Ever since the publication of Village School 35 years ago, Miss Read's numerous novels set in Thrush Green and Fairacre have been bestsellers all over the world. The "new Miss Read" focuses on Thrush Green's two former schoolteachers, now retired, who return for a visit.

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.

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.

Set in Caxley, the quiet country town neighboring the village of Fairacre, The Caxley Chronicles follow two intertwined families, the Howards and the Norths, through the tumultuous first half of the twentieth century. The first Caxley tale, The Market Square, introduces the deep-rooted camaraderie of Septimus Howard and Bender North, whose friendship survives misunderstandings, the tragedy of war, and the bitterness of loss. The story of their families continues through the generations. The second tale, The Howards of Caxley, tells of Edward Howard, grandson to them both. Edward flies for the...

In the English village of Fairacre, the retired schoolteachers Dolly Clare and Emily Davis enjoyed a remarkable friendship, as this moving volume reveals. Childhood playmates in Beech Green, they would remain close throughout their long lives, eventually sharing a cottage in their retirement. They felt grief when a village family was lost on the Titanic. They each experienced young love and then heartbreak when the First World War interrupted both of their romances. The triumphs and tragedies of their days are depicted with all the humor, heartbreak, and human warmth for which Miss Read is...

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...

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...

Open the gate to Fairacre, America's favorite English village.
Having bid a last farewell to her pupils at Fairacre School, Miss Read settles down to what she hopes will be a relaxing retirement. It is not entirely so, of course. She finds herself as busy and in demand as ever: on holiday in Florence, helping with church and school affairs, and offering a kindly ear to her eccentric neighbors. With her teaching days behind her, Miss Read discovers her talent for writing, opening a new and exciting chapter in her life -- and bringing to a close her stories of life in Fairacre, the timeless...

Open the gate to Fairacre, America's favorite English village.
The English village of Fairacre may appear idyllically peaceful to passersby, but those who live among its shady lanes always have problems to untangle. When a terrible rumor emerges -- that the Fairacre School is to be closed and the children bused to nearby Beech Green -- the village is up in arms at once. The schoolmistress, Miss Read, suffers agonizing indecision at the prospect, and her situation is made worse when her infants' room teacher decides to leave and the short-tempered Mrs. Pringle becomes more contrary than...

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