Miss Read has 30 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 9 narrators, with an average listener rating of 4.6★ across 45 ratings. The most-rated is The School at Thrush Green.
The School at Thrush Green
Summary
Change occurs everywhere, even in the small fictional community of Thrush Green in the British Cotswolds. Dorothy Watson and Agnes Fogerty have taught at the school for as long as anyone can remember, but now they're thinking and talking about retirement. It won't be an easy adjustment for them, or the village residents. Whom can they find that can possibly fill the women's shoes? Meanwhile, the town wonders if the Lovelock sisters will keep their domestic help. And is that young man really an architectural student, as Agnes thinks? Will Dorothy and Agnes ever find a suitable retirement home, and if the school is sold, what will happen to it? A thoroughly engaging, warmhearted, small-town tale, certain to appeal to the millions of fans of Jan Karon's bestselling Mitford series.
©1987 Miss Read (P)2001 Chivers Audio Books
The Christmas Mouse and No Holly for Miss Quinn
Summary
A mouse's appearance on Christmas Eve in a widow's bedroom leads to a chance encounter with a small boy. In 'No Holly for Miss Quinn'. And Miss Quinn's preparations for Christmas are made more difficult when her brother's children come to stay.
©2009 Mrs D J Saint (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
Summer at Fairacre
Summary
Summer at Fairacre charmingly recounts this bright, bustling season and the problems and possibilities that unfold against the backdrop of roses, skylarks and bees... Joseph Coggs finds a temporary home in the schoolhouse while his mother is in the hospital. Miss Read’s friend Amy mysteriously disappears. And, perhaps most difficult of all, Mrs. Pringle, the grumpy school cleaner, is unable to work because of her ‘bad leg’. Still, the sounds of children playing and the fragrance of summertime flowers fill the air, as Miss Read shepherds her students and friends through the warm season.
©1984 Miss Read (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
Village Diary
Summary
‘As I have been given a large and magnificent diary for Christmas... I intend to fill it in as long as my ardour lasts.’ Luckily, Miss Read’s ardour lasts all year, encompassing every aspect of Fairacre life. Whether embroiled unwillingly in her friend Amy’s marital hiccups, discussing the changing world with Miss Clare or the modern problems of good local education and rural impoverishment with the schools inspector and the doctor, she remains balanced, humorous and wise and never forgets either her most important charge, the mixed bag of children in her school, or the joys of the changing seasons.
©1946 Miss Read (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
Winter in Thrush Green
Summary
A new excitement comes to the village of Thrush Green when Harold Shoosmith, a distinguished bachelor who has chosen the village for his retirement, takes the corner house on the green. Harold is soon enmeshed in village politics and becomes involved in the private lives of his neighbours as well. His presence has a dramatic effect on Dimity Dean and Ella Bembridge and is the cause of a serious misunderstanding between the two friends. And the village’s widowed rector finds in Harold a new friend who gives him the courage to end his lonely state. Read by Gwen Watford.
©1981 Miss Read (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
Village School
Summary
Fairacre is a village of cottages, a church and the school - and, at the heart of the school, its head mistress 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 school children, with their scraped knees, hopeful faces and inevitable mischief. Full of Miss Read's unique, acerbic wit, and wry observations, Village School is an intriguing glimpse into a forgotten world, and has become a true classic.
©1955 Miss Read (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
Farewell to Fairacre
Summary
Having enjoyed robust health throughout her career, Miss Read, the village schoolmistress at Fairacre, is looking forward to an energetic retirement in a few years' time. But, to her dismay, she is suddenly taken ill. She has no wish to give up her post yet, but memories of her former colleague collapsing in front of the schoolchildren haunt her. Is it time to say farewell to Fairacre?
©1994 Mrs D J Saint (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
Affairs at Thrush Green
Summary
When Charles Henstock, rector of Thrush Green, moves a mile downhill to the parish of Lulling, his many friends rejoice in his promotion, but an unfortunate skirmish with one of his wealthy parishioners over the Lady Chapel kneelers saddens him...
©2009 Mrs D J Saint (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
Village Affairs
Summary
The people of Fairacre are up in arms about the possible closure of the village school. This anxious time for Miss Read is made bearable by the support of all her friends and neighbours.
©2009 Mrs D J Saint (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
Battles at Thrush Green
Summary
Nestled in the heart of the Cotswolds, Thrush Green is normally a peaceful place. But as autumn turns to winter, feelings are running high in the village. Miss Fogerty, a respected teacher at the village school for over thirty years, is troubled by the methods of the new young teacher. Dotty Harmer takes up driving, much to the concern of others, and it isn’t long before she is involved in an accident and a threatening court case. And when the good rector innocently suggests that the neglected church-yard should be tidied up, Thrush Green is outraged. It seems wherever you look there are difficulties and changes, but as spring arrives, there is renewed hope that all will end well. Read by Gwen Watford.
©1975 Miss Read (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
Christmas at Thrush Green
Summary
The 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 together and everyone enjoys the treats of the festive season. And when it snows as the carol singers make their way round the cottages on the green, it looks as if Christmas will be perfect this year. But not everything is as peaceful as it seems. Phyllida and Frank have their work cut out for them when they agree to take on the Nativity play - made all the more difficult by an outbreak of chickenpox. The indomitable Ella has lived in Thrush Green for as long as anyone can remember, but lately she has been behaving strangely. Then there are the dreadful Burwells, newcomers to Thrush Green, who cause something of a stir with their 'home improvements'. For Nelly, owner of The Fuchsia Bush tea shop, Christmas is an especially busy time, with people dropping in for much-needed refreshment, weary from all their Christmas shopping. But then she receives an unexpected letter.
©2009 Miss Read (P)2017 Audible, Ltd
Village Christmas & The White Robin
Summary
From the rural festivities in 'Village Christmas' to the poignant tale of a white robin, these two stories demonstrate the wry wit and light touch of Miss Read. Two heartwarming and wonderfully festive listens.
©1992 Mrs D J Saint (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
Emily Davis
Summary
After the death of Emily Davis, school teacher and well-loved member of the local community, many of those who knew her cast their minds back to days past and to their memories of Emily. Dolly Clare mourns her loss deeply but remembers with joy and warmth the long friendship they shared. She is joined in her reminiscences by Jane Draper, who started her teaching career under Emily’s guidance, and by those further afield - from London to America. This is both a poignant story of loss and a celebration of life, rich with affection.
©1974 Mrs D J Saint (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
At Home in Thrush Green
Summary
Charles Henstock, vicar of Thrush Green, is living in his new vicarage after the old one burned down. In its place are eight retirement homes, but there’s heated debate in the village about the new residents. How to choose who will live there? How will they get on together? And how will they accommodate all the pets? Meanwhile the old residents have their worries. At the school Miss Watson learns that her brother has had an accident; an argument flares up between Edward Young and Dr Lovell; and Dottie Harmer becomes dottier by the day.
©1985 Miss Read (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
A Peaceful Retirement
Summary
The village schoolmistress, Miss Read, greets retirement with excitement, and settles down to endless lazy days, but her idyll is interrupted by the daily cares of her friends and fellow villagers in this, the latest Miss Read novel.
©1996 Mrs D J Saint (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
Friends at Thrush Green
Summary
The Cotswold village of Thrush Green is a particularly close-knit community, where many of the inhabitants have known each other since childhood, and any unusual events are quickly noted. The visit of retired schoolteachers Miss Watson and Miss Fogerty gives great pleasure to all. The new headmaster, Alan Lester, is cautiously approved, but rumour is rife about his wife's health. The behaviour of farmer Percy Hodge is also the cause of local speculation. All these matters and more are faced by our old friends the Henstocks, the Youngs, Winnie Bailey, Dotty Harmer, and the Shoosmiths.
©1991 Miss Read (P)2009 Audible, Inc.
The Year at Thrush Green
Summary
As spring begins at Thrush Green, a series of local dramas takes hold of the community. Plans for the fete are hotting up, the illness of Mrs Peters at the restaurant makes the future unsure for the staff, and there are problems at Rectory Cottages.
©1996 Mrs D J Saint (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
Thrush Green
Summary
It's the May Day holiday, and a fair has come to the village of Thrush Green. The residents of Thrush Green all have their own views about the fair. For young Paul, just recovered from an illness, it is a joy to be allowed out to play at the fair; for Ruth, who returned to the soothing tranquility of Thrush Green nursing a broken heart, the fair is a welcome distraction from her own problems. And for Dr Lovell, the fair brings an unexpected new patient.Then there is Mrs Curdle, the long-standing matriarch of the fair. For her, this year's visit to Thrush Green awakens mixed feelings, and a difficulty she doesn't want to face.
©1959 Miss Read (P)2007 Orion Publishing Group Ltd
Miss Clare Remembers
Summary
On a bright summer's day, old Miss Clare, now retired from teaching, awaits the visit of her oldest friend, Emily Davis. In between, she recalls the events in their 70-year friendship and country life in England during that time.
©2014 Audible, Inc.; 1962 Mrs D J Saint
Mrs Griffin Sends her Love
Summary
From organising the school summer fete - 'Because of our inability to recognise our climatic shortcomings from the outset, arrangements for outdoor jollities get completely out of hand' - to the sometimes rather odd passions of childhood - 'I collect stones with holes in them' - Miss Read captures the essence of rural life, and in particular of village schools, as only she can. This collection also includes extracts from her letters: 'Michael Joseph wrote after the Observer thing and is throwing out feelers for a book. I shall know if he still feels like it - me too! - after we've met'. It will also include an Introduction on how 'Miss Read' was first created: Miss Read was born fully clothed in sensible garments and aged about forty. She was born, in fact, when I was struggling to write my first book and needed a village schoolmistress as the narrator.
©2013 Miss Read (P)2015 Audible, Ltd