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Fairacre #6
Village Christmas
A family new to Fairacre is viewed with suspicion by its elderly neighbors, the Waters sisters, until an unexpected turn of events works magic over both houses on Christmas Day.
46 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1966
35 people are currently reading
518 people want to read
About the author
Miss Read
157 books514 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 106 reviews
November 29, 2023
I've read this little book every Christmas for years. Miss Read is my favourite author and I love her English village stories. Going for the Walk in Miss Read Country in June at Denman College near Oxford was such fun and a real treat for me. A baby boy is born on Christmas day in Fairacre. He melts the hearts of the villagers. Both he and the Christ child have changed the world.
July 9, 2021
Village Christmas by Miss Read is listed as the sixth book in the Fairacre series. However, it is missing our narrator, Miss Read, and the characters we know only make brief appearances. Even though the characters we know and love are missing, the tale is still a charming one. A new family has moved to Fairacre and the villagers, especially the spinster sisters who live next door, are not taken with their overly friendly and untraditional ways. Christmas night, the sisters are called to help in a way they never dreamed. The ending reminded me a bit of the end of A Christmas Carol, where the characters learn the error of their ways and find redemption. It gave me all the warm fuzzies. "God bless us, every one!" - Tiny Tim
December 23, 2022
Sweet little Christmas story with a good life lesson.
Note added December 2022 after rereading:
I know that I'm getting old when I can seriously identify with the elderly main characters! LOL!
Note added December 2022 after rereading:
I know that I'm getting old when I can seriously identify with the elderly main characters! LOL!
February 7, 2015
A short and sweet tale of an English village life one Christmas. The birth of a baby on Christmas Day to a new family in town reveals to the spinster sisters, Mary & Margaret, as well as other villagers, that they have been harshly critical of this over-friendly large family. Time was gentle then, but our attitudes toward others are still the same today. My mother gave me this book for Christmas 1967, not sure if I read it as a twelve-year-old, but the message is timeless!
December 10, 2021
I love the introduction which describes the village sleepy under frost and snow of a December night. The story is worth reading just for that opening page.
The sisters write their Christmas cards with ' meticulous copper plate' writing. How many of us can do this or even see it elsewhere now? Makes me sad at how many talents we have lost. But it is so lovely to read about it. Miss Read certainly draws one into the time and place and made me feel almost as if I was there.
The sisters write their Christmas cards with ' meticulous copper plate' writing. How many of us can do this or even see it elsewhere now? Makes me sad at how many talents we have lost. But it is so lovely to read about it. Miss Read certainly draws one into the time and place and made me feel almost as if I was there.
June 16, 2019
Such a charming and heartwarming little story, and one that will be going into my annual Christmas TBR.
The Emerys are a new family who have moved to Fairacre, and to the elderly unmarried sisters who live next door, their ways are viewed as a bit slovenly and haphazard. Mrs. Emery is forever sending one of her two school-aged daughters over to borrow sugar or string or some such, and the little girls often don’t have a proper coat on.
Margaret and Mary Waters, the elderly sisters, think that 3 children under seven years of age should be enough, and they are disapproving that Mrs. Emery is expecting a fourth.
When Mrs. Emery suddenly goes into labor on Christmas morning when her husband is away seeing to his ill mother, the Emery girls beg Margaret and Mary for help. Being spinsters, the Waters sisters are out of their element, but they find a surprising joy in helping out. By the end of Christmas Day, they are thankfully celebrating the birth of a newborn son.
‘There’s room for all sorts in Fairacre, Mary, but it took a newborn babe to show us.’
The Emerys are a new family who have moved to Fairacre, and to the elderly unmarried sisters who live next door, their ways are viewed as a bit slovenly and haphazard. Mrs. Emery is forever sending one of her two school-aged daughters over to borrow sugar or string or some such, and the little girls often don’t have a proper coat on.
Margaret and Mary Waters, the elderly sisters, think that 3 children under seven years of age should be enough, and they are disapproving that Mrs. Emery is expecting a fourth.
When Mrs. Emery suddenly goes into labor on Christmas morning when her husband is away seeing to his ill mother, the Emery girls beg Margaret and Mary for help. Being spinsters, the Waters sisters are out of their element, but they find a surprising joy in helping out. By the end of Christmas Day, they are thankfully celebrating the birth of a newborn son.
‘There’s room for all sorts in Fairacre, Mary, but it took a newborn babe to show us.’
December 20, 2020
A lovely little book about overcoming prejudice at Christmastime. I would say the overall message of Village Christmas is to love thy neighbour.
Having been recommended to pick up Miss Read, I was pleased to discover a particular skill at capturing character in subtle and undeniable fashion. The little village of Fairacre is full of quiet, quaint life that is a tonic for those missing such company this year.
While Mary and Margaret start off rather judgemental of the lively young Emery family who have moved in near them, circumstances force them to move past their petty grumbles and help out when the Emery's desperately need it.
Suffice to say Village Christmas is a cosy tale of redemption with some admirable description. I am really glad to have finally sampled Miss Read's style and would recommend it to those seeking old-fashioned comforts this season.
Having been recommended to pick up Miss Read, I was pleased to discover a particular skill at capturing character in subtle and undeniable fashion. The little village of Fairacre is full of quiet, quaint life that is a tonic for those missing such company this year.
While Mary and Margaret start off rather judgemental of the lively young Emery family who have moved in near them, circumstances force them to move past their petty grumbles and help out when the Emery's desperately need it.
Suffice to say Village Christmas is a cosy tale of redemption with some admirable description. I am really glad to have finally sampled Miss Read's style and would recommend it to those seeking old-fashioned comforts this season.
January 1, 2020
#MissReadalong - December 2019
December 22, 2024
Sweet, but not superb.
The strength of this little book lies in its incidental detail: descriptions of the two spinster sisters' home and habits, set against the picturesque backdrop of Fairacre—which is portrayed masterfully with just a few suggestive brushstrokes—and contrasted with the helter-skelter home and habits of their new neighbors, the Emerys.
The weakness lies in the unfolding of the story. It's a very simple tale, not unworthy of being told, but to echo an old adage about good writing, there is too much "telling" and not enough "showing." We are told that Margaret is the more domineering sister; the author ought to leave us to silently infer it from the numerous examples she gives. We are told that Mary and Margaret don't think well of the Emerys; again, it would be a richer experience if we were left alone to pick this up.
It's a short story, though, which means there's not enough time for a slow unfolding of story and character. This is the curse of the genre!
But for atmosphere and quotidian detail, this book is a delight! And the copy I got from the library enhanced the experience: a slim hardcover volume with evocative painting on the dust jacket a green border of holly and mistletoe on every page.
In short, a pleasant read, but probably not destined to be re-read.
The strength of this little book lies in its incidental detail: descriptions of the two spinster sisters' home and habits, set against the picturesque backdrop of Fairacre—which is portrayed masterfully with just a few suggestive brushstrokes—and contrasted with the helter-skelter home and habits of their new neighbors, the Emerys.
The weakness lies in the unfolding of the story. It's a very simple tale, not unworthy of being told, but to echo an old adage about good writing, there is too much "telling" and not enough "showing." We are told that Margaret is the more domineering sister; the author ought to leave us to silently infer it from the numerous examples she gives. We are told that Mary and Margaret don't think well of the Emerys; again, it would be a richer experience if we were left alone to pick this up.
It's a short story, though, which means there's not enough time for a slow unfolding of story and character. This is the curse of the genre!
But for atmosphere and quotidian detail, this book is a delight! And the copy I got from the library enhanced the experience: a slim hardcover volume with evocative painting on the dust jacket a green border of holly and mistletoe on every page.
In short, a pleasant read, but probably not destined to be re-read.
December 16, 2022
A lovely, cozy Christmas short. Perfect for a family read-aloud.
The tiny village of Fairacre, where everyone knows each other's business, gets a new family move in shortly before the holidays. Immediately judged and often snubbed, it takes the birth of a new baby on Christmas Day to change the hearts of many.
The tiny village of Fairacre, where everyone knows each other's business, gets a new family move in shortly before the holidays. Immediately judged and often snubbed, it takes the birth of a new baby on Christmas Day to change the hearts of many.
January 2, 2023
Village Christmas by Miss Read was published in 1966 and is the 6th book in the Fairacre series. The Fairacre series is set in the English countryside and is such a cozy series that’s so nice to escape into.
Village Christmas is basically a short story in the series and follows a couple of spinster sisters at Christmas time. They are settling into their usual Christmas festivities when their new neighbors the unconventional Emery’s need their assistance. A new baby is on the way to be born on Christmas Day.
I really enjoyed this little Christmasy story and as always it was nice to visit Fairacre.
If you are already reading the Fairacre series you must save this one for Christmastime! It also can stand alone very well if you are interested.
Village Christmas is basically a short story in the series and follows a couple of spinster sisters at Christmas time. They are settling into their usual Christmas festivities when their new neighbors the unconventional Emery’s need their assistance. A new baby is on the way to be born on Christmas Day.
I really enjoyed this little Christmasy story and as always it was nice to visit Fairacre.
If you are already reading the Fairacre series you must save this one for Christmastime! It also can stand alone very well if you are interested.
December 3, 2021
Very short (46) about the Emery family that moves to Fairacre and find on Christmas morning that the Father is tending to a family emergency and his wife goes into Labor while he is away. Margaret and Mary, the neighbors, have a Christmas like they never expected.
March 11, 2020
4.5 stars
December 4, 2020
A sweet short story about two spinster sisters and their new neighbors across the road. A visit to Fairacre is always a comforting pleasure, and if there was ever a time I needed a visit, it’s now.
Stories of Fairacre aren’t all coziness and light. There’s always at least one aspect which grounds it firmly in reality, despite the quaint surroundings, and this was no exception.
A cheering holiday read, perfect for this time of year.
Stories of Fairacre aren’t all coziness and light. There’s always at least one aspect which grounds it firmly in reality, despite the quaint surroundings, and this was no exception.
A cheering holiday read, perfect for this time of year.
August 5, 2021
Short and sweet, with a gentle lesson about acceptance, this little story was a peaceful read. The characters are new but the feeling of the village and the writing were comfortably familiar, now that I've been through several of Miss Read's Fairacre books. I do enjoy these books more and more lately.
December 6, 2024
I love this glimpse into the past, in this case, an English Village in the 60s. It is interesting to see Old Victorian England coming to grip with the then "modern" world that i grew up with. It CAN work with love and caring!
December 7, 2024
Sweet little village story - I’ve been meaning to read more of Miss Read!
August 22, 2025
Sweet as Christmas pudding.
December 3, 2025
Another re read (listen!) of this sweet little tale.
July 30, 2024
A nice Christmas story about a new family being welcomed into village life.
January 2, 2020
Sweet story of Xmas in the Cotswolds of England, one of the most beautiful places in England. One of my favorite miss read Xmas stories
December 12, 2018
The darkness throbbed with the clamour of church bells. The six sonorous voices of St Patrick's peal chased each other, now in regular rhythm, now in staccato clashes, as the bell-ringers sweated at their Christmas peal practice. The night was iron-cold. Frost glittered on the hedges and fields of Fairacre although it was not yet eight o'clock.
I loved the descriptive writing in this little short story and it has a lovely christmasy atmosphere. However For me the story did not have enough time to develop. The stern but kind-hearted Margaret and the scatterbrained Mrs Emery needed more pages to become more than types. The story has not aged well. This was my first Miss Read book and I would have been better starting with one of her longer novels. It has not put me off though.
I loved the descriptive writing in this little short story and it has a lovely christmasy atmosphere. However For me the story did not have enough time to develop. The stern but kind-hearted Margaret and the scatterbrained Mrs Emery needed more pages to become more than types. The story has not aged well. This was my first Miss Read book and I would have been better starting with one of her longer novels. It has not put me off though.
November 22, 2010
I picked this up at the library after seeing it on a "best Christmas book" list. At 46 pages it was a quick read but not particularly enjoyable. This was my first Miss Read book and I'm not sure I'll try another one.
December 26, 2013
Can't remember if I had read this before but I am desperate to get to my goal and it was only 53 pages or so, so I polished it off. Lovely gentle stuff. Nothing earth-shattering...but comforting nevertheless. And now I only have four books to go!
October 23, 2018
This was my first Fairacre. Just delightful. And I could especially relate because I gave birth at home near Christmas, and the midwife was also late in coming- just made it, in fact!
I just loved every minute of this story!
Second read, just as lovely as I remembered it:)
I just loved every minute of this story!
Second read, just as lovely as I remembered it:)
December 19, 2013
Nice but a bit overly sweet for me
December 25, 2023
A short story but very sweet and full of Christmas spirit
November 28, 2015
A real Christmas story, lovely.
December 23, 2021
I've been aware of the Miss Read novels most of my life, they were the sort of novel that I assumed my grandmother would read, though to be fair I think she was more into adventure novels and thrillers but you know what I mean. I avoided them as far too twee. Then having spent several months working from home with this short novel staring at me from the bookshelf I resolved to make this my Christmas classic read.l and I must say I rather enjoyed it.
There are definitely shades of HE Bates but also some of the humour of early Dickens and descriptive elements worthy of Zola. I won't say it's a literary classic but it certainly has its moments.
Oh, and it is a truth universally acknowledged that if there is a pregnant character in a Christmas special, be it on TV, radio or in print, then they will have an unexpected birth on Christmas Day. In that respect this novel did not disappoint.
There are definitely shades of HE Bates but also some of the humour of early Dickens and descriptive elements worthy of Zola. I won't say it's a literary classic but it certainly has its moments.
Oh, and it is a truth universally acknowledged that if there is a pregnant character in a Christmas special, be it on TV, radio or in print, then they will have an unexpected birth on Christmas Day. In that respect this novel did not disappoint.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews