A Peaceful Retirement (Fairacre) [Paperback]

Miss Read (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 7, 2007 | Series: Fairacre

Open the gate to Fairacre, America’s favorite English village.

Having bid a last farewell to her pupils at Fairacre School, Miss Read settles down to what she hopes will be a relaxing retirement. It is not entirely so, of course. She finds herself as busy and in demand as ever: on holiday in Florence, helping with church and school affairs, and offering a kindly ear to her eccentric neighbors. With her teaching days behind her, Miss Read discovers her talent for writing, opening a new and exciting chapter in her life — and bringing to a close her stories of life in Fairacre, the timeless English village beloved by millions of readers.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Here you'll find delicious wit, quirky characters, the colourful intrigues of daily life, and certainly love and laughter...delightful." (Jan Karon, author of the bestselling Mitford Series )

"Miss Read reminds us of what is really important. And if we can't live in her world, it's certainly a comforting place to visit."

"Miss Read's Books...have deservedly received the highest praise from both English and American reviewers." (New York Times Book Review )

About the Author

Miss Read is the pseudonym of Mrs. Dora Saint, a former schoolteacher beloved for her novels of English rural life, especially those set in the fictional villages of Thrush Green and Fairacre. The first of these, Village School, was published in 1955, and Miss Read continued to write until her retirement in 1996. In the 1998, she was awarded an MBE, or Member of the Order of the British Empire, for her services to literature. She lives in Berkshire.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books; None edition (November 7, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618884386
• ISBN-13: 978-0618884384
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #320,098 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Miss Read returns us again to a place we may already live., February 26, 1999

By 

Robert H. Nunnally Jr. "gurdonark" (Allen, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Peaceful Retirement (Fairacre) (Hardcover)

Miss Read's novels capture the best aspects of the small town provincial novel--the sense of connection, the wry Austenisms--while leaving the sentimentality and pollyanna-ism sometimes afflicting the genre to her lesser imitators. A Peaceful Retirement brings us another step--perhaps a final step--nearer to the end of this series. I recommend this series, and this book within the series, to anyone who wishes that a novel might have both a 20th C. awareness and a somewhat 19th C. sense of perspective....Most people have not discovered Miss Read, and one somehow wonders if "most people" really ought to. But I am certainly glad that I did....

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One last visit with friends, September 2, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: A Peaceful Retirement (Fairacre) (Hardcover)

I enjoyed my visit with Miss Read and all her friends. It was like going home again. I feel I also know all of the people. I wish that this was not the last book.

This maybe the last book but you will find it is a new beginning for all of us.

Get yourself a cup of tea and sit down and enjoy yourself with some old friends.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars miss read's #1 fan!!!, September 24, 2000

By 

Janet Cucci (valley sream, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Peaceful Retirement (Fairacre Chronicles) (Audio Cassette)

I just finished reading "A Peaceful Retirement". Just like her other books, it was excellent reading. I was sorry when the book ended because I wanted to read more. Few years ago I wrote Miss Read a letter stating I loved all her books. She was kind enough to write me a handwritten letter in reply. After a hetic day, I look forward to reading her books and revisit the loveable characters in the quiet town.