The attractive town of Caxley became prosperous through its connection with the wool trade, and on market day it is a hive of activity as the townspeople and neighbouring villagers from Fairacre,...

Charles Henstock, vicar of Thrush Green, is living in his new vicarage after the old one burned down. In its place are eight retirement homes, but there’s a heated debate in the village about...

The first charming Caxley tale introduces the deep-rooted camaraderie between Septimus Howard, a calm and controlled man, and Bender North, a confident, successful but gruff ironmonger. Their...

'The Market Square' opens at the end of the Victorian era, with the happy anticipation of the coronation of Edward VII. It follows the changing fortunes of two closely knit families – the...

When Charles Henstock, rector of Thrush Green, moves a mile downhill to the living of Lulling, his many friends rejoice in his promotion. But an unfortunate skirmish with one of his wealthy...

The Cotswold village of Thrush Green is a particularly close-knit community, where many of the inhabitants have known each other since childhood, and any unusual events are quickly noted. The...

A May Day fair in the Cotswold village of Thrush Green brings to light pleasures and pains - past, present and future.

The village school is a hundred years old, and Miss Read, the schoolmistress, is fully occupied trying to recapture the march of those full and busy years under its roof. But that’s not all Miss...

Born into a home where food and clothing were hard-earned, where oil and candles were luxuries, Miss Dolly Clare – retired village schoolmistress and devoted countrywoman – looks back on a...

As I have been given a large and magnificent diary for Christmas... I intend to fill it in as long as my ardour lasts.

Luckily, Miss Read’s ardour lasts all year, encompassing every...

Having enjoyed robust health throughout her career, Miss Read, the village schoolmistress at Fairacre, is looking forward to an energetic retirement in a few years’ time. But, to her dismay, she...

It’s spring again in the village, and with the change of the seasons comes change in the lives of many villagers. The Young family’s tranquillity is disrupted by the sudden arrival of Joan’s...

'Summer at Fairacre' charmingly recounts this bright, bustling season and the problems and possibilities that unfold against the backdrop of roses, skylarks and bees.

Joseph Coggs...

Those who have come to love Miss Read's delightfully humorous novels of country life will be enraptured by these two autobiographical volumes, affectionate and unashamedly nostalgic accounts of...

In ‘The Christmas Mouse', a mouse’s appearance on Christmas Eve in an old widow’s bedroom leads to a chance encounter with a small boy – a meeting that would be remembered by both of them...