Dora Jessie Saint MBE née Shafe (born 17 April 1913), best known by the pen name Miss Read, is an English novelist, by profession a schoolmistress. Her pseudonym is derived from her mother's maiden name. She began writing for several journals after World War II and worked as a scriptwriter for the BBC.
Saint wrote a series of novels from 1955 to 1996. Her work centred on two fictional English villages, Fairacre and Thrush Green. The principal character in the Fairacre books, Miss Read, is an unmarried schoolteacher in a small village school, an acerbic and yet compassionate observer of village life. Saint's novels are wry regional social comedies, laced with gentle humour and subtle social commentary. She is also a keen observer of nature and the changing seasons. Saint and her husbard, Douglas, now deceased, married in 1940. The couple had one child, a daughter named Jill.
Her most direct influence is Jane Austen, although her work also bears similarities to the social comedies of manners written in the 1920s and 1930s, and in particular the work of Barbara Pym. Miss Read's work has in turn influenced a number of writers, including American writer Jan Karon. The musician Enya has a track on her Watermark album named after Saint's book Miss Clare Remembers, and one on her Shepherd Moons album titled No Holly for Miss Quinn.
Saint retired in 1996. In 1998, she was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire for her services to literature. She lives in Berkshire.
Below is a bibliography of all Miss Read's works with publication dates.
The Fairacre novels:
Village School* - 1955
Village Diary* - 1957
Storm in the Village* - 1958
Miss Clare Remembers - 1962
Over the Gate - 1964
Village Christmas** - 1966
Fairacre Festival - 1968
Emily Davis - 1971
Tyler's Row - 1972
Christmas Mouse** - 1973
Farther Afield - 1974
No Holly for Miss Quinn** - 1976
Village Affairs - 1977
The White Robin - 1979
Village Centenary - 1980
Summer at Fairacre - 1984
Mrs. Pringle - 1989
Changes at Fairacre - 1991
Farewell to Fairacre - 1993
A Peaceful Retirement - 1996
The first three books (marked with *) have been published in a single volume, Chronicles of Fairacre.The three Christmas books marked with ** have been published together.
The Market Square (1966) and The Howards of Caxley (1967) are set in the historical past of Caxley, the nearby market town to Fairacre where Fairacre people go from time to time. Fairacre and Beech Green, a nearby village, are mentioned. The events in these books end before the events of the first Fairacre book start.
Thrush Green books:
Thrush Green - 1959
Winter in Thrush Green - 1961
News from Thrush Green - 1970
Battles at Thrush Green - 1975
Return to Thrush Green - 1978
Gossip from Thrush Green - 1981
Affairs at Thrush Green - 1983
At Home in Thrush Green - 1985
School at Thrush Green - 1987
Friends at Thrush Green - 1990
Celebrations at Thrush Green - 1992
Year at Thrush Green - 1995
Christmas at Thrush Green - 2009 written with Jenny Dereham
The World Of Thrush Green - 1988. This book discusses the real place that inspired Thrush Green and has excerpts from all Thrush Green books published as of 1988.
Children's books:
Hobby Horse Cottage - 1958
The Little Red Bus - 1964
The New Bed - 1964
No Hat! - 1964
Plum Pie - 1964
Hob and the Horse Bat - 1965
Cluck, the Little Black Hen - 1965
The Little Peg Doll - 1965
Tiggy - 1971. A non-fiction biography of one of the author's beloved cats.
Animal Boy - 1975
Autobiography:
A Fortunate Grandchild - 1982
Time Remembered - 1986
These two were also published in an omnibus edition titled Early Days.
Others she has written:
Fresh from the Country - 1960. The story of a young country girl who has taken a first teaching job in the big city.
Tales from a Village School - 1994. Short stories.
Miss Read's Country Cooking - 1969. ISBN 0-7181-0327-0