Fairacre Books In Order
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Publication Order of Fairacre Collections
Tales from a Village School | (1994) | Description / Buy at Amazon |
Miss read was a famous English novelist, who has written several books in her career. She was born on 17th April 1913 as Dora Jessie Saint. She passed away on 7th April 2012 at the age of 98 years and she left a great history that most novelist admire till date. Her two famous series are the “Thrush Green novels” and “The Fairacre”. She got her pen name Miss Read from her mother’s second name. Miss Read was the last born of Arthur Shafe and his wife Grace. Her first school was in Chelsfield, near Orpington, Kent at the age of four. This was after they moved to country due to her mother’s health condition. Miss read later joined Bromley County School, the same school where her elder sister was learning by then. While in this school, the father became the headmaster and this really motivated her to take teaching training at the Homerton College in Cambridge. This was because she really wanted to follow the footsteps of her father. She got the chance to teach at Ealing and Hayes in Middlesex as from 1933 to 1940. Miss Read got to meet the love of her life in 1940 and got married the same year to Douglas Saint. They were blessed with a daughter known as Jill.
Miss read developed the passion for writing just after the second world-war. She began by writing for several magazines like the ‘Times Educational Supplement” and “Punch”. She mainly wrote topics about her county and school. She also worked for the BBC school service as a scriptwriter. In her writing career, she was influenced by some early writers like Jane Austen. Besides this, some of her work has been found to have some similarities to the social comedies of manners and to the work of Barbara Pym. Due to her high quality work, she was also able to influence a number of writers, who loved her writings like Jan Karon.
Miss read stared her writing back in 1955. This was the time she wrote her pioneer book and entitled it as “Village School”. After her debut, she managed to write several books until she passed away in 2012. Fairacre Series by Miss Read forms one of her popular series. The series is made up of about twenty books that are all available online. The initial book in the series is also the first book in her career. This is known as “Village School” that has about 19 editions and the first publication was done in 1955. The second book is known as “Village Diary” that was published in 1957 and has about 18editions. The latest book in the series was published in 1996 and is known as “A Peaceful Retirement”.
Village School
This is the genesis novel that marks the journey of Miss Read as a novelist and also the pioneer book in the Fairacre Series by Miss Read. The book has about 239 pages and had its initial publication in 1955. The protagonist character in the book is known as “Miss Read”, who is the schoolmistress of the village school. We find her describing her lovely school that has very lovely children irrespective of the hardship they may be facing, which is not a worry to them. The lovely children are described to have a beautiful smile on their faces, but the knees are skinned. They are also very likely to lose themselves to the mittens. The village that the setting of the novel is done is described by the promise of fair weather, a handful of thatch-roofed cottages, good cheer at most of the time, a church, the school and friendly faces. From the description, it is very clear that it is a very peaceful village where everyone is happy with the fewer amenities they have and the entire life they live. Due to the small size and the fewer people, you will find that everyone knows each other very well and the exact kind of business each one does. This is not an exception to the gloomy cleaner of Fairacre school, Miss Pringle, who is very irascible.
When you continue reading the novel, you will find out that Miss Read talks more about her village by bringing an aspect of a world of drama and some unforgettable characters, humor and romance. Through this, she has been able to describe a crisp and glistening autumn in the village. All these are just nearby the school. Due to this, it is not something strange to the people of this lovely village when no one is willing to leave when winter comes. This is because everyone wants to stick close to the wit of Fairacre and also nestle into the warmth. This is just, but a summary of this smart novel that you will enjoy reading. The village is very cool and with the lovely faces, I hope it is a place you would love visiting. You can always get the novel online or locally at the nearest library.
Village Diary
This is the second book of the Fairacre Series by Miss Read. The novel was published in 1957, but the latest republication was done on 2nd May 2007. It has about 256 pages and 18 editions. The main character in this novel is “Miss Read”. The setting of the book is also based in the Fairacre village. The book mainly describes her life as the headmistress of this village school. At this time, we find that the villagers are making the preparations for the forth-coming country pageant. Due to this, they have decided to invite many visitors into the village. One of the recognized visitors is known as Mr. Mawne, who is the headstrong Amy and Miss Jackson, who is the earnest new infants. Mr. Mawne is the man every villager looks forward to see Miss Read fall in love with and finally get married.
This is the summary of this novel done by Miss Read. The novel is available online and this gives you the chance to read it any time. You can also find the novel from your local library or bookshop. With only 20 books in the series, you will find it very elementary to read the entire series. Fairacre Series by Miss Read a must read series.
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