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Round Ringford #1
Pastures New: The Modern Miss Read
Round Ringford is a village in England. It is a small village, but beginning to be touched by urban life. It has one or two commuters, and is likely to have more as the nearby motorway is extended. But mostly it is old rivalries, and having lived there for generations, that counts.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1995
17 people are currently reading
202 people want to read
About the author
Ann Purser
37 books141 followersAnn Purser lives in the East Midlands, in a small and attractive village which still has a village shop, a garage, pub and church. Here she finds her inspiration for her novels about country life. She has only to do her daily shopping down the High Street to listen to the real life of the village going on around her.
Before turning to fiction, she had a number of different careers, including journalism – she was for six years a columnist in SHE magazine – and art gallery proprietor. Running her own gallery in a 400-year-old barn behind the house, she gained fascinating insights into the characters and relationships of customers wandering around. She had no compunction about eavesdropping, and sharpened up her writer’s skills in weaving plots around strangers who spent sometimes more than an hour in her gallery.
Working in a village school added more grist to the mill, as does singing in the church choir and membership of the Women’s Guild. She reminds herself humbly that Virginia Woolf was President of her local WI…
Six years hard study won her an Open University degree, and when she faltered and threatened to fall by the wayside, writer husband Philip Purser reminded her that he was paying good money for the course. During this period, she wrote two non-fiction books, one for parents of handicapped children (she has a daughter with cerebral palsy) and the other a lighthearted book for schools, on the explosion of popular entertainment in the first forty years of the twentieth century.
Ten years of running the gallery proved to be enough, and while it was very successful she decided to sell. The business moved down the street to another barn and owner, and Pursers stayed on in their house next to the village school – another rich source of material for the stories. Time to start writing novels.
Round Ringford became Ann’s village in a series of six novels, each with a separate story, but featuring the same cast of characters with a few newcomers each time. The list of books gives details of each story, and each features an issue common to all villages in our rural countryside. “Just like our village!” is a frequent comment from Ann’s readers.
Next: the Lois Meade Mysteries, each title reflecting a day of the week. Ann has always loved detective fiction, and determined to make it her next series. So Murder on Monday was born, followed by Terror on Tuesday, and Weeping on Wednesday. The rest of the week follows!
Mornings are set aside for writing, and the rest of the day Ann spends walking the dog, retrieving bantams’ eggs from around the garden, gossiping and taking part in the life of the village. She is never bored!
Before turning to fiction, she had a number of different careers, including journalism – she was for six years a columnist in SHE magazine – and art gallery proprietor. Running her own gallery in a 400-year-old barn behind the house, she gained fascinating insights into the characters and relationships of customers wandering around. She had no compunction about eavesdropping, and sharpened up her writer’s skills in weaving plots around strangers who spent sometimes more than an hour in her gallery.
Working in a village school added more grist to the mill, as does singing in the church choir and membership of the Women’s Guild. She reminds herself humbly that Virginia Woolf was President of her local WI…
Six years hard study won her an Open University degree, and when she faltered and threatened to fall by the wayside, writer husband Philip Purser reminded her that he was paying good money for the course. During this period, she wrote two non-fiction books, one for parents of handicapped children (she has a daughter with cerebral palsy) and the other a lighthearted book for schools, on the explosion of popular entertainment in the first forty years of the twentieth century.
Ten years of running the gallery proved to be enough, and while it was very successful she decided to sell. The business moved down the street to another barn and owner, and Pursers stayed on in their house next to the village school – another rich source of material for the stories. Time to start writing novels.
Round Ringford became Ann’s village in a series of six novels, each with a separate story, but featuring the same cast of characters with a few newcomers each time. The list of books gives details of each story, and each features an issue common to all villages in our rural countryside. “Just like our village!” is a frequent comment from Ann’s readers.
Next: the Lois Meade Mysteries, each title reflecting a day of the week. Ann has always loved detective fiction, and determined to make it her next series. So Murder on Monday was born, followed by Terror on Tuesday, and Weeping on Wednesday. The rest of the week follows!
Mornings are set aside for writing, and the rest of the day Ann spends walking the dog, retrieving bantams’ eggs from around the garden, gossiping and taking part in the life of the village. She is never bored!
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
January 9, 2021
High hopes, not fulfilled. Putting this in the same league as Miss Read is sooooooo presumptuous and completely not true. This is even worse than Rebecca Shaw's village/vicar series.
There are no endearing characters, just a lot of people with a lot of problems. Ok, that's life, but at least in Miss Read one finds joy in surroundings, subtle humor, and characters that worm your way into your heart.
I tried the next book in the series and it was more of the same.
Not going to waste any more time on this series.
And I'm sorry about that, because I was looking forward to having a whole bunch of people join my literary family.
There are no endearing characters, just a lot of people with a lot of problems. Ok, that's life, but at least in Miss Read one finds joy in surroundings, subtle humor, and characters that worm your way into your heart.
I tried the next book in the series and it was more of the same.
Not going to waste any more time on this series.
And I'm sorry about that, because I was looking forward to having a whole bunch of people join my literary family.
February 15, 2009
Well, I bought the book because the title says "The Modern New Miss Read" - who I adore. I was in a bit of a snit when it arrived from abe books (who I adore,also, by the way) because I couldn't find anything on the cover or doing a quick flip that indicated why it was the modern Miss Read. Nothing to do with her, it seemed. So I petulantly put off reading it. But I started it yesterday and am charmed so far. Maybe the "Miss Read" reference has to do with the fact that it takes place in a little English village?
Update: Well, I finished it and never found anything regarding Miss Read in the book. I liked it, though not as well as Miss Read's offerings and it ended rather abruptly with a fairly shocking development that wasn't a bit Read-ish!
Update: Well, I finished it and never found anything regarding Miss Read in the book. I liked it, though not as well as Miss Read's offerings and it ended rather abruptly with a fairly shocking development that wasn't a bit Read-ish!
September 26, 2017
Surprisingly emotive read
I had read a previous book by this author and I wanted to sample some more of her work. My favourite genre is Crime/Mystery/Suspense. This book did not fall into this category, but it complemented my mood perfectly. At first, I thought that it might be too gentle and the pace rather slow. But I found myself becoming invested in the characters, especially the main characters, so I wanted to read on to see what happened to them. For me, the ending was a bit abrupt and I am unsure whether there are other books to follow. There are some silly typing mistakes, but not enough to spoil the pleasure of reading the material. Other than that, it is very well written and I will be reading more from this author.
I had read a previous book by this author and I wanted to sample some more of her work. My favourite genre is Crime/Mystery/Suspense. This book did not fall into this category, but it complemented my mood perfectly. At first, I thought that it might be too gentle and the pace rather slow. But I found myself becoming invested in the characters, especially the main characters, so I wanted to read on to see what happened to them. For me, the ending was a bit abrupt and I am unsure whether there are other books to follow. There are some silly typing mistakes, but not enough to spoil the pleasure of reading the material. Other than that, it is very well written and I will be reading more from this author.
May 25, 2020
I absolutely loved this book. Similar to Miss Read (but not QUITE as good). I love the village setting and how this affects the dynamic between the characters. I did not see the major twist coming and it was very well written. I hope to read more of this author and series.
June 27, 2017
Took me a while to get into this, but it turned out a very enjoyable, gentle read. Nothing dramatic, just a nice story about a village and its people.
June 29, 2017
I like reading English cozy mysteries and trying to figure out what they are saying. lol
July 24, 2017
I need some comfortable easy reading at the moment so this series is perfect. Every day village life with a few dramas thrown in. It's like cosy crime - but without the crime!
March 26, 2021
This remineded me of the "village" series by Rebecca Shaw or even the Miss Read series of village life A good mix of village life love and scandal! Hopefully there is a sequal in the pipeline?
February 25, 2024
An easy read...like drinking a great cup of tea
January 10, 2026
This book is for you if you like gossipy, means-spirited people in a picturesque English village.
March 15, 2020
Country surprises
enjoyed this book. At least til it stopped suddenly and asked me to download. When I tried different book appeared
enjoyed this book. At least til it stopped suddenly and asked me to download. When I tried different book appeared
March 1, 2017
Would have loved it except for one thing (those who read it will know what I mean) that kinda ruined it for me. But overall, it was a good solid read.
March 17, 2014
When Frank is made redundant from his job of many years a complete change is needed so along with his wife Peggy a move to a little village is made to run the village shop.
This gentle book follows the trials and tribulations and shows that the idyllic life is often anything but not always helped by the locals who have their own ideas about how things should be done.
Although I enjoyed it I felt it lacked something to just complete it.
This gentle book follows the trials and tribulations and shows that the idyllic life is often anything but not always helped by the locals who have their own ideas about how things should be done.
Although I enjoyed it I felt it lacked something to just complete it.
September 27, 2014
Overall I enjoyed this book. It took me a good while to like the characters and to work out who was who. I was shocked by the major event but pleased by the ending, if thats not too cryptic! I guess this book is part of a series, and I'd enjoy reading more. It's no Miss Read though. If you like the Turnham Malpas series you'll like this. Similar set up.
July 5, 2013
It started slow and had an obnoxious character and I wasn't sure I wanted to finish it. There was an unexpected turn toward the end of the story and I am hooked into reading the next book in the series. I never read Miss Read books so I don't know if this is a Modern Miss Read.
October 23, 2015
New Series
I know that I will love this new series. Ann Purser has not disappointed me yet. I look forward to future books.
I know that I will love this new series. Ann Purser has not disappointed me yet. I look forward to future books.
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January 9, 2018dnf. See updates.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews