Village diary

The second Fairacre novel, from the bestselling author of VILLAGE SCHOOL. In her first book VILLAGE SCHOOL, Miss Read drew a picture of the small but detailed world of a typical primary school in a remote country area, a world peopled by the children themselves, Miss Clare the venerable infants teacher, glum Mrs Pringle the cleaner, the vicar and other inhabitants of Fairacre. In VILLAGE DIARY, Miss Read describes the people of Fairacre with the same exactitude, sense of comedy and sharp observation. In addition to those characters familiar to readers of VILLAGE SCHOOL there are newcomers, including dictatorial Amy, an old college friend, Mr Mawne, whom the village sees as a possible husband for the unwilling Miss Read; and the earnest new infants teacher. Overshadowing everything, there is the mammoth country pageant over which Fairacre is so sharply and painfully divided...