for her to deal with that.)

What happened to Emily's would-have-been husband is covered in another story. There's also a story about Miss Claire's sister, Ada, who was not a nice person. The whole thing is a very good memorial to a very good person.

[Alžběta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how beautifully Miss Read intertwines the events of various novels. I have recently read "The Market Square" and "Miss Clare Remembers" which, together with "Emily Davis," portray a fascinating picture of Caxley, Fairacre and Springbourne in the first half of the 20th century and beyond. Each book gives you new tidbits of the stories you already know and shows various situations from different perspectives.
"Emily Davis" is another piece of perfection by Miss Read, beautifully written and both moving and soothing. Most recommended!

[Teri-K · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely look back at life in rural England before, during and after WWI. Because it's told through the memories of one woman about her friendship with another girl you get local details about life from their perspectives, as well as the stories of how she was remembered by others. I really enjoy stories like this. And as always there are the wonderful details of nature Miss Read does so well.

NB - Though this is part of the Fairacre series, it really is more of a stand-alone. All of Miss Read's books can be read by themselves very well. I first read whichever book I could find in the used bookstores and enjoyed all of them that way. It can be fun to follow the details of local life in order, but it's not necessary at all. Just pick one up and enjoy.

[Anastasia Tuckness · Rating 3 out of 5]

To recap: Miss Read is the main protagonist and the purported author. Miss Clare is her older co-teacher. Emily Davis was her childhood best friend--and they stayed close. This volume shares stories of Emily's life and how she touched people for good all along the way, as well as why she didn't marry. Very interesting vignettes!

(Jumped ahead in the series because I got Miss Clare Remembers and this one in a Kindle bundle.)

[Cricket Muse · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quiet reminiscence about a dearly loved member of the world from Miss Read’s series of stories.

Emily Davis, a retired schoolteacher, now living with her lifelong friend, Dolly Clare, passes away peacefully in her sleep. The book is a series of remembrances of various characters who were impacted by Emily Davis.

[Adele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh to have a legacy comparable to Emily Davis. Though your heart cannot fail to go out to Dolly at the passing of her dear friend, there’s much comfort to be had from all the warm reminisces of the villagers of Fairacre and it’s surrounds who were lucky to have crossed paths with the charitable soul who did so much to enrich the lives of others.

[Leila Kern · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 6th book of the Fairacre series! Miss Emily Davis has just passed but has touched many people during her lifetime. People reminisce of just how Miss Emily Davis has touched their individual lives. Very touching stories.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 A short novella about Emily Davis, beloved member of her community. Throughout it all, I wanted her to have been told these wonderful things about herself when she could still hear them.
Still loving this series.

[Caroline Bartels · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading the remembrances of members of the Soringbourne, Beech Green, and Fairacre villages who were touched by Emily Davis as their teacher and friend was a really beautiful way to usher in Christmas this year.

[Beverly Oyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the book and did not listen to an audio cassette like it says above. This is a sweet story about friendship between two school girls that continues through life in the Fairacre series. I really love how Miss Read writes about country life and the people who live there.

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of the impact of school teacher Emily Davis upon her friends and neighbors through the years. A sweet story of times gone by.

[Jeanann · Rating 4 out of 5]

All of these books by Miss Read--such treasures. So thankful to have discovered this splendid author.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely!

[Peggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gentle fiction, yes. But Miss Read has a turn of phrase, deftness of characterization, and extensive vocabulary enough to wrap me right up in her stories and make me wish I lived there.

[Della · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the honest, down to earth writing style of this book.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hope I leave such a legacy! Wonderful addition to the Fairacre series.

[Judith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely, heart warming book. The penultimate chapter makes several excellent observations on life.......