This image is the cover for the book Storm in the Village, The Beloved Fairacre Series

Storm in the Village, The Beloved Fairacre Series

Big changes are afoot in a small English village— “If you’ve ever enjoyed a visit to Mitford, you’ll relish a visit to Fairacre” (Jan Karon, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of To Be Where You Are).

Trouble brews in the tiny country village of Fairacre, when it is discovered that Farmer Miller’s Hundred Acre Field is slated for real estate development. Alarming rumors are circulating, among them the fear that the village school may close. The endearing schoolmistress Miss Read brings her inimitable blend of affection and clear-sighted candor to this report, in which a young girl finds her first love, an older woman accepts a new role in life, and the impassioned battle to save the village from being engulfed is at the forefront of every villager’s mind.

“Wise, ironic, kindly, full of atmosphere and characters, rural charm, broad dialects, and the impishness of children.” —St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“Affectionate, humorous, and gently charming . . . Sometimes funny, sometimes touching, always appealing.” —The New York Times

Miss Read

Miss Read (1913–2012) was the pseudonym of Mrs. Dora Saint, a former schoolteacher beloved for her novels of English rural life, especially those set in the fictional villages of Thrush Green and Fairacre. The first of these, Village School, was published in 1955, and Miss Read continued to write until her retirement in 1996. In the 1998, she was awarded an MBE, or Member of the Order of the British Empire, for her services to literature. 

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (www.hmhco.com)