Discover the little English village that neighbors Fairacre, in a novel that's "enchanting, lovely, gentle, pointed, and charming" ( Minneapolis Sunday Tribune).Miss Read's charming chronicles of English small-town life have achieved legendary popularity, providing a welcome return to a gentler time with "wit, humor, and wisdom in equal measure" ( The Plain Dealer).Welcome to Thrush Green, the neighboring village to Fairacre, with its blackt...

The first novel in the beloved Fairacre series, Village School introduces us to the remarkable schoolmistress Miss Read and her lovable group of students, who, with a mixture of skinned knees and smiles, are just as likely to lose themselves as their mittens...Welcome to 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, ev...

‘I’m looking for two really trustworthy rabbits and six sensible clear-speaking frogs!’Young Anna Lacey has spent most of her life on a farm in Essex. But her first teaching position carries her to an unattractive, newly constructed suburb where she has to adjust to cramped lodgings, a skinflint landlady, overcrowded classrooms, and eccentric colleagues (‘a rum lot’). She must also adapt some of her idealistic theories of teaching to the realities of her ...

Two novels following the intertwined lives of a pair of English families through the world wars, by the beloved author of the Fairacre series.Set in the quiet country town neighboring the village of Fairacre, The Caxley Chronicles follow two families, the Howards and the Norths, through the tumultuous first half of the twentieth century. The first novel, The Market Square, portrays the deep-rooted camaraderie of Septimus Howard and Bender North, wh...

There's no pleasing Mrs. Pringle—and everyone in Fairacre knows it. "Miss Read's novels are sheer delight" ( Chicago Tribune).Miss Read is certain of one thing—she won't be forced to hire grumpy Mrs. Pringle to straighten up her house. Mrs. Pringle of Fairacre chronicles the life of the beloved but curmudgeonly school cleaner through the stories of her fellow villagers. Readers will delight in the quirks of this favorite character, from the "flare...

A heartwarming, nostalgic Christmas novel, set in a beautiful Cotswold village'There is something profoundly consoling about a novel by Miss Read' The Lady'Sometimes funny, sometimes touching, always appealing' New York TimesThe 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 ...

The enchanting childhood memoirs of bestselling author Miss Read.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...

In this small English village, when one door closes, another opens for its favorite schoolteacher. "You'll relish a visit to Fairacre" (Jan Karon, #1 New York Times–bestselling author).Gradually worsening health forces Miss Read to consider an early retirement from her job as the village school's headmistress. John Jenkins, a handsome newcomer, competes for her affections with the newly widowed Henry Mawne. However, Miss Read has more on h...

An English village scrambles to prepare for a big anniversary: "If you've ever enjoyed a visit to Mitford, you'll relish a visit to Fairacre." —Jan KaronVillage Centenary welcomes readers back to Miss Read's cozy English downland village just in time for the hundredth anniversary of Fairacre Shool. Miss Clare, who was a pupil and later a teacher there, points out that such a milestone should be celebrated, and all of Fairacre is quick to offer suggestions—f...

"For those who miss the Waltons, or who can't get enough of Jan Karon, Fairacre is an excellent place to visit" ( Publishers Weekly).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 Co...

**"If you've ever enjoyed a visit to Mitford, you'll relish a visit to Thrush Green," where there's a spring in the step of villagers young and old (Jan Karon, #1 New York Times–bestselling author).It is spring in the village of Thrush Green. In neighboring Lulling, Charles Henstock admires the blooming garden of his new vicarage, glad the squabbles with his parishioners in Affairs at Thrush Green are settled. And yet the good vicar wistfully recalls his ...

Make a visit to this English village: "What you will find in the novels of Miss Read is an aura of warm happiness." — The Columbus DispatchIn the quaint English village of Thrush Green, a terrible fire has burned the rectory to the ground. Now, kindly vicar Charles Henstock has been appointed to the neighboring town of Lulling and its combined parishes. But while he enjoys the beautiful Queen Anne house provided for him, and his pleasant new surroundings, g...