From the Bookshelf

For those of you who don't know "Miss Read" this will not be major news, but for those of us who have loved her books for decades, it's a wonderful holiday treat. Starting in the mid '50's Dora Jessie Saint, MBE - Miss Read - began writing of village life in the Cotswolds. Her tales of Fairacre and Thrush Green have delighted untold readers throughout the second half of the last century. She laid down her pen in 1998 following the publication of "A Peaceful Retirement", so it was with great surprise and excitement when I found out about "Christmas at Thrush Green" - the first new Miss Read in over ten years. Created in collaboration with her long time editor Jenny Dereham, I found the story to be true to the Thrush Green tradition - what a delight to once again spend time with all my old friends from the village. I know this one will be pulled out every December to read again and again.