Farewell to Fairacre

I have put off reading what was once the final book in this most remarkable series because I simply didn’t want it to end. There is now one more book after Farewell to Fairacre, and I will be brave and read it. Amusing and thoughtful in turn, never twee or maudlin, I have loved following Miss Read all of these years as she presided over the little school at Fairacre, educating hundreds of students in those decades.

But all good things come to an end — even a position as lovely as Miss Read’s and a series as wonderful as this one. After two of what today we’d call mini-strokes, Miss Read decides to retire two years early. She enjoys her final year, although I wonder if she enjoyed it as much as I loved this book. Highly, highly show more recommended, although I would start at the beginning with Village School. show less

Another of the excellent novels about school teacher Miss Read, at the village school of Fairacre. These books always seem like old friends to me, and I feel as if I know the characters as my friends. There is no profanity, violence, or sex in these novels, just a good story, although the people in them experience the usual sorrows and joys of life. By no means preachy or boring, these stories bring to mind life in a small British village.

And I've finished the penultimate Fairacre book. I find the character of Miss Read to be very compatible, very approachable, and lots of fun to spend time with. Here, she's ready to say goodbye to her little school but not without the usual amount of village upsets. No diminution of sweetness here at the end of the series.