Mitford is a small town in America that has always resisted change. Fortunately, Mitford hasn't clung too fiercely to the past, for now it looks as though upheaval is inevitable.

Father Tim, the Episcopal rector, and his vivacious wife Cynthia, must live in chaos while a stranger recuperates in the rectory. Dooley, the mountain boy they love as their own, is home for the holidays, and Cynthia is about to start writing her next children's book.

Some villagers are set to move away, and a brash mayoral candidate is making an aggressive bid to take over from the popular Esther Cunningham. Finally, with the threat to turn the beloved house on the hill into an international spa, the prospect of change has never been more alarming. Now comes the litmus test of every small town and village - will Mitford's heart, and that of its people, remain steadfast?


I bought this book some years ago, when I felt a flu approaching. Without reading this book, I surely would have recovered much faster. Didn't make it all the way through.

I hope I like this book better than you did, Flicki! It is part of a series that one of my very dear friends highly recommends, so hopefully I'll enjoy it :)

Thanks for being willing to ship across the pond for this relay!

And although I'm a slacker and have to catch up with my bookrelay activities, I did remember my login :) and found this one. It's part of the Any Book Will Do bookrelay.

Thanks again!

Here is the order of the books, so I can keep track.

This is a charming series, and I whipped through it in about a week and 1/2. Of course, I refused to stop after each one and write a journal entry ... I just opened the next one and kept reading! I really enjoyed them, so thanks Flicki!

Esther's famous orange marmalade cake has an entertaining part in this one, with the women of the church hilariously trying to get her recipe from her while she's laid up in the hospital.

Andrew has a mysterious trip in this one, and Omer and his plane get to play a fun part in the town picnic, too :)

I'm writing my journal entries quickly so I can get these in the mail to my mom and sister-in-law tomorrow.