Mrs Griffin Sends Her Love

by Miss Read

A nostalgic collection on rural schools, childhood and English country life from the much-loved author of VILLAGE SCHOOL.

From organising the school summer fete...

'Because of our inability to recognise our climatic shortcomings from the outset, arrangements for outdoor jollities get completely out of hand'.

...to the sometimes rather odd passions of

'I collect stones with holes in them'.

Miss Read captures the essence of rural life, and in particular of village schools, as only she can. This collection also includes extracts from her

'Michael Joseph wrote after the Observer thing and is throwing out feelers for a book. I shall know if he still feels like it - me too! - after we've met'.

It will also include an Introduction on how 'Miss Read' was first

'Miss Read was born fully clothed in sensible garments and aged about forty. She was born, in fact, when I was struggling to write my first book and needed a village schoolmistress as the narrator.'

Genres: British Literature, Fiction, Short Stories

335 pages, Paperback

First published October 24, 2013

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

[Shauna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely collection of pieces written by Miss Read (Dora Saint) over the course of her long career.
A must read book for fans of her Fairacre or Thrush Green series.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyable. It was nice being able to get a peek into the world of Dora Saint

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finally finished this book. I've been reading it since Christmas at a rate of almost one page a day to make it last! Jill Saint found these early writings of her mother's, Dora Saint (Miss Read), after her death a couple of years ago. She wrote many articles for the Times Educational Supplement as well as for other journals. It was such a delight to read these as they are funny as well as interesting. Having been a teacher myself, I can relate to the situations she presents. I'm so glad this book was published so that we could all enjoy it. Thanks, Jill!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of essays, chiefly of post-WWII life in the British countryside, is charming. I found it a little bit drier than her novels, but interesting because she wrote that she considered essays one of the best forms of writing, and that form was what she thought she did best.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have always loved the country books written by Miss Read, aka Dora Saint. I love them because, although I grew up in a different part of the UK,I identified very strongly with the stories she wrote, having had a very similar upbringing. This book,however,has too much of an air of being a last attempt to make money out of the name Miss Read. I found the whole thing disjointed with no real theme, just a random collection of articles (or even parts of articles.) Also, given that I thought the collection had been compiled by her daughter, I found it rather jarring that the explanatory snippets nearly always referred to Dora; only once or twice is there a reference to 'my mother' (I don't know WHY I found it jarring,to be fair...). It is also difficult to tell sometimes whether Dora was writing about her own village of her fictional creations.
I borrowed this book from the library and I will not be purchasing a copy. The book illustrates all too well that, although Dora Saint was supremely good at portraying her chosen niche, she was not a great writer in any way (nor would she have claimed to be, I think). This book is too random in nature to satisfy;it doesn't really tell you anything about the author herself and none of the articles are of any great interest in themselves.

[Susan Mansfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic! I'd been a bit concerned that this one would be snippets from her novels. But after enquiring on a Miss Read Facebook fan page - I was reassured it was not a rehash. This book is wonderful and having finished all the Thrush Green and Fairace books earlier this year, it is a truly fitting end. Highly recommend.

[Lydia Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet Miss Read anthology - listened to on audio.

[Leila Kern · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always, Miss Read does not disappoint. The stories are actually essays compiled by Miss Read’s daughter after Miss Read’s passing. The essays are biographical in the sense Miss Read drew from her background to write of two small villages in England. I love the stories. And, it is interesting to read further of the “English” was of speaking. Just delightful!

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book of short pieces for fans of Miss Read to dip into. I didn't enjoy it as much as her books, with their familiar cast of characters and "frozen in time" (about 1963) quality that I love, but there were a few essays that stood out for me. One, called "Perseverance," was my favorite ("While we persist in our efforts, we live in hope, and our progress, however slight, rewards us with cheerfulness. Once our perseverance slackens and sloth creeps in, then we become dissatisfied and miserable."). I also enjoyed Dora Saint's recounting of how her first book came to be published, and she became Miss Read. I have read quite a lot about 20th century publishing in the past couple of years, mostly by way of author biographies, and it's a fascinating world. Although the book did often come first, in her case Dora Saint was approached by a publisher with the idea for "Village School" after he read one of her short pieces in a newspaper.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't as enjoyable as Miss Read's Fairacre and Thrush Green novel series... but then why should it be? It was, for a fan, a delightful insight into Dora Saint the author, her life, her work as a jobbing writer before and during her successful fiction career, as well as an unsentimental look back at educational methods and milieu. It was lovingly (and very competently!) put together by her daughter, and I was pleased to see mention of the Miss Read illustrator John Goodall, as well as many examples of his work. I can well believe her assertion that there were scenes his drawings realised far more fully than her mind's eye had previously pictured.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some authors that are so beloved by their readers that after they are no longer able to write books for them, their editors or their families must go through every scrap to satisfy the longings of the author’s loyal readers for “ new” material. This book was put together by the author’s daughter for us, and consists of essays that were published before she started writing novels, a partially finished project , some diary entries and more. To me it was worth the read, though not quite as satisfying as her novels.

[Margaret Galbraith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I felt like I was visiting an old dear friend reading this book. For years I have read and loved the Miss Read books. They remind me of my primary school days and the innocence that comes with it. Long warm summer days in our small town in Scotland. Daylight from around 5 am until almost 11 pm. Going down the Glen and finding wild flowers for mum. Taking sandwiches and water and pretending we were having a posh picnic. Everyone brought something different to share. "Be home for dinner time" which was around 5pm was all Mum used to say. We had wonderful times playing and coming home filthy after paddling in the tiny ponds and watching tadpoles and birds. It was magical. I still remember the 'ghost' tree we were all scared of until one day we went closer, all of us together to check it out. It had the whitest tree trunk I've ever seen no wonder we were convinced it was haunted. The way the sun glared on it made it eerie and when the end of summer came and brought twilight it seemed to glow when it was getting dark. That was when we were told "be home before e street lights come on". We were safe then as there was always a policeman walking the beat and everyone knew you. Memories brought back to me by the tales from Miss Read ❤️ if you're like me and loved those days you'll love Miss Read's stories. This is a compilation from a few of her books.

[Sarah Hearn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a true “Miss Read” book in that it contains portions of the diaries of Dora Saint (the true Miss Read), excerpts from her letters, extracts from articles she wrote, and bits of biographical information as well as small clips from her first book, “Village School”. Nevertheless, I found it very interesting to learn about the woman whose books have brought me so much pleasure over the years.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a long time fan of Miss Read's books set in Fairacre and Thrush Green, this final compilation of essays and published articles was important to read. Some entries were dry in comparison to her wonderfully cozy plots and characters in the novels, and my favorite parts were selections from those. But Miss Read's love of nature and the turning of the seasons are always a joy. She is very much loved and missed.

[Julia Extance · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first book I've read by Miss Read, and I found it very interesting to start with her essays and short writings before reading her novels. I really really enjoyed the entire collection and would definitely purchase my own copy to peruse again. I read it straight through, but I would like it just the same by randomly picking sections and reading just a bit at a time.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the Miss Read books but this collection of writings, collected after her death by her daughter, wasn’t quite as enjoyable. Most of them were essays that related to her prior career as a teacher and her early childhood. Interesting but not quite as entertaining as her fiction.

[Anne Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting collection of writings i had not come across before. Some of the bits bemoaning modern practices such as tv viewing, felt a bit tedious.

I really enjoyed the diary entries from the great freeze in 1963, especially as I live close to Shefford Woodlands and many places were familiar.

[Fi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this as much as I expected to: I know that it was presented as a series of reminiscences, but, even so it was rather too 'bitty' for my taste

[Angie Rhodes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Miss Reads books, but this one, was ok,. Will re read at a future date and see if I Enjoy it more

[Libraryliz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I generally love Miss Read but this collection was a bit patchy. I might not keep it. But it has made me want to read all her other books again.

[Kathy Spann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Notes from Dora Saint - the author of the Miss Read books.

[Louise Armstrong · Rating 3 out of 5]

I used to like Miss Read, but that was thirty years ago and now I'm not so sure.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very pleasant reading. Much like a visit to the English countryside of yesteryear. When I see a book by 'Miss Read' I will most certainly wish to read it.

[Sassafras · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stretched out my reading of this volume so that I could savor it. I am so glad that I did so. The assorted essays and short stories were new to me but yet familiar as they reflected the tone that Miss Read took in her novels. I enjoyed the illustrations and the narrative asides from Jill Saint. Like all the Miss Read books, I know I will come back to reread these gems. Pour yourself a cup of tea and enjoy this rare treat of a book!

[Harriet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Contains some wonderful pithy articles as well as detail on how Miss Read came into being.

[Caroline Ingvaldsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This charming anthology recaptures the lilt of the author's stories of village life in rural Britain in the last century.

[Katharine Holden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable. Insightful, too.