books in order

Miss Read Books In Order

Fairacre Books In Publication Order

  1. Village School (1955)
  2. Village Diary (1957)
  3. Storm in the Village (1958)
  4. Miss Clare Remembers (1962)
  5. Over the Gate (1964)
  6. Village Christmas (1966)
  7. The Fairacre Festival (1968)
  8. Emily Davis (1971)
  9. The Christmas Mouse (1973)
  10. Tyler’s Row (1973)
  11. Farther Afield (1973)
  12. No Holly for Miss Quinn (1976)
  13. Village Affairs (1977)
  14. The White Robin (1979)
  15. Village Centenary (1980)
  16. Summer at Fairacre (1984)
  17. Mrs. Pringle of Fairacre (1989)
  18. Changes at Fairacre (1991)
  19. Farewell to Fairacre (1993)
  20. A Peaceful Retirement (1996)

Fairacre Collections In Publication Order

  1. Tales from a Village School (1994)

Thrush Green Books In Publication Order

  1. Thrush Green (1959)
  2. Winter in Thrush Green (1961)
  3. News From Thrush Green (1970)
  4. Battles at Thrush Green (1975)
  5. Return to Thrush Green (1978)
  6. Gossip from Thrush Green (1981)
  7. Affairs at Thrush Green (1983)
  8. At Home in Thrush Green (1986)
  9. The School at Thrush Green (1987)
  10. Friends at Thrush Green (1991)
  11. Celebrations at Thrush Green (1992)
  12. The Year at Thrush Green (1996)
  13. Christmas at Thrush Green (2009)

Thrush Green Non-Fiction Books In Publication Order

  1. The World of Thrush Green (1988)

Caxley Chronicles Books In Publication Order

  1. The Market Square (1966)
  2. The Howards of Caxley (1967)

Standalone Novels In Publication Order

  1. Fresh from the Country (1955)
  2. Hobby Horse Cottage (1958)
  3. The New Bed (1964)
  4. Plum Pie (1964)
  5. The Little Peg Doll (1965)
  6. Tiggy (1973)
  7. Hob and the Horse Bat (1974)
  8. Animal Boy (1975)

Short Story Collections In Publication Order

  1. Little Red Bus & Other Rhyming (1991)
  2. Miss Read’s Christmas Book (1992)
  3. A Country Christmas (2006)

Non-Fiction Books In Publication Order

  1. Miss Read’s Country Cooking, Or, to Cut a Cabbage-Leaf (1969)
  2. Fortunate Grandchild (1982)
  3. Time Remembered (1986)
  4. The English Vicarage Garden (1988)
  5. Early Days (1988)
  6. Mrs. Griffin Sends Her Love and Other Writings (2013)

Fairacre Book Covers

Fairacre Collections Book Covers

Thrush Green Book Covers

Thrush Green Non-Fiction Book Covers

Caxley Chronicles Book Covers

Standalone Novels Book Covers

Short Story Collections Book Covers

Non-Fiction Book Covers

Miss Read Books Overview

Village School

The first novel in the beloved Fairacre series, Village School introduces the remarkable schoolmistress Miss Read and her lovable group of children, who, with a mixture of skinned knees and smiles, are just as likely to lose themselves as their mittens. This is the English village of Fairacre: a handful of thatch roofed cottages, a church, the school, the promise of fair weather, friendly faces, and good cheer at least most of the time. Here everyone knows everyone else’s business, and the villagers like each other anyway even Miss Pringle, the irascible, gloomy cleaner of Fairacre School. With a wise heart and a discerning eye, Miss Read guides us through one crisp, glistening autumn in her village and introduces us to a cast of unforgettable characters and a world of drama, romance, and humor, all within a stone’s throw of the school. By the time winter comes, you’ll be nestled snugly into the warmth and wit of Fairacre and won’t want to leave.

Village Diary

The enchanting follow up to Village School, Miss Read’s beloved first novel, Village Diary once again transports us to the picturesque English village of Fairacre. Each chapter describes a month in the life of the village school’s headmistress, Miss Read. As the villagers prepare for their country pageant, Fairacre welcomes many newcomers, such as the headstrong Amy, Mr. Mawne whom the villagers would like to see the reluctant Miss Read marry, and the earnest new infants’ teacher, Miss Jackson.

Storm in the Village

Trouble brews in the tiny country village of Fairacre when it is discovered that Farmer Miller’s Hundred Acre Field is slated for real estate development. Alarming rumors are circulating, among them the fear that the village school may close. The endearing schoolmistress Miss Read brings her inimitable blend of affection and clear sighted candor to this report, in which a young girl finds her first love, an older woman accepts a new role in life, and the impassioned battle to save the village from being engulfed is at the forefront of every villager s mind.

Miss Clare Remembers

Audio Cassette, Chivers Audio Books

Over the Gate

Throughout her years as schoolmistress, Miss Read has gathered excellent accounts of the rich and varied history of her beloved country village, often through neighborly conversation Over the Gate. Fairacre has garnered its share of odd incidents, entertaining episodes, and village folklore, from an unusual recipe for weight loss found in an old notebook and used with alarming consequences to the tragic story of the village ghost. With characteristic grace and vigor, Miss Read retells many treasured stories of Fairacre past and present.

Village Christmas

This is a ‘Pocket Penguin 60’ edition of ‘Village Christmas‘.

The Fairacre Festival

Tthe first day of October brings an unheralded and violent storm, which whips through Fairacre, blowing down trees and telephone poles and, worst of all, damaging the roof of St. Patrick’s Church. The inhabitants of tiny Fairacre can t imagine how they will be able to afford the repairs, until Mr. Willett suggests a fundraising festival. Preparations for a food sale, a concert, a school play, and a gigantic Christmas bazaar are soon made but will they be enough? With her customary humor and grace, Miss Read recounts a story of catastrophe and courage.

The Christmas Mouse

WONDERING AT THE PLEASURE IT HAD GIVEN HER. IN THE NEXT BEDROOM, HER LITTLE DAUGHTER STRUGGLED TO KEEP AWAKE TO DISCOVER IF FATHER CHRISTMAS REALLY BROUGHT THE PRESENTS. BEFORE THE LIGHT OF CHRISTMAS DAY DAWNED, MUCH WAS DECIDED IN THAT LITTLE HOUSE. THE MEETING OF THE OLD LADY AND THE YOUNG BOY WOULD BE REMEMBERED BY THEM FOR THE REST OF THEIR DAYS, AND WOULD HAVE FAR REACHING EFFECTS FOR STEPHEN AMONETTI.

Tyler’s Row

Open the gate to Fairacre, America’s favorite English village. The two hundred year old cottages known as Tyler s Row, with charming leaded glass windows and an arched thorn hedge over the gateway, are supposed to provide a haven of peace for their new owners, Peter and Diana Hale. They plan to convert the middle two cottages into one, to create their own rural refuge. But beset by carpenters, plumbers, electricians, and bills, as well as their neighboring tenants, the redoubtable Sergeant Barnaby and the sour Mrs. Fowler, both longtime residents of Tyler’s Row, the couple soon have cause to ponder their decision. Fairacre is not the utopia they expect, and the Hales must adapt to ordinary life in a village full of extraordinary quirks.

Farther Afield

Open the gate to Fairacre, America’s favorite English village. The end of a school year often brings unmitigated rapture for schoolteachers, and so it should for Miss Read, schoolmistress in the charming English village of Fairacre. But on the very first day of the long summer holiday, she falls and breaks her arm. Just when her summer seems ruined, her old friend, Amy Garfield, comes to her aid with a diverting suggestion. They travel to Crete for two weeks, and the change of scene provides a welcome break for both of them. When Miss Read returns, refreshed, to her beloved village, she is ready to tackle the problems that await her.

No Holly for Miss Quinn

Miss Quinn liked being left to her own devic es, especially at Christmas. So it was with some foreboding that she agreed to look after her brother”s children while h is wife was in hospital. Then an old flame arrives. ‘

Village Affairs

The Chivers Audio Books range includes the very best of contemporary and classic fiction, specially packaged for libraries. Chivers Audio Books prides itself on producing recordings with nothing left out and nothing altered, so the listener can hear every word the author wrote, brought to life by some of the best actors in the world. And to control the quality of Chivers’ titles, Chivers uses its own studios located in the beautiful city of Bath, England, which have been specifically designed for recording unabridged audiobooks. For more than twenty years, the dedicated Chivers team of editors and producers has successfully created the best full length recordings of the original books. Chivers Audio Books are read by the best actors and are second to none in terms of quality. Indeed, as the pioneers and oldest established publishers of unabridged audio in the UK, Chivers’ backlist is quite simply the largest and the best! So when you select an audiobook from the Chivers list, you can be sure to hear every word, every time. The Chivers Audio Book range includes the very best of contemporary and classic fiction, specially packaged for libraries.

Village Centenary

Village Centenary welcomes us back to Miss Read’s cozy downland village just in time for the one hundredth anniversary of Fairacre School. Miss Clare, who was a pupil and later a teacher there, points out that such a centenary should be celebrated, and all of Fairacre is quick to offer suggestions from a tea party to a full scale pageant. Deciding how best to stage the grand occasion, however, is only of Miss Read’s problems. The ancient skylight in the school is leaking, and Mr. Willetts fears that replacing it will be a difficult job. The new teacher, Miss Briggs, fresh from college and full of idealistic theories, proves a thorn in Miss Read’s side. The vicar has decided to keep bees. Miriam Quinn is afraid she might have to leave home. And Mrs. Pringle is her usual dour self. But the seasons continue to change, and the centenary year unfolds with its hopes and fears, its memories and forecasts, its friendships and feuds. Village Centenary marks yet another delightful year in the company of our favorite Fairacre friends.

Summer at Fairacre

After a long winter of red noses and wet mittens, summer is a welcome time for Miss Read and her downland village friends. Summer at Fairacre charmingly recounts this bright, bustling season and the problems and possibilities that unfold against the background of roses, skylarks, and bees. Joseph Coggs finds a temporary home in the schoolhouse while his mother is in the hospital. Miss Read’s friend Amy mysteriously disappears. Perhaps most difficult of all, Mrs. Pringle, the grumpy school cleaner, is unable to work because the pain in her bad leg flares up. Still, the sounds of children playing and the fragrance of summertime flowers fill the air, as Miss Read shepherds her students and friends through the warm season.

Mrs. Pringle of Fairacre

Through the eyes of many Fairacre friends, we trace Mrs. Pringle’s life and her stormy standing as the redoubtable cleaner of the town s school. However maddening she is, life at Fairacre would be poorer without her.

Changes at Fairacre

Times are changing in the charming downland village of Fairacre, and Miss Read isn’t certain that it’s all for the best. The new commuter lifestyle has caused a drop in attendance at the local school, and officials are threatening closure. Miss Read worries about the failing health of Dolly Clare. Vegetable gardens have given way to trips to the Caxley markets, and the traditional village fete now includes a prize for best quiche. With her trademark patience and good humor, Miss Read hopes for the best and plans for the worst as the village grows increasingly modern. Despite all the innovations, Fairacre still retains its essential elements: gentle wit, good manners, and the comfort of caring neighbors.

Farewell to Fairacre

The last novel in the beloved Fairacre series finds Miss Read with important decisions to make. Gradually worsening health forces her to consider an early retirement. John Jenkins, a handsome newcomer, competes for her affections with the newly widowed Henry Mawne. However, Miss Read has more on her mind than men. Orphans living in her former house have bolstered the village school’s roll, but these new students seem to be having problems with their adoptive family. In the midst of all this turmoil, readers can rest assured that Farewell to Fairacre boasts all the elements they have come to love: eccentric villagers, gentle humor, and a verdant rural landscape teeming with lambs, larks, and blackthorn bushes.

A Peaceful Retirement

Miss. Read greets retirement from the village school with considerable excitement, and is determined to prove wrong those friends who doubt that she will be able to cope alone. She settles down to what she hopes will be an endless stream of lazy days but is, of course, completely thwarted. She is called upon to advise on Henry Mawne’s matrimonial problems, the vicar wants her to write a history of the village, and she has to ward off John Jenkins’ persistent offers of marriage. The Fairacre characters, so well loved from the previous books, weave a colorful background, none more so than Mrs. Pringle who still clucks over the state of Miss. Read’s housekeeping.

Tales from a Village School

Our thirty ninth book by Miss Read is a delightful collection of forty stories, first published forty years ago in England and collected here for the first time in book form. Based on Miss Read’s the real life Dora Saint own lifelong involvement with country schools, these stories chronicle the life of a village schoolteacher in the Berkshires. Whether describing the zestful decking of the church for the Harvest Festival or the wicked wisdom of a child confessing to breaking a skylight window, Miss Read captures the scenes of village school life and of childhood itself with humorous understanding of human foibles and a love of nature that have long endeared her to readers. Fresh and beautifully written, these stories led to the writing of Miss Read’s popular novels set in the villages of Fairacre and Thrush Green. This is vintage Miss Read, sure to delight her many fans. Tales from a Village School includes a new foreword by the author and line drawings by Kate Dicker.

Thrush Green

Miss Read’s charming chronicles of small town life have achieved an almost legendary popularity worldwide by offering a welcome return to a gentler time and ‘wit, humor, and wisdom in equal measure’ Cleveland Plain Dealer. This volume introduces Thrush Green, the neighboring village to Fairacre: its blackthorn bushes, thatch roofed cottages, enchanting landscape, and jumble sales. Readers will delight in a new cast of characters and also welcome familiar faces as they become immersed in the village’s turn of events on one pivotal day May Day. Before the day is over, life and love and perhaps eternity will touch the immemorial peace of the village.

Winter in Thrush Green

In the follow up to Thrush Green, the arrival of a stranger in the village stirs ripples of speculation and interest.

News From Thrush Green

The Thrush Green cottage known as Tullivers has remained curiously unoccupied for many years. When Phil, an attractive young woman, and her young son move in after being deserted by husband and father, the village takes them under its collective wing. Harold Shoosmith arrives unannounced at their door with advice and help when Phil starts working in her wild garden. This help includes hooking her up with his best friend, a successful London publisher who prints her stories. When Phil’s estranged husband dies in a car accident in France, her new freedom brings more changes to her life as well as a new love to the village.

Battles at Thrush Green

Feelings are running high in the Cotswold village of Thrush Green. The rector’s plan for the neglected churchyard doesn t meet with universal approval; there is a clash of personalities at the local school; and someone has returned to the village after an absence of fifty years.

Return to Thrush Green

Miss Read’s delightful chronicles of life in Thrush Green continue with Return to Thrush Green. 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 tranquility is disrupted by the sudden arrival of Joan’s father, while Molly and Ben Curdle consider putting an end to their wandering days in order to finally settle down. Even the reappearance of Sexton Albert Piggot one of Thrush Green’s more malevolent sorts cannot dim the happiness that inevitably prevails at Thrush Green.

Gossip from Thrush Green

Gossip from Thrush Green returns readers to the delightful English village, neighbor to Fairacre, for a golden summer. But this sleepy, pristine setting conceals a flurry of activity amongst the villagers. Rumor has it that Mr. Venables is considering retirement just as the village’s teacher is about to make an important decision. Molly Curdle prepares for a new baby. The kindly vicar, Charles Henstock, works on his sermon quite unaware of the disaster that will overtake him. However, there is never any doubt that all will end well in this very English village.

Affairs at Thrush Green

In Affairs at Thrush Green, Miss Read continues the fortunes of the Thrush Green families whom we last met in Gossip from Thrush Green. Here we follow the kindly vicar, Charles Henstock, to the neighboring Lulling, after his home was burned to the ground at the end of the earlier novel. Going to a new church is never easy, even in the best of times; indeed, poor Dr. Henstock encounters some very redoubtable females in Lulling. A full scale power struggle erupts over the question of kneeling cushions for the Lady Chapel, and other difficulties revolve around the crotchety old sexton Albert Piggott. Meanwhile, a mysterious stranger arrives at the Fuschia Bush cafe, and its rivalry with the Two Pheasants becomes more acute. One knows, however, that Miss Read will make all come right in the end.

At Home in Thrush Green

It is spring in the village of Thrush Green. In neighboring Lulling, Charles Henstock admires the blooming garden of his new vicarage, glad that the squabbles with his parishoners in Affairs at Thrush Green are settled. And yet the good vicar wistfully recalls his former home the ugly, old rectory of Thrush Green, which burned to the ground. Now, from the rectory’s ruins, the villagers are building eight retirement homes for the older folks most in need. But how to choose who will live there? How will they get on together? And how will they accommodate the dogs, cats, and birds that must come along? The spring has brought a new crop of dilemmas, but Dr. Henstock and the villagers are determined to make the old people feel At Home in Thrush Green. In the end, harmony is restored to this tiny fictional world. With wit and grace, Miss Read has charmed numerous critics and won the loyalty of readers who will happily find themselves once more At Home in Thrush Green.

The School at Thrush Green

For many years, Dorothy Watson and Agnes Fogerty have taught in The School at Thrush Green, and when the time comes for their retirement there is general regret. Who will take Miss Watson’s place as head teacher? As for replacing little Miss Fogerty, it seems impossible to imagine.

Friends at Thrush Green

Miss Read’s charming Thrush Green series continues with Friends at Thrush Green. There had been general dismay when Miss Watson and Miss Fogerty retired to Barton on the Sea after many years of devoted service teaching the children of Thrush Green, so their visit to see old friends in the village brings great pleasure. The new headmaster, Alan Lester, is cautiously accepted, but rumor is rife about his wife’s health. Meanwhile, Farmer Percy Hodge is also the subject of local speculation: Is his strange behavior the result of an infatuation with the young Doreen Lilly? As for affairs at the Lovelocks’ house, it is increasingly apparent that Bertha Lovelock is now in her dotage and a new and most unfortunate habit is the cause of considerable embarrassment to the good people of Lulling. All these matters and more are faced by our old friends against the familiar background and changing seasons of the English Cotswolds.

Celebrations at Thrush Green

Little is known about Nathaniel Patten, whose statue has graced the village green for years. That is, until a letter arrives and the town folk discover that the upcoming centenary of Thrush Green’s village school and of the mission school that Patten founded in Africa coincide.

The Year at Thrush Green

As the spring months unfold in the village of Thrush Green, so does the drama of village life. The arrival of a strange American excites much interest, Dotty Harmer finds herself caring for an abandoned puppy, Mrs. Peters’ illness causes uncertainty in the future of her restaurant, and for architect Edward Young, the problem of the retirement home will not go away…

Christmas at Thrush Green

The villagers of Thrush Green celebrate Christmas traditionally, in a way that has hardly changed over the generations. Children eagerly hang up their stockings, families go to church together, everyone enjoys treats of the festive season. And when it snows as the carol singers make their way round the cottages on the green, it seems as if Christmas will be perfect this year. But not everything is as peaceful as it seems. Phyllida and Frank have their work cut out for them when they agree to take on the Nativity play made all the more difficult by an outbreak of chicken pox. The indomitable Ella has lived in Thrush Green for as long as anyone can remember, but lately she has been behaving strangely. Then there are the dreadful Burwells, newcomers to Thrush Green, who cause something of a stir with their ‘home improvements’. For Nelly, owner of The Fuchsia Bush tea shop, Christmas is an especially busy time, with people dropping in for much needed refreshment, weary from all their Christmas shopping, but then she receives an unexpected letter.

The Howards of Caxley

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 neighboring villages from Fairacre, Beech Green, and Bent come to shop, chat, and watch the world go by. Families have lived here for generations, but it is the story of the Norths and the Howards in particular that is told in this delightful book. ‘The Howards of Caxley begins on a fine May morning in the fateful year of 1939, and follows the path of two families and the little town through the Second World War, towards hope for happier times ahead.

Little Red Bus & Other Rhyming

This collection of six lively rhyming stories are designed to be read to or with young children. Each story was originally published in the 1960s.

Fortunate Grandchild

Miss Read’s early days were spent with two remarkable grandmothers one in Lewisham, and one in Walton on the Naze. EARLY DAYS is full of childhood memories of an extended family of uncles, aunts and cousins, and their houses full of mystery and adventure, where Miss Read spent so much time, living in the shadow of the 1914 18 war. At the age of seven, Miss Read moved to the small village of Chelsfield, Kent, into a magical new world and so began her love of the English countryside, which was to have such a strong influence on her career as a writer. Her evocative descriptions of the village school, the joys of exploring the woods and lanes rich in wildlife, and of childhood events from toffee making to the treat of a lift on the corn chandler’s cart, vividly convey this time as one of the happiest of her life.

Early Days

Miss Read’s Early Days were spent with two remarkable grandmothers one in Lewisham, and one in Walton on the Naze. Early Days is full of childhood memories of an extended family of uncles, aunts and cousins, and their houses full of mystery and adventure, where Miss Read spent so much time, living in the shadow of the 1914 18 war. At the age of seven, Miss Read moved to the small village of Chelsfield, Kent, into a magical new world and so began her love of the English countryside, which was to have such a strong influence on her career as a writer. Her evocative descriptions of the village school, the joys of exploring the woods and lanes rich in wildlife, and of childhood events from toffee making to the treat of a lift on the corn chandler’s cart, vividly convey this time as one of the happiest of her life.

Related Authors

Leave a Comment