A wonderfully entertaining collection of Christmas tales from the enduringly popular Miss Read.

New retirement homes have been built in Thrush Green and there is heated discussion about who should live there. Meanwhile, an argument flares up between architect Edward young and Doctor Lovell, and Dottie Harmer is becoming dottier by the day

For many years, Dorothy Watson and Agnes Fogerty have taught in the school at Thrush Green, so their imminent retirement provokes rumour and speculation. Who will take Miss Watson's place as head teacher? As for replacing little Miss Fogerty, it seems impossible to imagine.

There's double cause to celebrate in Thrush Green: the school is in its centenary year, and an unexpected letter sheds light on the village's most distinguished son, whose statue has stood on the green for many years. However, the preparations are plagued with anxieties.

January has been bitterly cold in Thrush Green. But at last, the winter seems to be melting into a beautiful spring. But with the warmer weather comes a series of local dramas in the community

Times are changing in 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.

In her first book VILLAGE SCHOOL, Miss Read drew a picture of the small but detailed world of a typical primary school in a remote country area, a world peopled by the children themselves, Miss Clare the venerable infants teacher, glum Mrs Pringle the cleaner, the vicar and other inhabitants of Fairacre. In VILLAGE DIARY, Miss Read describes the people of Fairacre with the same exactitude, sense of comedy and sharp observation. In addition to those characters familiar to readers of VILLAGE SCHOOL there are newcomers, including dictatorial Amy, an old college friend, Mr Mawne, whom the village...

Fairacre is a village of cottages, a church and the school - and at the heart of the school, its headmistress, Miss Read. Through her discerning eye, we meet the villagers of Fairacre and see their trials and tribulations, from the irascible school cleaner Mrs Pringle, to the young schoolchildren with their scraped knees, hopeful faces and inevitable mischief. Miss Read takes us through the school year, beginning with the Christmas term when the bitterly cold weather challenges the school's ancient heating system, right through to the hot summer day when school is over for another year. Full...

The third novel in the bestselling Fairacre series

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 First World 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...