Miss Read books

I remember reading the Whiteoaks Chronicles in my teens but, strangely, can't remember much about them.

Does anyone remember the Whiteoak Chronicles? A family saga set in Canada. Grandma the matriarch. I don't have too many memories about who was who, but as I read them in my late teens, it was such a long time ago

Have you read "Miss Read Early Days" - it combines two volumes of autobiography by Miss Read. It is about her life with both her grandmothers and also her early life. My daughter bought it for me a few years back and I loved it. It was heartening to read how her grandmothers had made so much of an impression on her.

I have also read all the Miss Read books more than once. I now let myself read one as a special treat. I would also recommend the Lilian Harry Burracombe books and Rosamunde Pilcher. Rebecca Shaw has written a nice series of books about a village and also Anne Purser did if you can still get hold of them.

This is a very reassuring thread! I've always enjoyed books like these and have noted down some authors to search for. Disappointingly, many of them aren't available in Kindle format. I suppose the big publishers aren't interested other than in gritty crimes, Sci fi or celebrity memoirs. However, it seems to me that there are a lot of us out here who like a nice read about nice characters in interesting locations. I'll persevere!

And another Miss Read fan here too and also from when I was in my early twenties. So many other old favourites have been mentioned on here that it has made me quite nostalgic so I really must revisit my old friends.

Another Miss Read fan here - and from well before my thirties, although I did grow up in a very similar environment. I have also worked in libraries all my life and am slightly bemused by the idea that I could remember what age groups were reading what to the extent that I can know no one under a certain age ever borrowed a certain author . Also, although I could never read a M&B with a straight face, I never thought to criticise those who did - the customers who took out armfuls at a time were helping keep me in a job

All my other 'gentle' authors, though, seem to be non-fiction. James Herriott, of course, Doreen Dovey www.amazon.co.uk/Doreen-Tovey/e/B001HP6Y0C/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_12?qid=1461963107&sr=8-12, Deric Longden and, more recently, Tom Cox www.amazon.co.uk/Tom-Cox/e/B0034O3ZEC/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1461964419&sr=1-2-ent

I am another fan of Miss Read,Monica Dickens,Lilian Beckwith,Christine Marion Fraser,Miss Silver Mysteries ,Patricia Wentworth,and Jack Sheffield is another gentle village teacher,along with Cathy Woodman and her series about vets in a rural setting,I love crime stories but for pure escapism and comfort the above would be my choices.

Loved the comfort and certainty of the Miss Read books, and also very much enjoyed Period Piece. The books by Jon and Rumer Godden are also lovely accounts of childhood , before partition in India. My comfort reads currently are The Forsyte Saga (free on Kindle) and the E.F. Benson Mapp and Lucia books (ditto)

Oh how lovely to find like minded readers! I've just finished Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson...quite wonderful!
Thank you again for all your recommendations and reminding me of books I've enjoyed in the past and want now to re-read!

Thanks oldie730! As I started reading these posts, I was wracking my brains for the name Jalna & Mazo de la Roche. How I loved those books, featuring Rennie & Finch! I read both them & the Miss Read books in my mid teens - 40 or so years later, maybe it's time to re-visit them

Thanks, Jane10. More to explore. Having lots of problems with my eyes just now - how awful it would be to have to cut down on my reading. I'm into buying my books at the moment, usually from Amazon used books. Starting to collect the VMC Designer Collection - the covers are beautiful.

Another Miss Read fan here. Dora Saint, the author behind 'Miss Read' only died a few years ago.

I loved as a child - and still love - the Punchbowl Farm stories of Monica Edwards. Set on a farm that really exists, near Hindhead in Surrey, and written in the early Fifties to the mid Sixties. They were republished a few years ago by a publishing company called Girls Gone By, who publish many stories by Forties/Fifties/Sixties children's authors. Snapped up by nostalgic adults, including me.

There's also a very good biography of Monica available as well as companion books to both the Punchbowl Farm stories and Monica's Romney Marsh series of books, which cross over to the Punchbowl series with some of the characters from one series appearing in the other. Several of the characters were based on Monica's own children, Shelley and Sean.

Loved reading them many years ago so gentle and light hearted I'm going to look on my kindle for one I always found them very calming and that's exactly what I'm in need of.

Memories keep coming back. Norah Lofts wrote a lovely trilogy, set in Suffolk starting with The Town House, then, The House at Old Vine, and finally The House at Sunset. Worth looking out for.

Ooo yes, I read the books in my 30s and found them rather twee - a bit along the lines of Jane Austen. I enjoyed the school collection; daily life seemed so simple in those days in an idyllic country setting.

I read the Miss Read books in my early 20s. They definitely influenced a decision to move to a village location. Deluded!

Ooh 'Good Behaviour ' is one of my favourites! Social comedy at its best. If you like that sort of thing the EFBenson, Mapp and Lucia ones are fabulous. Bitchy small town life in the 20s - wonderful (but not exactly Miss Read)
RC Sheriff's book 'A Fortnight in September' runs at a very slow pace but is exquisite. Its a day by day story of a small family's annual holiday. I loved it.

When I finish Excellent Women I have Good Behaviour by Molly Keane lined up. I think it's important to try different authors and will definitely be looking for some of the suggestions in this thread.

I've only just read her Christmas stories which I enjoyed but, feeling that I needed a break from them for a while, I have been reading Barbara Pym's Excellent Women which I can't put down. They're not really similar except that they are 'gentle' books. Can't take too much excitement at my age, lol.

Thank you to all for your suggestions! I'm certainly going to follow them up. The recent death of Victoria Wood reminded me of the Nella Last series of 3 books (Housewife 49) wonderfully evocative! Thank you all again

Miss Read, Lilian Beckwith, am quite nostalgic. Read them all, some Miss Read several times when couldn't find anything better in the library. I also enjoyed the Jalna series by Mazo de la Roche. I think it was a series on TV back in the days of black and white.

I like Rosamund Pilcher books, even though the characters in her books feel as if they've fallen on hard times if they're down to only one servant.

I've never heard of Miss Read, but will certainly be looking out to read some of these.

I went through a phase a few years back where I just wanted to read a book where nothing happened. And then I stumbled on Barbara Pym and was absolutely delighted by the fact that nothing happened - yet it was full of excitement and intrigue in the protagonist's head: a woman of a certain age involved in her small London parish.

Highly recommended

My mum introduced me to the books in the adult library with the Miss Read books. I adored them. They're often available cheaply as a collection on the Book People website.

Similar but a bit meatier are the Christine Marion Fraser books, set in Scotland. The Rhanna books are wonderful. I think they may be out of print but are available second hand and on Kindle via Amazon. www.amazon.co.uk/Christine-Marion-Fraser/e/B001HOY1CQ