Changes at Fairacre

For nearly half a century, Miss Read has lovingly chronicled smalltown life and its momentous events -- births, deaths, marriages, how the new church roof will be paid for, who will care for a child when his mother takes ill, who will fall in love, who will leave town, who will make a welcome return. Miss Read's enchanting Fairacre novels transport readers to a kinder, gentler world: a handful of thatch-roofed cottages, a church, the school, the promise of fair weather, friendly faces, and good cheer -- at least most of the time. While Fairacre's new commuter lifestyle causes a sharp decline in enrollment at her school, Miss Read focuses her attention on the ill health of her old friend Dolly Clare.