Journal Entry 1 by catsalive from Rooty Hill, New South Wales Australia on Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Village School
In a village there are no secrets. As head of Fairacre's two-class school, Miss REad's every deed is subject for speculation, and she is inevitably involved in most of her neighbours concerns.

Her first novel recounts the ups and downs of a year in 1950s Fairacre with the clearsighted tolerance, shap observation and gentle irony that makes her so enduringly popular. From Miss Clare's failing health to the new infant teacher's budding romance and Mrs Pringle's never-ending complaints, from the everyday wonders of nature to the often less wonderful behaviour of the villagers, very little escapes Miss Read's notice...

Village Diary
'As I have been given a large and magnificent diary for Christmas - seven by ten and nearly two inches thick - I intend to fill it in as long as my ardour lasts. Further than that I will not go. There are quite enough jobs that a schoolmistress just must do...'

Luckily for her readers, 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 balance, 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.