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There had been general dismay when Miss Watson and Miss Fogerty retired to Barton-on-Sea after many years of devoted service teaching the children of Thrush Green, so their visit to see old friends in the village brings great pleasure. The new headmaster, Alan Lester, is cautiously accepted, but rumor is rife about his wife's health. Meanwhile, farmer Percy Hodge is also the subject of local speculation: Is his strange behavior the result of an infatuation with the young Doreen Lilly? As for show more affairs at the Lovelocks' house, it is increasingly apparent that Bertha Lovelock is now in her dotage, and a new and most unfortunate habit is the cause of considerable embarrassment to the good people of Lulling. All these matters and more are faced by our old friends against the familiar background and changing seasons of the Cotswolds. show lessTags
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'It sounds to me,' said Harold, with rare male perspicacity, 'that Agnes may be a little in love with this Teddy herself.'
'Good heavens!' cried his wife, deeply shocked. 'Of course she isn't! She has the cat, after all!'
Harold pondered on this as he lay awaiting sleep. Should men really have to compete with cats?
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It soon became apparent to Percy that Mrs. Brown was one of those people, all too common, who regaled their listeners with lengthy tales about people who were entirely unknown and, after an hour or so of increasing boredom, thoroughly disliked.
'Good heavens!' cried his wife, deeply shocked. 'Of course she isn't! She has the cat, after all!'
Harold pondered on this as he lay awaiting sleep. Should men really have to compete with cats?
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It soon became apparent to Percy that Mrs. Brown was one of those people, all too common, who regaled their listeners with lengthy tales about people who were entirely unknown and, after an hour or so of increasing boredom, thoroughly disliked.
Friends At Thrush Green by Miss Read is the tenth book in her Thrush Green series and these simple stories about a small British village have a special place my heart. The author writes of the changing seasons in the countryside and the small affairs of village life in a timeless manner. Her characters have problems but they are usually worked out through the course of each book with the help of their friends and their own good sense.
This book both opens and closes with a visit from previous Thrush Green residents. Dorothy and Agnes were the school teachers at the local school and lived in the house adjoining the school. Upon retirement they moved to a cottage by the sea, but they return to visit with their friends and catch up with show more local gossip. The book opens in spring and takes us through the course of a year, and some of the other stories that are followed are the on-going search of farmer Percy Hodge for a wife, the worrisome aging of another resident and how the new school master and his family are settling in. Some of these stories take a very serious turn as both senility and alcoholism play a major part.
Friends at Thrush Green was another engaging story about this idyllic village and the wonderful characters that live there. show less
This book both opens and closes with a visit from previous Thrush Green residents. Dorothy and Agnes were the school teachers at the local school and lived in the house adjoining the school. Upon retirement they moved to a cottage by the sea, but they return to visit with their friends and catch up with show more local gossip. The book opens in spring and takes us through the course of a year, and some of the other stories that are followed are the on-going search of farmer Percy Hodge for a wife, the worrisome aging of another resident and how the new school master and his family are settling in. Some of these stories take a very serious turn as both senility and alcoholism play a major part.
Friends at Thrush Green was another engaging story about this idyllic village and the wonderful characters that live there. show less
More of the same and I'm enjoying the stories less but still liking finding out what the familiar characters are doing.
What can I say that I haven't already said about Thrush Green? This is my village and these are my friends.
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87+ Works 12,681 Members
Miss Read, 1913 - 2012 Miss Read was born on April 17, 1913 as Dora Jessie Shafe. She worked as a teacher and started writing after World War II for Punch and other journals and as a scriptwriter for the BBC. She wrote her novels under the name Read, which was her mother's maiden name. She is best known for her novels of English rural life and show more used her own memories of living and teaching in a small English village in her novels. She wrote more than forty novels; many were set in the British countryside -- Fairacre and Thrush Green novels. Read finished her writing career in 1996 with A Peaceful Retirement. In 1998, she was awarded an MBE for her services to literature. She died on April 7, 2012. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Friends at Thrush Green
- Original publication date
- 1990
- Important places
- Thrush Green, England, UK
- Epigraph
- [None]
- Dedication
- To Chris with love
- First words
- 'It is an extraordinary thing,' said Harold Shoosmith one breakfast time, 'but I seem to have lost my reading glasses.'
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)And Agnes saw, to her intense relief, that her friend was smiling.
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Statistics
- Members
- 281
- Popularity
- 113,735
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (3.70)
- Languages
- English, German
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 16
- UPCs
- 2
- ASINs
- 6
