Just read "Summer at Fairacre" by Miss Read and was wondering if I am supposed to read them in a certain order. My library doesn't seem to have all of them, but is it helpful to read them in progression?

I really enjoyed it by the way. Perfect for a quick quiet easy gentle story with lovely characters.... Not much happens, as you know, but then a lot does. Very enjoyable. Going back to the library for more....

I just read Village School and didn't care for it at all. I was disappointed as I was looking forward to it. I gave up halfway through and posted it on paperback swap where it was quickly snatched up. I love the Mitford books though.

I go back time and again to James Herriott books. I never get tired of reading his lovely stories about the English countryside and the animals that he saw as a vet. The writing is superb and I feel like I am right there with him. It lulls me into a relaxed state, with all stress levels lowered.

A list below of the order of the Fairacre books. Village School is the best known and really does give an accurate picture of what village/junior school life was like in the Post War period.
If you were to visit such a village today (it was set in the south Cotswolds near Witney, Oxfordshire) all the quaint cottages would have become 'second homes' the big houses have been taken over by minor Royalty, footballers wives, film-stars (Elizabeth Hurley, Kate Winslett etc have bought property in the area) and 'Miss Read' would be spending all her time filling-in Govt forms and all 'problem' children would be seen by the Educational Psychologist, while 'Health and Safety would have made the playground a no-go area in case the little dears hurt themselves. Oh, and the children no-longer walk to school but are driven the few hundred yards in the family 4x4 in case a pervert appears from the undergrowth and abducts them.
In the less attractive/unspoilt villages the characters will be much as in Fairacre and Thrush Green . . . except they now have to shop in the nearest 'out-of-town' supermarket as the small local shops have all closed.
bumblebees why did the book disappoint you?

Here is a link that might be useful: Fairacre books

For those who love gardens -- try Beverly Nichols' series of books about his gardens, his homes and his cats. the "Merry Hall" trilogy is wonderfully funny!!

Also -- Laura Childs' mystery series set in a tearoom in Charleston -- very good and wonderfully cozy!

Perhaps I didn't read enough, but I wasn't picking up anything about the personality of Miss Read, only her daily activites. I'm also paranoid about old maids in general as it was my main fright for years. I was thirty one when I got married...and not for lack of trying.

You need to read into the series to get a feel for the character of Miss Read, as she does not chat about herself-you learn by watching her interact with the other characters. I love these books.
There are definitely days when I envy her her cottage and her privacy and her independence!

gooseberry-will look forward to finding out what you think about "FAce on the Wall." I thought "Steeplechase" was the best I've read yet. Really kept me laughing.

re: Miss Read. I've appreciated her much more since I've been divorced as a single woman happy with her life. As a teacher, I liked the perspective in Village School. To me Miss Read is like Agatha Christie without the murder.

smallcoffee, I am almost done with Face on the Wall and have enjoyed it immensely. I especially liked the drawings by the author, adds a great touch to the story. I have only read two others by Jane Langton, Emily Dickinson is Dead which I remember I liked a lot and the one about Walden Pond. I will definitely read more of her books.

Miss Read..I have read a few of the books but had started the Mitford books and they took over at the time...I can only keep one series straight in my mind at any given time. I loved the Miss Read series and do intend to go back to it.
gbg

Happy Gardener, Yes, I too read a bio of Beatrix Potter after I read the Susan W. Albert series and a lot of the info on BP in that series is true...Hilltop Farm and she did marry that solicitor.I can't wait for the next one, I believe seven are planned.

gbg

g'girl, you probably know that Beatrix Potter's life is being filmed with Renée Zellweger and Ewan McGregor.
I suppose they are using an American actress because her 'name' will bring in US audiences and she does a faultless English accent (something 'Yanks' find surprisingly difficult). I expect the Lake District scenery will be stunning and hope the script will not be too Americanized for our English ears. ;-)

I just read Steeplechase by Jane Langton. Homer and Mary are looking for a "lost" church for a book he is writing about old churches in New England. I've read several of her books and always enjoy them, including the sketches.

veer, that movie sounds wonderful, thanks for telling us about it. can't wait.

smallcoffee, I finished Face On The Wall and did not guess the ending. There was a great bonus at the end where the author explained the drawings in detail. I loved that.

Carolyn, Steeplechase sounds good too.

gbg
reading the final book of Beverly Lewis's Abram's Daughters series

I read the Miss Read books as they showed up at my local library years ago and got excited whenever I'd see one for sale.

I think Willa Cather's My Antonia would fit into this category. As I was re-reading this favorite, it brought to mind another book about the settling of the American West: And Spring Came on Forever by Bess Streeter Aldrich. I bet the latter is now out of print. Both are so evocative of the unique landscape and time period....

I believe the movie "Miss Potter" is due to open in January with a limited release in late December. I can't wait!

gbg

Vee, you asked elsewhere and sorry to be late in reporting that I did have a wonderful trip to England in May-June. Drooling over all those perfect English villages...and now you report that the 21st century celebrity culture has barged in. Oh dear. Guess I shouldn't be surprised. That's why I don't like to read much that takes place after WW2. The daily paper is bad enough!

On the bright side, everyone in England, and I mean everyone, was extremely nice to us and very friendly, helpful and cheerful. We Americans hear that the whole world hates us but you'd never know it rambling around England this summer.

Ginny, a few years ago in a small take-out restaurant in Greece, the young man behind the counter asked us if it is true that Americans hate the Greeks. We said no and that to the contrary, we are told in the media that everyone hates the U.S. He said no, not at all. I think a lot of it is just the media.

Reading Barbara Pym's "Quartet in Autumn". She just portrays the minutiae of daily life and feelings so well.

gbg

hi just joined and really excited to be with fellow book worms,a gentle read well that has to be Mieve Binchey anything she writes is a delight.and by the way ginny 12 we english love americans comes from watching all your tv shows dont know where you spent your holidays but we have lovely villages i know i live in one

Gooseberrygirl, I LOVE Barbara Pym, and Quartet in Autumn is one of my favorites of hers. Another writer I've enjoyed is Beverley Nichols. His Merry Hall trilogy about buying a run-down British country estate and bringing it back to life is a pleasure to read.

Welcome, creamtea!

Thanks to everybody who has contributed to this thread I now have a list of potential gift ideas. I would never have even heard of many of these books without you.

On the other hand, many titles are also favorites of mine, some I've read more than once.

To repeat a suggestion I made way back up this thread, one of my favorite gentle reads and one I've already reread is Peace Like a River. From it I learned more than I ever thought I wanted to know about Butch Cassidy. A unique story about a truly good man (not Butch) and his children with a subtly Christian slant.

Ginny, I'm glad you enjoyed your UK trip. I think the gardens you visited (whichever they were) should have been at their best before the unusually high temps we suffered this summer.
I'm glad you found English people polite; it is not always the case, especially in towns/cities where the pace of life is so frantic and where even so much as making 'eye contact' with someone can lead to violence.
Just read a newspaper article which claims that the shopkeepers of Venice seem to be among the rudest in the world. I've never been there so cannot comment on the truth of the allegations.

creamtea, IMO the last two Maeve Binchy books were not up to her usual standard and are quite puerile, But I understand she has been unwell for some time which may account for her lack of form.

froniga, I completely agree about Peace Like a River. I found it remarkable and want to re-read it. It's a "keeper." I gave it to friends and family last Xmas.

Vee, we visited nineteen gardens so I won't bore you, and everyone else, by listing them. There were famous places like Great Dixter and Hestercombe and lesser known spots such as Vann and Upton Grey--and some in between, like Snowshill Manor and Rodmarton Manor and Iford Manor. Each had its own distinct personality and I couldn't wait to get up each morning to see what the new day would bring.

If the garden had a tea shop, we had lunch there. Otherwise it was pubs tho I was disappointed that they were so upscale. The last time I went, we ate at truly local pubs and I much preferred that.

I had the ploughman's lunch almost every day--an apple slice, some good cheddar, and perhaps a cucumber slice and lettuce, but most of all, some delicious chutney, on bread. And I discovered elderflower frisse, which I also drank every day--wonderful! And just when the elderflowers were in bloom both in England and New England.

We were fortunate to miss the heat wave tho it did get warm near the end. We were in Bath the last few days, staying in a wonderful 18th century townhouse that is now a small hotel. But we were amazed that there was no air conditioning--and we needed it. And no screens on the windows tho nothing flew in, no birds, no bugs. How do they do that? Where I live, the mosquitoes would pick you up and carry you off. Fair warning.

A memorable trip--can't wait to go back.

sheriz6, I loved "Quartet in Autumn" too. Don't you just wish you could go on that trip to the country?

gbg

gbg, I would love to visit all the characters and neighborhoods in Pym's books. Cups of tea and Ovaltine, village jumble sales, marrows (I always wondered what those were - some kind of squash, perhaps?), assorted Vicars and anthropologists - it seems like a very appealing and comforting world to escape to when I'm feeling stressed out.

I haven't had a good re-read of my Pyms in quite some time, those just might have to come out again.

sheriz6, I have only read 2 Pyms but I will read more. Yes I think "marrows" are some sort of vegetable, I remember in one Agatha Christie Hercule Poirot retired to the country to grow vegetable marrows.

gbg

Sheri, gbg, marrows are indeed vegetables related to the squash family and most UK folk of my generation, and older, have horrible memories of them. Often grown to the proportions of a medium size bomb, they are served boiled, are watery and tastless. Yuk, double yuk.
Imagine a huge, monstrous zucchini (known as courgettes over here). They are still popular in gardening competitions and for Harvest Festivals.
They are gradually losing out to the smaller squashes from the US, especially for those of us lucky enough to have friends from across the Pond who supply us with seed.

Ginny re your mention of lack of window screens in the UK. I have never come across them anywhere over here, nor in the parts of Europe I have visited. Insects are usually a problem outside rather than indoors . . .except for flies which can be bad for us country dwellers.
Air conditioning is almost unknown in private houses and more likely to be found in big stores, modern hotels and office blocks, although cars are now being fitted with it.
The hot summer we just experienced is likely to become more common . . . and we are having a most unusually warm Autumn with strange humid winds from the South. The grass and the flowers continue to grow, little 'colour' on the leaves. Global warming or what? Is it the same with you?

btw I think country vicars, rectors, parsons etc are becoming something of an endangered species but plenty of jumble sales and village fetes to visit.

Here is a link that might be useful: Marrows

Vee, thanks for the info on marrows, I figured they were something squash-like, though I was picturing more of a butternut squash. The large one shown in the link looks like a monster zucchini - perfect for making zucchini bread. I used to grow them just for that purpose until the squash borer beetles found my yard.

Interesting that no screens are used. I live in the next state over from Ginny and our mosquitoes are just as robust, lol. Plus we have to watch out for West Nile virus, carried by the little blood-suckers. It would be intolerable without screens, and quite unpleasant without AC as it gets very humid here in the summer.

Wasn't Poirot trying to grow a square marrow? So they wouldn't roll off the table. I love that man!

The first time I ever heard of marrows was via Hercule Poirot. I was mystified--thought marrow was something in the middle of bones. Then we did have English neighbors who grew them and explained the whole thing to us.

Our autumn has been beautiful--spectacular foliage color and lots of sunny days. It has been a bit on the mild side but definitely not unusually warm. In fact, I just put the storm windows on and the screens away. Bet you don't have storm windows over there either, but we need them here, especially with the price of oil.

We have so many insects seeking to enjoy the great indoors, including a scary-looking one called the "western conifer seed bug", a gift from the great American West. Google it for a picture. They are harmless to humans but look like something out of a sci-fi movie. Somehow they get it thru the tiniest hole in a screen. Count your blessings, Vee.

Cece,square marrows, that sounds so Poirotish!! Remember how his apartment was in a nice squared off building and wasn't he fussy about the shape of his furniture.

Poirot is everything I am not-mostly neat and fussy. And he did choose his flat because of the symmetry of the building.

Thanks everyone. I just read an excerpt from Peace Like a River by Leif Enger at this site. Now to look for a copy at the store.
On a google search I see that this is in production as a movie.

Here is a link that might be useful: Powell's Books - Peace Like a River by Leif Enger

Ginny, how did you plan your English garden trip?

Had a question - just bought Big Stone Gap and know it is a trilogy. Does anyone know what the order (and titles) of the books are? Do they need to be read in order? I am going to Mexico on vacation this weekend and would like to get the first two if I can. I think they would make great beach reading.

yes-read them in order.
Big Stone Gap, Big Cherry Holler, Milk Glass Moon and the newest one, Home to Big Stone Gap

Carolyn--I have been on two English garden trips, both organized by others. There are quite a few out there and some time spent on Google should let you find one that interests you. Prices vary, depending on accommodations etc.

In 2002, I went on a tour focused on gardens of the Cotswolds and nearby areas such as Oxford. The gardens covered various time periods from the early 18c to today. Every one was wonderful--and I am pretty fussy and have seen a lot of gardens. Our group was small, about a dozen, mostly women as such trips usually are. We stayed in a very nice but not luxurious small hotel in Stow-on-the-Wold. Our driver was a local fellow who knew every back road and village--loved it. This tour was run by a one-woman company called Flora. The woman is a retired professor from Cambridge. She runs garden tours to other parts of England as well.

The tour this year was different. It was run thru an academic group I belong to and focused on gardens of the Arts and Crafts Movement of the late 19c-early 20c. Two names you might know from this era are Gertrude Jekyll and Sir Edwin Lutyens who worked together on designing and planting some of England's greatest gardens. Spectacular gardens and because of the circumstances, we usually had the owner or curator lead us around. And serve us tea as well. This is not my typical lifestyle (tho I could easily get used to it!) and this was the memory of a lifetime.

On both of these tours, we usually toured the houses but sometimes not. Occasionally, I had to skip the house (anguish!) because I am a garden freak and there was just not enough time to do both.

My suggestions are:

Get some books about English gardens and pick out the ones you would most like to see. Or you could just pick a good tour and go.

Get the Good Gardens Guide, new edition each year, which briefly describes hundreds of gardens throughout the UK and gives prices, open hours, etc.

Try to geographically limit yourself to a region so you don't waste your time in hotel transfers and travel.

Search for tour providers on Google and in garden magazines etc.

You also might want to join the Royal Oaks Foundation, the American branch of the (British) National Trust. Many of the big gardens are National Trust properties and members get in free. Membership will pay for itself if you see just a few of their gardens. Plus you get their publications and other benefits.

As a final note, I will mention that tho we covered some of the same area on my second trip, only one garden was a repeat--Hidcote Manor. England is so full of gardens that you could go every year and never begin to see them all. I hope you have a wonderful trip.

Thank you, Ginny. My husband is our gardener but doesn't enjoy traveling as much as I do. This may be just the answer I've been looking for.

deborah47,

Thought this thread might have some "happy" books in it. So, I'm raising it up.

Just read An Irish Country Doctor which is definitely gentle without being saccharine.

Another book which I can't remember if it has been mentioned before is "Staying On" by Paul Scott. A beautifully written story about an old couple who continue to live in India for years after it becomes an independent country from England. They have a hard time adjusting to it, and at the end, it just makes you sigh with satisfaction.

I loved it. It's part of the Raj Quartet, but you don't need to read the others to make sense of this one. It's a good standalone.

I looked here for some suggestions & have a whole page! One series I would recommend is the Southern Sisters Mysteries by Anne George. I reread these every so often & they never fail to deliver. Very light & easy to read when you're in a mood for that. I have a feeling I will be back to this site often.
Susan

Has anyone tried the books by Elisabeth Ogilvie? She was active from the middle through the close of the 20th century. Her books were mostly set in rural coastal Maine, a series about Bennett's Island as well as some stand alone novels, suspense stories, and historical novels. I believe there were some YA books as well, though I never read any of those. I wasn't crazy about the Bennett's Island series, though they were very popular, but I liked some of her other adult novels very much.

She was a master at evoking a sense of place. In fact, she made me long to visit Maine.

This is the time of year that I find myself in the mood for comfort reads. I picked up LM Montgomery's The Blue Castle thinking vaguely that it might fit the bill, and it was wonderful. A charming, delightful little love story bundled with a love affair with the natural world. I could think of no other better thread for mentioning it.

I, also, have been indulging in comfort reads. I have been digging into various compilations of Christmas stories and poems, and have got "Little House on the Prairie' and "The Long Winter" by Laura Ingalls Wilder out to read -- can't wait. When it's cold and dark outside there is nothing like a book to sustain you.

Thank you for bringing this thread back to the top. cece, you mentioned Angela Thirkell. Can you provide a link to the titles in order? Or a list? Many many thanks.

PAM

Here you go-a list in order with annotations. and you can wander through the rest of the Angela Thirkell Society website. She is, in my mind, rather Austenesque-nothing earth-shattering happens in her books, but you become very attached to the characters.

Here is a link that might be useful: Thirkell book list

cece, a belated yet heartfelt thank you for the link. Made a list, checked it twice, now off to the library website to reserve a few!
PAM