Miss Read | |
|---|---|
| Born | Dora Jessie Shafe (1913-04-17)17 April 1913 South Norwood,London, England |
| Died | 7 April 2012(2012-04-07) (aged 98) Shefford Woodlands,Berkshire, England |
Dora Jessie SaintMBE (17 April 1913 – 7 April 2012),[1][2]néeShafe, best known by thepen nameMiss Read, was an English novelist and, by profession, aschoolmistress. Herpseudonym was derived from her mother's maiden name.[3] She is best known for two series of novels set in the English countryside, the Fairacre novels and the Thrush Green novels.
Dora Jessie Shafe was born on 17 April 1913 in London, the younger of the daughters of Arthur Shafe, an insurance agent, and his wife Grace. For the sake of her mother's health, the family moved to the country when Dora was seven, and she began school inChelsfield, near Orpington, Kent,[4] and later joined her older sister at Bromley county school. When her father became a schoolmaster, Dora followed his example and undertook teacher training atHomerton College, Cambridge.
From 1933 to 1940 she taught inMiddlesex, first atHayes and then atEaling.
In 1940 she married Douglas Saint; they had one daughter, Jill.[3]
After World War II she worked occasionally as a teacher, and began writing about schools and country topics for several magazines, includingPunch and theTimes Educational Supplement. She also worked as a scriptwriter for theBBC schools service.
From 1955 to 1996 Saint wrote a series of novels centered on two fictional villages, Fairacre and Thrush Green. The first Fairacre novel appeared in 1955, the last in 1996. The first Thrush Green novel appeared in 1959. 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. Saint was also a keen observer of nature and the changing seasons.
Many of the village novels were illustrated byJ.S. (John Strickland) Goodall (1908-1996), an artist and picture-book author in his own right.[5]
Saint also wrote two volumes of autobiography,A Fortunate Grandchild (1982) andTime Remembered (1986); the two were issued together in 1995 asEarly Days.[6]
Saint wrote 28 novels, 2 autobiographies and 14 other books; her books were translated into several languages including Japanese and Russian.[7]
Saint retired in 1996. In 1998 she was made a Member of theOrder of the British Empire[3] for her services to literature. She and her husband lived inChieveley nearNewbury in Berkshire.
Her husband died in 2004.[3] She died on 7 April 2012.
One of the writers who influenced Saint wasJane Austen. Saint's work also bears some similarities to the socialcomedies of manners written in the 1920s and 1930s and to the work ofBarbara Pym.
Miss Read's work has in turn influenced a number of writers, including American writerJan Karon. The musicianEnya has a track on herWatermark album named after Saint's bookMiss Clare Remembers, and one on herShepherd Moons album titledNo Holly for Miss Quinn.[8]
The Fairacre novels:
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.
Thrush Green books:
Children's books:
Autobiography:
These two were also published in an omnibus edition titledEarly Days.
Other books she wrote:
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
