Dora Saint (Miss Read) is by far my favorite author! Born Dora Jessie Shafe on April 17, 1913, she wrote over forty books, most revolving around two different Cotswold England communities. Dora took on the name of one of her characters - Miss Read to maintain some privacy but eventually revealed who Miss Read really was. She continued to write under the name Miss Read for the remainder of her writing days.

I've never been to this part of the world but after reading her books, I feel like I've lived there all my life. Miss Read captures the essence of country life in Cotswold England, creating characters so charming and real-to-life that you would expect to meet them one day. I have a large collection of her books, bought or given to me throughout the years. Rather than continue in my own words, I will quote from a page taken from her last omnibus edition - "The Last Chronicle of Fairacre".......

...You might remember your mother reading them, or perhaps you have never come across them before? They are a world of enchantment, the perfect antidote to the crime and madness that take up so much of the shelving in a modern library.

There are two chief settings for Miss Read's Stories - the Cotswold village of Thrush Green and Fairacre nestling under the Berkshire Downs - and novels centered upon either appeared more or less alternately since the first,Village School, was published in 1955. Between that and the final book, A Peaceful Retirement, published in 1996, there are over forty titles. Any one of Miss Read's books can be read on its own without reference to the others, but a definite progression does emerge throught he development of the characters, and the life in these villages themselves.

Miss Read (alias Dora Saint) trained as a teacher and taught for several years in a large shcool in Middlesex. Shortly before the war, she married and moved to Wood Green just outside Witney in Oxfordshire, on the edge of the Cotswolds. This village was destined to become Thrush Green. After the war, the couple moved to a snall village on the Downs, the inspiration behind Fairace. Miss Read's literary career commenced with short articles and sotries for Punch, The Times Educational Supplement and The Lady, and when the MD of Michael Joseph spotted one of these stories, the rest, as they say, is history.

Sadly, I learned that Dora passed away April 7, 2012 at the age of 98.

Following is a bibliography of Miss Read's books. Many can be found on library shelves, and I have found some treasures in used book stores. I have even found some new and used from Amazon.com. Many in my collection were gifts from my dear late mother-in-law, June Cook that she bought during her visits to England.

~~Fairacre~~
CHRONICLES OF FAIRACRE*
Village School
Village Diary
Storm in the Village

FURTHER CHRONICLES OF FAIRACRE*
Miss Clare Remembers
Over the Gate
Fairacre Festival
Emily Daivs

FAIRACRE ROUNDABOUT*
Tyler's Row
Farther Afield
Village Affairs

CHRISTMAS AT FAIRACRE*
Village Christmas
No Holly for Miss Quinn
The Christmas Mouse

FAIRACRE AFFAIRS*
Village Centenary
Summer at Fairacre

THE LAST CHRONICLE OF FAIRACRE*
Changes at Fairacre
Farewell to Fairacre
A Peaceful Retirement

also

THE CAXLEY CHRONICLES*
Market Square
The Howards of Caxley



~~Thrush Green~~
LIFE AT THRUSH GREEN*
Thrush Green
Winter in Thrush Green

MORE STORES FROM THRUSH GREEN
Battles at Thrush Green
Return to Thrush Green
Gossip from Thrush Green

TALES FROM THRUSH GREEN*
Affairs at Thrush Green
At Home in Thrush Green

ENCOUNTERS AT THRUSH GREEN*
The School at Thrush Green
Friends at Thrush Green

FAREWELL, THRUSH GREEN*
Extracts from The World of Thrush Green
Celebrations of Thrush Green
The Year of Thrush Green

Christmas At Thrush Green**

* denotes an omnibus edition
** written by Jenny Dereham with collaboration from Dora.
By then, Dora's eye sight was failing her and she was unable to write.
Her writing, previously was always done long hand on paper.

~~Autobiographies~~
A Fortunate Grandchild
The World of Thrush Green
Time Remembered

~~Other Writings~~
Mrs. Griffin Sends Her Love




No longer online


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