Miss Read (1913-2012) was 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.
The latest Thrush Green novel by the prolific, pseudonymous ``Miss Read'' will undoubtedly satisfy those who enjoy simple and undemanding narratives largely about, and from the perspective of, the elderly. Having reached their 80s, the two village primary-school teachers Dorothy Watson and Anges Fogerty decide to retire and buy a new home at Barton-on-Sea. Dorothy alarms Agnes by determining to take driving lessons and Agnes disconcerts Dorothy by adopting a cat. Introducing a cast of stock village characters, the author pokes gentle fun at their foibles while tacitly disapproving of permissive child-rearing and the messily self-indulgent lives of the younger generation. Miss Read's worldwide popularity in translation is understandable in view of the clarity of her prose. Beneath the deceptive simplicity, however, there is arch humor and perceptive character analysis. Goodall's illustrations, having been culled from earlier novels, occasionally strike a slightly discordant note. (Dec.)
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