Customer Reviews

Village School (The Fairacre Series #1)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Five years have passed since Miss Read became the schoolmistress of the English village, Fairacre. A new school term is to begin and Miss Read looks forward to it with wonder, some trepidation, but mostly hopes for her pupils including three new students. Miss Read knows that she must help the somewhat frightened newcomers fit into the class as smoothly as possible.

The school year brings its usual learning, fun, and skinned knees needing special tender care. Along with Miss Reed, the dedicated but somewhat old-fashioned yet quite popular "uncertificated Teacher" Miss Clare is back and the gloom and doom custodian Mrs. Pringle is ready to keep the building clean. Finally, the awe and energy of the wide-eyed children and their village relatives offer a new year of promise and hard work.

The first novel in Miss Read's cherished Fairacre series, VILLAGE SCHOOL is a reprint of the 1955 tale that introduced the lovable teacher and her villagers to the world. Though written before Sputnik, the story line surprisingly retains a freshness and high energy level at a leisurely pace even as the remoteness of the village seems impossible in today's Internet world. The enjoyable offbeat cast remains fun to observe and often humorous as life in a bygone era comes fully alive in what was contemporary then but a strong historical now. This demonstrates how good a writer Miss Read is.

Harriet Klausner

Bake a batch of scones and settle down to a lovely world, a small English village school as seen through the eyes of Miss Read, a teacher.

These are my run-for-cover books. When the world is too much with me, I find my copy of Village School or Village Diary, wrap up in a quilt, and fall under the spell of these gentle novels.

This book is the first leg of a heart warming adventure.
Set in the imaginary world of Fairacre, a village in
England, Miss Read, the headmistress, regales her readers
with humorous stories about her students and the village
residents. Come fall in love with such characters
as Mrs. Pringle, a cantankerous hypochondriac, who cleans
the school house and needles Miss Read with endless
complaints. A more lovable character is Miss Claire who
teaches the "babies" and is much respected by Miss Read and
her fellow villagers.

The author, Dora Jessie Saint, is a retired school teacher
who pulls extensively from her own experiences. There are
a number of books which include further adventures in
Fairacre, including her most recent title "Tales from a
Village School". In addition to Fairacre, she has other
imaginary villages including Thrush Green and Caxley, each
village has their own set of lovable characters and unique
situations.

If you are looking for sex, violence, or "street" language,
these books are not for you. They are wholesome stories
which engage the reader with their simple presentation of
English village life. I highly recommend them for anyone
who wants to escape to a simplier more genteel time.

So often in our 21st century world, we try to live our lives in absolutes. Perhaps we live with more fatalism than did dear Miss Read, and her flock of children at Fairacre School. The story of a rural school where poverty and want lived in many families, Miss Read helped bring beauty and creativity to her pupils. What struck me about Miss Read is her adaptability in the face of sudden village emergencies; a child or a parent who suddenly became in need of attention; an elderly teacher who needed rest. Miss Read and her contemporaries in the village of Fairacre were able to serve the needs of the community at sacrifice to their own needs. Somehow, there is the unspoken view in Fairacre that everything will work out if we pull together for a little while, and everything does. That's probably why Village School and the entire Fairacre series fit readers just as a warm quilted comforter would; the book is a photograph of what life can be when we help each other. This is a book which, in the gentlest way, illustrates the big picture. Sincerely, Robin

Village School was first published in 1955 by Dora Jessie Saint (Miss Read), a British school teacher turned author and is the first in the beloved Miss Read series. If you think the novel is dated, you're wrong. Village School is a return to a gentler time. Miss Read can make shining the school's pot belly stove sound interesting. She is, as far as I'm concerned, Jan Karon's predecessor.

Miss Read is the schoolmistress in the English village of Fairacre, where she's lived for five years. She is charged with the older children's education and Miss Claire teaches kindergarten and first grade--the 'babies.'

Village School is an intimate look at the inner workings of an English village and its inhabitants. School lunches come packed in pails, the children are loved and disciplined, and Mrs. Pringle, the elderly woman who cleans the school, doesn't approve of much, but she can make the old stove shine.

Village School takes place one fall and introduces the reader to humor, drama and a touch of romance. There are thatched roofs, trials and tribulations and unique characters that will touch your heart and make you long for the 'olden days.' You're introduced to jumble sales, fetes and festivals, and all things that represent British rural education.

There's young Joseph Coggs, (his father spent an evening at the Beetle and woke most of the village with his fervor), Eileen Burton (who suffers a 'knicker' calamity), Linda Moffet (a newcomer to Fairacre and immaculate in her dress), Mrs. Pringle (who has an opinion about everything), the lovely Miss Claire, Reverend Partridge, and then there's Miss Read herself.

Our world is fast-paced, confusing, stressful and frightening at times. Village School is a delightful respite from the 'now.' This series is my all-time favorite, and I highly recommend it for a visit to a time and place we all long for. Once you enter Miss Read's world, you'll want to stay.

Armchair Interviews says: Start with Village School and then take a journey with Miss Read through more village life adventures with Village Diary.

It took me a while to get used to the novels of Dora Saint (Miss Read), as I felt that there were no pressing problems for the protagonist to solve, other than an occasional leaky skylight in the schoolroom, the grumblings of cranky old Miss Pringle, and the like. Yet I found myself reluctant to put Village School down, just because it was like spending a pleasant quiet afternoon with a dear friend with no problems pressing on you. I love how Miss Read in the story feels all the same irritations we do with people who annoy us -- hypochondriacs, mettlesome busybodies, etc. -- yet always she manages to act with dignity and kindness and humor. These books document a way of life and sense of community that is rapidly disappearing from present day life.

I read in an interview with Jan Karon that she got her inspiration for At Home in Mitford from the Miss Read Series. And it is clear that she did. Miss Read is the head teacher at a village shool in England. She has the older boys and girls, while Miss Claire has the "babies, " kindergartners and first graders in American terms. This story was written in the 1950's and reflects the times perfectly. All was not perfect in that era, but it was less complicated. Discipline only needed a cuff on the fanny ( a little shocking...especially how it came about!), and academic skills are regimented with drills. But most of the children thrived and many flourished under the watchful eye of Miss Read. Miss Read is the precursor for Father Tim in Jan Karon's series;that is as clear as they come! The one room school house is divided by a partition, and lunches are eaten from pails and drinks provided by the teachers: hot chocolate from the central wood stove that heats the school. The school is host to Mrs. Pringle, a crochety old lady who cleans the school and takes "stabs" at Miss Read's run of the school. We get to visit Miss read's cozy cottage from time to time and view other village homes as well. I enjoyed these excursions into the domestic life of villagers from a not too distant time gone but not lost.....it lives on between the covers of all of Miss Read's volumes of country life in a village one comes to cherish.

I turned to Miss Read's Fairacre Chronicles when I had finished the last Thrush Green book, Year at Thrush Green. I had always thought the Thrush Green books infinitely better than the Mitford books my sisters-in-law so love. I was heartbroken when it was over. Thinking that the Fairacre novels would be more of the same, I turned to Village School.

Was I wrong! Yes, the story concerns a Cotswold village, as in Thrush Green. But the Fairacre novels are more worldly wise and the humor is much more sly. Thrush Green is the terribly idealized village everyone wishes they could live in; Fairacre is the village that you really live in, if you are lucky. The world of Fairacre is more realistic, with misbehaving children, out-of-wedlock births, alcoholic schoolmasters, the occasional abusive parent, and a schoolmistress who is human enough to lose patience and lose track of a 5-year-old while on a field trip.

I turned to Fairacre because I had already devoured all 12 Thrush Green books; I was seeking consolation. However, if Village School is any indication, I shall come to prefer it even to my own beloved Thrush Green.

I have read miss read for nearly 20 yrs. Togehter with her being the late HRH Queen mothers favourite author too. She shows how it was in the 1950's. Her pithy wisadom cuts across todays image /media based concerns and puts responsibility for ones wellfare firmly back on your shoulders. Instead of being concerned with School psychs,welfare workers and the like a child from a poor background is given the tools and education to effect a change in himself to be able to control his adult life better. Education is the key to effect change in ones life. Work Hard at whatever you are asked to do , always do your best. No one can ask more of you That is her maxim in life ignore this at your peril.

I loved this book and do believe I have found another home when Mitford ends! I loved the characters and although simple, I can't wait to devour the next one!